Zao Wou-Ki - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale Hong Kong Saturday, May 25, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Watercolours by Zao Wou-Ki, 19 September - 11 October 2003, p.14-15 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    “Even with this thick brush,” he says, “you can still capture fineness.” It all comes together on the paper. It is impossible to amend: you can only add, but you cannot remove.’
    - Zao Wou-Ki (Adapted from Bernard Noël, ‘Le Vide et l’Encre’ (‘Void and Ink’)

    The following works presented in the current sale hail from a collection spanning nearly four decades, one which features a singular preoccupation on fine art created by the world’s most renowned Asian artists that resided and worked in postwar Europe. These pioneering artists, including Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun and T’ang Haywen, brought with them to Europe a multitude of Eastern traditions that were central to their thinking. With this background, they began to create bodies of work that paid homage to that past, even as they found new sources of inspiration in the present. The present collection showcases the expressiveness of the artists’ dexterity, achieving dramatic effects through the use of vivid colours, and further consolidates their significant roles in spearheading the modern Asian abstraction movement.

    Phillips is thrilled to have the opportunity to offer a selection from this collection across our upcoming sales of 20th Century & Contemporary art in Hong Kong, a collection as unique in its personality and passion as the collector himself.

Property from an Important Hong Kong Collection

137

Composition

1961
signed and dated 'Wou-Ki [in Chinese] ZAO 61' lower right
watercolour and gouache on paper
37.7 x 28.5 cm. (14 7/8 x 11 1/4 in.)
Executed in 1961, this work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Foundation Zao Wou-Ki.

Estimate
HK$350,000 - 550,000 
€39,800-62,500
$44,900-70,500

Sold for HK$475,000

Contact Specialist
Isaure de Viel Castel
Head of Department, 20th Century & Contemporary Art

Charlotte Raybaud
Head of Day Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 26 May 2019