This year's China Guardian’s Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art Sale brings together a collection of artists being brought together from the East and West. The works in this sale share a theme of color, showcasing their exquisite use of color and its interplay with their skillful and powerful brushwork.
The sale will occur at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on 8 October. The headline lot is Yayoi Kusama's bold work Black & Black, a combination of her artistic influences, techniques, and inner turmoil. Estimated at HK$12 million (US$1.5 million), it is the only infinity-net piece to boldly take just black as its color.
Black & Black is joined by works from Zao Wou-Ki, Yun Gee, George Condo, and Yoshitomo Nara.
Lot 43⏐Yayoi Kusama (b.1929)⏐Black & Black, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1961
187 x 145.5 cm
Provenance:
- Gagosian Gallery, New York
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 18,000,000 (US$1,538,500 - 2,307,700)
Yayoi Kusama is an artist who, by her admission, is inspired by her tumultuous mental state. Once the subject of an academic paper titled “Genius Woman Artist With Schizophrenic Tendency,” Kusama’s work has been representative of her hallucinations and traumatic past.
Her two main motifs, the “polka dots” and “infinite nets,” are an outgrowth of her past. While both have appeared countless times in various mediums, Black & Black is extremely unique for being the only known “infinite net” painting that just uses black. However, its seemingly simple color choice has achieved a lot texturally and lighting-wise, which ties in with Kusama’s ideas about self-obliteration and being an individual.
These ideas of individuality and a loss of self date back to Kusama's youth. The “polka dots” were developed by Kusama in 1939 when she drew them on a sketch of her mother. According to Kusama, seeing dots helped ease her anxieties and seemed to function as a sort of coping mechanism for her mental troubles. Since then they have appeared everywhere, including most iconically on pumpkins and whole rooms.
Kusama’s “nets” were an outgrowth of her “dots” as they dealt with the issue of “obliteration” of self and one's individuality. Black & Black is spawned from the exploration into “infinite nets,” with the earliest variation of those works using the contrast of a white net overlaid onto a black background. In many ways, Black & Black is the ultimate concentration of Kusama’s ideals and motifs into a single art piece.
Produced in 1961, Black & Black is one of the rare Kusama works from that period, where she lived in New York City. Out of the less than 10 Kusama works from the 1960s, Black & Black is the largest and represents Kusama’s desire for simplicity beyond even black and white. If it is taken that Black & Black is the outgrowth of “infinite nets," this is the most extreme conclusion of that artistic expression by Kusama and potentially the most vivid expression of her “obliteration” motif in her work.
Careful observation of the painting shows that it is not a monotone black work, but instead, there are considerable details related to Kusama’s usage of paint. Across the painting, there are variations of how thickly Kusama applies the color, with the center appearing to be a vortex of a darker, richer black. Bumps and grooves can also be observed where Kusama has applied what almost seems to be a textural wave across the canvas.
This textural component has been lost in Kusama’s more modern “infinity net” works, such as 1995’s Infinity sold by Bonhams Hong Kong in 2024. When Kusama first moved to New York, she heavily experimented with canvas nets, covering items with them and painting the patterns that they outlined.
These painting sessions would sometimes last up to fifty hours straight and be detrimental to her mental health, as the tactile feeling of those paintings caused Kusama to have major panic attacks. It is not impossible to imagine that Black & Black is a product of that tumultuous time, as the timelines do add up for when this work would have been produced and when Kusama began this textural experiment with canvas nets.
Regarding Kusama's inspiration for this work, it most likely loops in with her ideas of "self-obliteration" and her seeking to lose her sense of self within the patterns and motifs she created. To Kusama, her nets were just another part of her quest toward "self-obliteration,” and here they merged with this idea of becoming one with the infinite of space.
Darkness had not yet explicitly become part of Kusama’s “self-obliteration” cycle. Kusama’s 1967 experimental art film Self-Obliteration never brings up that idea of space or darkness, but in Black & Black Kusama could very much have been forming such an idea, with the brighter reflection and spots in the painting representing stars in the night sky. This is supported by a poem Kusama would write later on.
"In the darkness there is flickering, light then dark
Busy reminiscing about the past ... I pile hundreds of paintings up high
The colour of the brushwork and different combinations are clear
Looking at the darkness
I crawl and open the door to my soul
I stand on the land and the phantoms of last night fill the sky."
- Yayoi Kusama, Swinging in the Air, 1978
Lot 47⏐Zao Wou-Ki (1921-2013)⏐24.01.73, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1973
95 x 105 cm
Provenance:
- 28 May 1999, Lempertz Cologne Spring Auction, Lot 560
- 24 Apr 2001, China Guardian Spring Auction, Lot 879
- 7 Oct 2019, China Guardian Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 88
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 18,000,000 (US$1,538,500 - 2,307,700)
Born in 1921 in Beijing, Zao Wou-Ki was a Chinese-French painter who would go on to become a major artistic figure of the 20th century. While Zao was originally trained in China, when he moved to France in 1948, partially inspired by his interest in impressionism, his artwork became far more Western in its style.
When Zao arrived in France, he was quick to reject traditional Chinese ink painting. While his earliest works were inspired by calligraphy, he did not want to be tokenized as a Chinese artist, hence his move away from those styles. In 1972 loss of his wife sent Zao Wou-Ki into a period of sadness. Feeling that life was short, he visited family back in China, which he hadn’t returned to in the last 24 years.
Zao's return to China helped alleviate his sorrows, allowing him to explore the usage of traditional Chinese painting tools, methods, and scenery, as well as interweaving techniques from both the East and West. Before returning to China, Zao’s style was rooted in very abstract styles of art that were saturated with bold color, influenced by his ties to American abstract painters. Furthermore, Zao's art was reflective of his state of mind, wishing to portray that on the canvas.
Zao's return to China did not dull his excitement about that style of painting but instead offered him a chance to blend it with more traditional techniques. This included a brush and ink technique that was borrowed from Chinese calligraphy to paint Chinese landscapes but in the style of more abstract painters. Additionally, this period known as "infinity" was focused on incorporating Chinese philosophy and nature into his work, especially as he traveled the country to see its natural beauty.
Zao Wou-Ki photographed in 1967 alongside his paintings in his Paris studio
According to Zao, his return to Chinese painting allowed him to harness the “rhythm” created by empty spaces on the canvas, a key difference between his work and that of other Western artists. In this work, such a style is manifested when, in the center, Zao uses broad brushstrokes to paint dark stormy clouds over abstract mountains painted in a calligraphic style.
The expansive voids above the clouds and chaotically abstract scenery are gently brushed over with mist, creating a cohesive energy throughout the painting. It is this “energy” that refers back to how Zao felt about Chinese art’s ability to harness more through its empty spaces on the canvas that Western art could not.
Zao also makes use of a layering technique in the painting, using thinned paints to create layers of lightly visible colors. It is this technique that Zao used to create the misty effect, especially in the more empty spaces of the painting, making the effect transition between natural and ethereal in quality.
Lot 40⏐Yun Gee (1906-1963)⏐Here’s New York, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1943
91.4 x 71 cm
Provenance:
- Original Collection of artist's daughter Li-lan
- Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000 (US$769,200 - 1,025,600)
Born in southern China in 1906, Yun Gee left China to join his father in San Francisco when he turned 15 in 1921. He would attend what is now the San Francisco Art Institute and eventually live in New York City. Undoubtedly Gee’s relationship with the Big Apple is a major part that helped this painting manifest. Gee was also not a prolific artist, relatively speaking, with this being one of the less than 200 total works Gee produced.
In the early 1930s, Gee would spend his first stint of time in New York City, having sought to take advantage of the roaring 20s and American postwar economic boom. His art was strongly received in museums such as the Brooklyn Museum and Museum of Modern Art; however, the Great Depression and racism caused Gee to find the city unbearable for the time being, leaving for France.
He returned to New York from Paris in 1940, as war broke out across the European continent. His then-wife Helen Gee stated that Yun Gee didn’t purely paint and exhibit then, as Gee was involved in the war effort. Gee worked in a defense industry corporation six days a week and could only return home at night to paint. It was in this context that Yun Gee produced Here’s New York in 1943.
Vita Chen, General Manager, Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art, China Guardian (HK) seen here with Here's New York
Gee’s artwork, at its core, is rooted in two artistic principles, Cubism and Synchromism. The latter originated in 1912 as a way to interpret color not just optically but as an abstract tool to capture the “rhythm” that color could produce on the canvas. Here’s New York achieves both principles across its depiction of New York City and its inhabitants. Through the clever use of space and perspective, the painting is split into distinct segments.
Using the technique of synchronism, Gee blends yellow, red, and blue across the different segmented parts of the work, highlighting in each section the progress being made in the city. The richly colored buildings piercing the blue sky at the top of the painting would be an example of this. Additionally, the use of cubism in both the buildings and boats creates a sense of distance and depth, further dividing the work into segments.
What’s interesting is that Gee doesn’t let the atmosphere of wartime America influence his work, instead indulging in the glory and energy of the 1920s, an era of progress before the war and the Great Depression. This indulgence in the past glories of New York can be seen throughout the painting, with the two dancing figures in the foreground.
The skyscrapers and general industrialization of the city are also examples of Gee indulging in the roaring 1920s of New York. Gee’s use of color, light, and design of the skyscrapers very much invokes imagery of the Art Deco movement, which spawned NYC landmarks including Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building.
Lot 41⏐George Condo (b.1957)⏐La Legion D’honneur, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1993-1994
116 x 88.8 cm
Provenance:
- Art Studio
- The Pace Gallery, New York
- Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, New York
- Private Collection, New York
- 10 Jul 2020, Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 531
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$3,600,000 (US$461,500 - 589,700)
Established by Emperor Napoleon I in 1802, the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, or National Order of the Legion of Honor, is the highest possible merit achievable in the French military and civil society. It is also the name of this George Condo work, which itself draws heavy inspiration from Napoleonic iconography and the art of Napoleon.
The structure of the painting is meant to invoke the imagery of the Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painting Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne, with the striking figure in red in the center of the Condo painting bearing similarities to Napoleon in his red clothing adorned with items and clothing that exude a certain regality or power. Additionally, like the Ingres painting, the dark background only serves to contrast the striking individual in the foreground in the Condo work.
Jean-Auguste-Dominic Ingres(178-1867) | Napoléon Ier sur le trône impérial (1806), 259 x 162 cm | Musée de l'Armée, Paris | The painting which George Condo based this lot off of
The scepter in Napoleon’s right hand is replaced by a stick with an eye in the center surrounded by leaves and branches. This is meant to represent how nature is where true power and authority are derived from, unlike in the Ingres painting, which has the traditional scepter defining divine power. The same thing is done with the medal on the figure on Condo’s chest, as it appears to be a clover, keeping in line with the theme of nature and power as opposed to imperial or divine power as conveyed in the Ingres painting.
The Condo work also cleverly plays tribute to the musical history of Napoleon. Beethoven’s Eroica, or symphony, had been dedicated to Napoleon for his abolishing of old royal traditions; however, Napoleon I’s self-crowning in 1804 angered Beethoven so much that Eroica was no longer dedicated to Napoleon but instead to heroes of memories past.
Condo captures this by giving the figure in his painting no face at all, making it a blank canvas and dismantling the portrait element of the Ingres painting. In many ways, Condo not only reinterprets and reconfigures Ingres’ painting but fully dismantles the work, twisting it with a different context and his own meaning.
Lot 9⏐Yoshitomo Nara (b.1959)⏐Live for Moment, Colored pencil on paper
Created in 2006
42 x 29.7 cm
Provenance:
- Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo
- 27 May 2018, Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 106
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$1,800,000 - 2,500,000 (US$230,800 - 320,500)
This Yoshitomo Nara work features his signature “big-headed girl” in the center with a boldly written caption up top that reads “Live for Moment.” The girl walks a tightrope down the center of the work depicted with a determined scowl, with the whole work depicting an air of determinedness and daring.
It also presents an idea of progress and individual progression in the face of adversity or danger being presented. The tightrope is precarious and dangerous to cross but ultimately necessary as we move forward. The left side represents the future, the only thing that is controllable and within our power to change. Meanwhile, the past, to the right of the work, is unchangeable. Hence the figure's clear actions instill an idea of perseverance regardless of struggles, represented by the tightrope.
Meanwhile, the phrase “Live for Moment” is actually a recurring motif in Nara’s work. In addition to this piece, the phrase has appeared six other times in Nara’s art, with it being a self-reflection for how the artist felt in that very moment he was creating that specific artwork. For context, this Live for Moment was produced in 2006 when Nara held his largest solo exhibit in Aomori, Japan.
The exhibit titled Yoshitomo Nara + Graf: A to Z was a celebration of Nara’s life works filled with 26 individual huts, each containing paintings, sculptures, and other artworks he had created. On the experience, Nara wrote, “I was able to really return to an individual state of mind, and this made me realize more clearly than ever before the importance of facing ‘oneself’.” Such a statement is heavily reflected in this lot from both the phrase and the depiction of its central figure.
Other Highlighted Lots:
Lot 46⏐Zao Wou-Ki (1921-2013)⏐Abstract, Watercolor on paper
Painted in 1967
40 x 56 cm
Provenance:
- Original collection of Maurice Lefebvre-Foinet, Paris
- Thence by descent to the previous European collector
- 1 Dec 2009, Christie's Paris Autumn Auction, Lot 46
- 12 Oct 2021, China Guardian Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 39
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$1,200,000 - 1,500,000 (US$153,800 - 192,300)
Lot 45⏐Chu Teh-Chun (19210-2014)⏐Here Comes Spring, Oil on paper mounted on canvas
Painted in 1985
56 x 76 cm
Provenance:
- 22 Nov 2010, Chengxuan Beijing Autumn Auction, Lot 737
- 8 Oct 2020, China Guardian Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 86
- Important Private Collection, Asia
Estimate: HK$800,000 - 1,500,000 (US$102,600 - 192,300)
Lot 35⏐Ting Yinyung (1902-1978)⏐Boating in the Lake, Oil on board
Painted in 1971
30.8 x 45.8 cm
Provenance:
- 19 Apr 1998, Sotheby's Taipei Spring Auction, Lot 78
- Collection of Yageo Foundation, Taipei
- 29 May 2005, Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 218
- 6 Oct 2009, Sotheby's Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 558
- 22 May 2011, Beijing Cheng Xuan Spring Auction, Lot 845
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000 (US$153,800 - 230,800)
Lot 49⏐Liang Yuanwei (b.1977)⏐Piece of Life, Oil on canvas
Painted in 2007
140 x 120 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired directly by original collector from the artist
- 26 May 2019, Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 428
- Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above
Estimate: HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000 (US$128,200 - 192,300)
Auction Details:
Auction House: China Guardian Hong Kong
Sale: Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art
Date: 8 October 2024
Number of Lots: 122