ZHONG CHENG

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WANG HUAIQING (b.1944)

Illusion

1993

Oil on Canvas
145.5x112cm

Singed Wang Huai-Qing in Chinese

Estimate TWD 38,000,000-42,000,000
USD 1,266,700-1,400,000
HKD 0-0

Hammer Price TWD 45,430,000
USD 0
HKD 0

Provenance：

Illustrated：

Exhibition：

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Born in 1944, Wang Huai Qing began painting at an early age and was admitted to the Central Art Academy at the age of 12 and enrolled in Central Art and Craft art Institute in 1964. The foundation was sophisticated and outstanding. Born and raised in Beijing, but his art style was more southern with deep and delicate literati style. From the earliest realist painting and transformed to the home of Shao Xing and then later the composing furniture of Ming, Wang experienced three stages “composition-decomposition- construction”. These three discoveries enabled him to express the slightly depressed yet delicate literati affections. His art style belongs to the branch of Lin Feng Mian, Wu Guan Zhong and Wu Da Yu.

As one of the most talented and influential artists in Chinese contemporary art, Wang Huai Qing’s is rather down to earth and practical. He doesn’t own a spacious and luxurious studio; he refused to include disciples to spread his fame; or did he produced massively. He said “a lot of unstill objects need to be presented in stillness; a lot of passion needs to be presented under calmness.” The horizontal carve in the canvas is black and subtle with a low profile atmosphere. Removing vivid colors and keeping only black and white, the artist created a tranquil space. The thick and steady color brought a surprising tension and impact effect.
The 1981 Wall Street Journal once published the artwork “Bole”and his influences on the art world. The background is dissected with an extremely modern proportion. The colors are vivid and delicate. You can’t miss the object looking way up in the sky to dramatically create a common feeling and “post cultural revolution” atmosphere. Wang has successfully extracted modern ideas from the classical theme, Bole carries on traditions and brings out the future.

1985, Wang attended the National Oil Painting Conference in Huang Shan which became one of the key events of the “85 art movement” that marked a new milestone of Chinese oil painting. Wang Huai Qing passed by Shao Xing and visited the home of Lu Xun. The wood buildings; black tiles and white walls visually impacted him. The thick and sturdy mud wall; the humid black pillars and the intertwining constructions are warm and strong that carried literati spirits in the past millennium. Wang resurrected the past with simple black and white lines. Wu Guan Zhong commented on his artworks and said “The western Franz Kline, Pierre Soulages and other artists tried to learn and copy the black and white structure of Chinese calligraphy. Yet, Wang’s composition is not only a simple presentation; it is also the soul and heart of the people that inspired the direction of Wang exploration. How I feel about the artwork does not represent what he wanted to express. The artist tried to present “black” through intertwining it with white to create a silent and orderly space to nurture innocence.”
Other than capturing traditional space, Wang also combined realism and abstract styles to intentionally grasp the atmosphere of expressing. After returning to Beijing from Shaoxing, he completed “Hometown”(1986). The painting revealed the stylist’s approach: black and white; surface. In 1990, Wang re-visited and focused more on the furniture of the Ming dynasty instead of southern traditional architecture.
Wang Huai Qing presented the texture of the long bench and the structure of mortise and tenon in an interesting oriental atmosphere with dark and heavy black lines. The irregular geometric surface becomes the foundation of the entire picture. And the viewers won’t be able to miss the traditional calligraphy implications in the sophisticated ink blocks. Viewers can also experience the interesting ancient Chinese Zhuan characters in the turns of the bold black lines. Wang Huai Qing won the Golden Award of “China Oil Painting annual Exhibition” with 《Aura of the Great Ming》in 1991. The painting with the master’s chair as the main character has become an important milestone in the artist’s career.
Wang Huai Qing often visits antique furniture collection sites such as Lu Jia Ying and Pan Jia Yuan in Beijing. In this world of ever changing technology, Beijing is one of the blooming cities. However, the antique furniture carries the weight of time and a prosperous past. It has become the inspiration of artists. Wang Huai Qing once said “I have seen many dislocated antiques; they did not have a home or a sense of belonging. I call them historical orphans that were forgotten. However, when you look closer at the parts, the postures and the objects, you will be able to see the noble past; with souls that do not know how to carry on their stories.”
The longing and affection for the antique furniture are the sources of Wang Huai Qing’s tragic conscience. Without a doubt, the most touching part of Wang’s “Ming Furniture” is the decomposed or dislocated furniture. Like “xxx”, the black lines look as if they have been moved, causing them to break and the furniture to drift in the deep universe.
In regards to the drift, Wang Huai Qing once wrote in “you place the furniture in an empty background and change the absolute location “the ground” of traditional furniture. When they are elevated and drifting in the empty space, an enormous space is created for the artist to dispose. When objects are removed from its space, they are no longer the same.”

The artist discarded traditional disposition of furniture and like performing magic, he transformed the object to an abstract object that travels between western modernism and eastern elegance. Auguste Rodin once said in his book “Great artists explore the space.” In this “xx”, space, volume and texture are in harmony, the ink and gray are transformed into the space; every texture and brushstroke is presented in the form of space.

In this blurry space that is poetic and elegant, the cuts in the bottom have dissected the composition of the tables and chairs horizontally as those they have decomposed and drifted away. However, without completely vanished, some parts are still attached. The reflection of the lines intertwines and creates a silent depression and sadness of the passing of history. The composition of the furniture speaks of the sadness of the passing of a spectacular past. The rapid flying colors were unable to cover the sadness from ruined feeling. However, the language through classical furniture has blended water ink aesthetics in Chinese painting and the conscience of traditional literati calligraphy. Other than mourning for the past, the painting also speaks of the artist’s eagerness of reconnecting with the past.

Wang Huai Qing’s artworks are modern and also traditional. It made him unique and one of a kind. With a few artworks, he has won many exhibitions and awards; and they are widely collected by collectors. Wang Huai Qing expressed his realization and care he has for humanity and tradition in an era of fast disintegration and rapid social movement. He tries to search for the humble past and oriental charisma through his brushstrokes. The longing of the past is presented in a strong and aggressive art movement bringing the viewers to a honest and noble place.

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