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Lot Essay
'I love these dynamic and harmonious inks that demonstrate the spirit of China. Sometimes I think of T'ang Haywen when I see the top of mountains disappearing into the mist'. (Balthus on the T'ang Haywen Retrospective in Musée Océanographique, Monaco, 1997).
Christie's is pleased to present this season, a selection of powerful works by Chinese artist T'ang Haywen, showing his virtuosity in various mediums such as oil, ink and colour.
Born in Xiamen in 1927, T'ang Haywen moved to Saigon, Vietnam during the Sino-Japanese War with his family, where he attended a French school and studied calligraphy under his grandfather's guidance. Arriving in France in 1948, the same year as his compatriot Zao Wou-Ki, T'ang started studying medicine to live up to his parents' expectations. He soon started his artistic quest- travelling in Europe, visiting galleries and museums to discover Western art- and eventually developed his own unique practice that is in harmony with the Taoism' Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility. This had become a true way of life for the artist. Like many of his contemporaries who immersed themselves in France at the time such as Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-ki, T'ang found Abstract Expressionism a perfect channel to demonstrate the subtleties in traditional Chinese painting through pure non-figurative elements of colour, light and composition. We today rediscover a truly talented artist, indifferent to recognition and avoiding self-promotion, whose artistic force aims to a spiritual purpose way beyond our material reality. (fig. 1)
His spontaneity and simplicity led the artist to explore and develop a unique ink practice, which he had fully mastered by the 1970s. Dictated by a transcendental force T'ang uses the characteristic ink fluidity to draw broad flexible gestures on the paper and create powerful compositions.
T'ang's inks have invariably impressed the viewer with enormous vitality. In this ink diptych (Lot 161), blades after blades of precise and smooth brushwork are enriched with his creative energies. T'ang was a master of leveraging the ying and yang of black and white, and the ebullience and movement of the cursive script radiates from his brushwork and composition. It is arguably a work of etherealness and grace.
In one of the works (Lot 159), Untitled, the crisscrossing spatial interplay of void and fullness resembles a sharply contrasted mountain structure of light and dark. It also reflects the fluidity and liveliness of ink, and its variation of heavy, light, dry and moist ink interplays to mirror T'ang's unique state of mind.
Also, take the piece (Lot 162) created in 1967 for another example: on top of the expressively moist haloing, T'ang applied circles, dots, and lines in heavy ink. The technique is redolent with the pure geometric styles in the Japanese Zen paintings.
T'ang seemed to discover his artistic breakthrough in the heavy hues of reds and blacks. The horizontal sweeps of brushwork in Lot 153 and Lot 155 can be regarded as a continuation of the landscape heritage. Symbolic signs travel between the condensation and spreading of ink. T'ang's pieces never fail to inspire endless imaginations in his viewer: at times, they are an abstract evolution of a postcard painting of a lotus pond, or a simplified border of the oceans and skies. His inscription resembles a traditional Chinese seal, a combination of Chinese and English to signify the union of Eastern and Western cultures.
Notions of time and control are the core of T'ang's ink practice. The mastery of ink painting, an irreversible medium by essence, lies in the knowledge of the brush and its contact with the paper. Tan'g lets the ink spread freely and the paper absorb the diluted liquid generating various shades of grey, which immediately contrast with rapid brushstrokes of deep black. The format of each 70 x 50 cm paper comes as a strict unifying frame to each unique composition, where empty and full spaces are equal. Thus emptiness in the composition vibrates of energy; an empty space from which originates the line, allowing breath and movement to the forms, and momentum to the gesture. Such as the wind and the breath, the empty space is a fundamental and complex element in T'ang's painting, a vital parameter to any of his compositions. Explaining this notion to Jean-Pierre Desroches, T'ang described: 'When at work, I constantly ask myself: working in favour of emptiness or working in favour of fullness. It is like body and soul, music only exists through silence.' In their concept of ink painting and hybrid influences, T'ang Haywen and Zao Wou-Ki follow the same artistic itinerary, in their own unique way of modernizing Chinese painting (fig. 2).
His choice to produce works of diptychs also illustrates the concept of duality and multiplicity within the singular; and the unity of parts within the whole. This representation of the perpetual, changing force of life and the cosmos, harks to Laozi's saying of 'The Way (or Dao) emerges as one; one was multiplied into two, then into three, then into myriads of things on Earth.'
A macroscopic view of T'ang's diptychs created in the 1970's shows that this collection is an abstract or semi-abstract portrayal of the natural vistas. Two of the coloured works, (Lot 156 & Lot 154) seem to be assembled with human faces that are situated in the midst of landscapes to indicate the natural sceneries, and they continue to expand and evolve. The compositions of another water colour and ink piece (Lot 152 & Lot 158), though different in approach, are equally delightful in presentation.
While T'ang established himself as a calligrapher and as the ink practice remains central in his oeuvre, the artist also picks up his brush to draw natural compositions in watercolours.. Inspired by landscape, T'ang approaches his watercolour works with more freedom, translating our sensational world into art. The scroll (Lot 160) created in ink and watercolour is refreshing and elegant. The nuanced red petals have broken free from the confines of lines, and displayed a print-like dimension. T'ang allowed his brush and ink to linger on paper. The outlines in light ink build a sense of lightness. T'ang loved to sketch during his travels. The size of his creations is uniformly exquisite. The three untitled watercolours (Lot 157) are such an example, at 13 cm x 17 cm in average size. The silhouettes of the portrait and landscapes are bold and free, and connected by a vibrant palette.
As T'ang avoids any categorisation and maintains his artistic independence, contemporary French artists such as Henri Michaux (fig. 3) and Hans Hartung (fig. 4) found a new vehicle of expression in the ink medium and calligraphy. Both Parisian School artists relate to the same quest of drawing inspiration from the Eastern culture as a way of renewal. They both view the ink practice as an alternative expression, Hartung in his aesthetic research of abstraction and Michaux as a liberating equivalent to writing. Therefore all three artists transcend nationalities and time in their universal pursuit to overcome the human condition.
T'ang Haywen shows a masterful synthesis of abstraction, accelerating the development of 20th century Western Art (fig. 5). Tang's practice in painting is shaped by the spiritual elements of the Taoist approach, in which the artist seeks to capture the interplay of energies that give life to the natural world. His artistic discoveries in France gave the artist the right freedom to develop a unique style imbued with both Asian philosophy and Western art historical discourse, at a time when the Parisian artistic swarm seeks new inspiration in art outside its European borders.
Christie's is pleased to present this season, a selection of powerful works by Chinese artist T'ang Haywen, showing his virtuosity in various mediums such as oil, ink and colour.
Born in Xiamen in 1927, T'ang Haywen moved to Saigon, Vietnam during the Sino-Japanese War with his family, where he attended a French school and studied calligraphy under his grandfather's guidance. Arriving in France in 1948, the same year as his compatriot Zao Wou-Ki, T'ang started studying medicine to live up to his parents' expectations. He soon started his artistic quest- travelling in Europe, visiting galleries and museums to discover Western art- and eventually developed his own unique practice that is in harmony with the Taoism' Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility. This had become a true way of life for the artist. Like many of his contemporaries who immersed themselves in France at the time such as Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-ki, T'ang found Abstract Expressionism a perfect channel to demonstrate the subtleties in traditional Chinese painting through pure non-figurative elements of colour, light and composition. We today rediscover a truly talented artist, indifferent to recognition and avoiding self-promotion, whose artistic force aims to a spiritual purpose way beyond our material reality. (fig. 1)
His spontaneity and simplicity led the artist to explore and develop a unique ink practice, which he had fully mastered by the 1970s. Dictated by a transcendental force T'ang uses the characteristic ink fluidity to draw broad flexible gestures on the paper and create powerful compositions.
T'ang's inks have invariably impressed the viewer with enormous vitality. In this ink diptych (Lot 161), blades after blades of precise and smooth brushwork are enriched with his creative energies. T'ang was a master of leveraging the ying and yang of black and white, and the ebullience and movement of the cursive script radiates from his brushwork and composition. It is arguably a work of etherealness and grace.
In one of the works (Lot 159), Untitled, the crisscrossing spatial interplay of void and fullness resembles a sharply contrasted mountain structure of light and dark. It also reflects the fluidity and liveliness of ink, and its variation of heavy, light, dry and moist ink interplays to mirror T'ang's unique state of mind.
Also, take the piece (Lot 162) created in 1967 for another example: on top of the expressively moist haloing, T'ang applied circles, dots, and lines in heavy ink. The technique is redolent with the pure geometric styles in the Japanese Zen paintings.
T'ang seemed to discover his artistic breakthrough in the heavy hues of reds and blacks. The horizontal sweeps of brushwork in Lot 153 and Lot 155 can be regarded as a continuation of the landscape heritage. Symbolic signs travel between the condensation and spreading of ink. T'ang's pieces never fail to inspire endless imaginations in his viewer: at times, they are an abstract evolution of a postcard painting of a lotus pond, or a simplified border of the oceans and skies. His inscription resembles a traditional Chinese seal, a combination of Chinese and English to signify the union of Eastern and Western cultures.
Notions of time and control are the core of T'ang's ink practice. The mastery of ink painting, an irreversible medium by essence, lies in the knowledge of the brush and its contact with the paper. Tan'g lets the ink spread freely and the paper absorb the diluted liquid generating various shades of grey, which immediately contrast with rapid brushstrokes of deep black. The format of each 70 x 50 cm paper comes as a strict unifying frame to each unique composition, where empty and full spaces are equal. Thus emptiness in the composition vibrates of energy; an empty space from which originates the line, allowing breath and movement to the forms, and momentum to the gesture. Such as the wind and the breath, the empty space is a fundamental and complex element in T'ang's painting, a vital parameter to any of his compositions. Explaining this notion to Jean-Pierre Desroches, T'ang described: 'When at work, I constantly ask myself: working in favour of emptiness or working in favour of fullness. It is like body and soul, music only exists through silence.' In their concept of ink painting and hybrid influences, T'ang Haywen and Zao Wou-Ki follow the same artistic itinerary, in their own unique way of modernizing Chinese painting (fig. 2).
His choice to produce works of diptychs also illustrates the concept of duality and multiplicity within the singular; and the unity of parts within the whole. This representation of the perpetual, changing force of life and the cosmos, harks to Laozi's saying of 'The Way (or Dao) emerges as one; one was multiplied into two, then into three, then into myriads of things on Earth.'
A macroscopic view of T'ang's diptychs created in the 1970's shows that this collection is an abstract or semi-abstract portrayal of the natural vistas. Two of the coloured works, (Lot 156 & Lot 154) seem to be assembled with human faces that are situated in the midst of landscapes to indicate the natural sceneries, and they continue to expand and evolve. The compositions of another water colour and ink piece (Lot 152 & Lot 158), though different in approach, are equally delightful in presentation.
While T'ang established himself as a calligrapher and as the ink practice remains central in his oeuvre, the artist also picks up his brush to draw natural compositions in watercolours.. Inspired by landscape, T'ang approaches his watercolour works with more freedom, translating our sensational world into art. The scroll (Lot 160) created in ink and watercolour is refreshing and elegant. The nuanced red petals have broken free from the confines of lines, and displayed a print-like dimension. T'ang allowed his brush and ink to linger on paper. The outlines in light ink build a sense of lightness. T'ang loved to sketch during his travels. The size of his creations is uniformly exquisite. The three untitled watercolours (Lot 157) are such an example, at 13 cm x 17 cm in average size. The silhouettes of the portrait and landscapes are bold and free, and connected by a vibrant palette.
As T'ang avoids any categorisation and maintains his artistic independence, contemporary French artists such as Henri Michaux (fig. 3) and Hans Hartung (fig. 4) found a new vehicle of expression in the ink medium and calligraphy. Both Parisian School artists relate to the same quest of drawing inspiration from the Eastern culture as a way of renewal. They both view the ink practice as an alternative expression, Hartung in his aesthetic research of abstraction and Michaux as a liberating equivalent to writing. Therefore all three artists transcend nationalities and time in their universal pursuit to overcome the human condition.
T'ang Haywen shows a masterful synthesis of abstraction, accelerating the development of 20th century Western Art (fig. 5). Tang's practice in painting is shaped by the spiritual elements of the Taoist approach, in which the artist seeks to capture the interplay of energies that give life to the natural world. His artistic discoveries in France gave the artist the right freedom to develop a unique style imbued with both Asian philosophy and Western art historical discourse, at a time when the Parisian artistic swarm seeks new inspiration in art outside its European borders.