HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery presents a selling exhibition titled The Odyssey of a Master : Chao Chung-hsiang from 28 February to 12 March, offering a retrospective of over 20 works dated between 1958 and 1991 by renowned modern Chinese artist, Chao Chung-hsiang (Zhao Chun-xiang; 1910 - 1991) who created a dynamic and lyrical visual impact by superimposing colourful concentric circles of acrylic paint on ink.

Angelika Li, Gallery Director, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, said, “Chao Chung-hsiang devoted his entire life to art. He boldly merged Western artistic concepts and techniques with traditional Chinese culture and philosophies, and developed his own ground-breaking and unique style. Having spent half of his life overseas, Chao’s nostalgia to his family and motherland is embodied in and expressed throughout his oevre, featuring his free-flowing brushstrokes which create birds of different sizes, hover of fishes, flourishing lotuses and bamboos and the blazing sun. His works also communicate the solitude and hardship he experienced as an overseas Chinese artist of his time.

“To celebrate the artistic contribution of this master, Sotheby’s will also present a series of opening events including a lecture titled The Free Spirit Journey : The Art of Chao Chung-hsiang and a live music performance. Our honourable guest speakers, Professor Zhou Jin and Professor Chan Pui, will discuss Chao’s art and his life while Hong Kong leading contemporary music composer Steve Hui will debut his new musical piece as a tribute to Chao. We are very grateful for the support and participation of the art communities in organising this exhibition, and we hope that this exhibition would help heighten the understanding and appreciation of the works by this remarkable Chinese artist.”

Originating from Henan, China, Chao Chung-hsiang (1910 - 1991) began studying painting under his father at the age of ten, and graduated from National Institute of Art, Hangzhou, in 1939 under the tutelage of renowned Chinese masters, Lin Fengmian and Pan Tianshou. Chao moved to Taiwan in 1948 and served as Associate Professor at the National Normal University and College of Politics and Combat in Taipei until 1955 when he received a scholarship from the Spanish Government and relocated to Madrid. The artist settled in New York in 1958 where he found stimuli and nourishment for his art yet he lived a lonely and solitary life. Despite having much international opportunities and exposure, Chao remained reclusive throughout his life. In 1989, he returned to his root, mostly active in Chengdu, Taiwan and Hong Kong, in pursuit of his origin. Chao passed away in Taiwan in 1991. His works have been exhibited in major museums around the world, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art and National Art Museum of China, Beijing.

HIGHLIGHTS
Nesting
Circa 1970
Ink & acrylic on paper mounted on canvas
90.2 x 61cm
With titles such as Protection, Never to Part, and Happiness, the birds and fish in Chao’s paintings represent human figures, which are observed to be a mirror of the artist’s own psychological state or, perhaps more specifically, thoughts of love for his estranged family. The criss-crossing branches illustrated in this painting, Nesting - a composition that the artist began painting in the 1970s - are not commonly seen in his repertoire. Its circular leaves are painted on thickly on paper, while the nest and the bird are painted on darkly as well. This wonderfully demonstrates Chao’s artistic choice of creating aesthetic works without thinning out colours, which he had expressed concern of appearing superficial.

Five Blessings II
Circa 1973
Ink & acrylic on paper mounted on canvas
178 x 95 cm
The abstract artist illustrates objects from reality in his own unique way. The concentric circles in the present Five Blessings II are Chao’s signature motif in his works for decades influenced by abstract expressionists during his time in Spain and New York, such as Miro, Robert Delauney, Kenneth Noland and Frank Stella. The subject matter itself, however, is certainly a reflection of Chinese tradition and culture as the five circles implicate five gold coins, which symbolise good fortune.

The Heavenly Glory
Circa 1980
Ink & acrylic on paper mounted on canvas
175 x 89 cm
Chao’s study of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism helped the artist establish his own interpretation of Abstraction long before the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the West – and this is illustrated in his work The Heavenly Glory. The artist often uses very visual motifs to represent these philosophical ideas, conveying clearly and poetically his own philosophy of life - “an unbiased, ‘middle-of-the-road’ outlook”.