In 1972, Zao’s thoughts were directed to China. It was his first return to his home country since his departure in 1948. There, he began employing Chinese media to interpret perspective techniques in western painting. He imitated the flow, blooming, and dripping that ink creates on cloth or paper, and the ink colors he used were varied— burnt, thick, heavy, light, or clear. He created the effect of form contained in the formless. The profound thoughts of Eastern culture touched him and inspired him, and this era became a turning point in Zao’s artistic, creative life. The change in this period also enriched Zao’s creations. In Chinese ink, he saw unlimited variations, a free and wide space, and the profound yet reserved concepts of Eastern philosophy. All of these in Zao’s paintings started in this period became freer and more at ease, expanding the emotions Zao wanted to express in the picture.

Gao Xingjian once commented on Zao, “He sought forms, but he did not fall for formalism. He was particular about color, and what the symphony of colors expressed was an artistic conception.” Since the Song dynasty, traditional Chinese painting abandoned the use of color. By contrast, since the Renaissance period, western paintings have utilized color and light, in ways to which Eastern paintings do not compare. Zao’s abstract oil paints integrated the characteristics of Chinese ink. He mostly used color to express the artistic conceptions of oriental philosophy, and he integrated the subtle charm of Chinese ink into oil painting.

A SYMPHONY WITH GORGEOUS COLORS

The gorgeous color tone spoke volumes about Zao’s mindset. Zao created the work Sans Titre in 1979. The colors are simple, light, and elegant, exhibiting tenderness beneath the strength. The bold yet intricate blooming techniques reveal that the painting was composed in a flow. The picture presents a sense of movement, and the special construction is distant and implicit, reflecting that Zao attempted to integrate a western setting with the eastern, distant, spatial sense. It can be observed from this piece that Zao gradually ceased to seek strong and magnificent brush strokes, as if being able to consume the mountains and the rivers. He gradually outgrew lines; instead, he utilized the flow, sway, staggering, and stacking of colors to demonstrate a harmonious picture and spatial movement. As if he understood the circle of life, he used his brushes to express his realization about living life to the fullest.

Taiwanese painter and writer Chu Ko once commented on the distinctive colors of Zao Wou-ki: Each of his works has a principal shade and the principal shade of each piece is never a primary color. Instead, similar colors are set off by contrast in different arrangements. Though the works are oil paintings, they are smeared with rich and interesting colors. Oil paints are tempered to form the neutral tone of watercolors – a feat which western artists find difficult to achieve. The implication of the colors reflects the three popular notions of Oriental watercolor philosophy; nevertheless,the rich tones cannot be attained by real watercolors. (Chu Ko, 'Truth of Nature', Album of Zao Wou-ki, edited by Yuan Dexing, catalogue of Prinkmaker Gallery exhibition, Yuancheng Publishing Co., Taipei, 1980)

Zao’s creations not only embody the essence behind Chinese and western cultures, but he also developed a spirit about the universe through his infusion of Eastern philosophy. The sceneries he painted underwent repeated thinking and patient precipitation before being transformed into paintings that reflect his profound experience and reflections on his attitude about life. Unlike in the past, when Zao avoided being restricted by Chinese traditional culture, Zao instead refamiliarized himself with Chinese ink in 1971, and this painting style gradually granted him a means of interpretation that was stable, easy, and undisturbed. This masterpiece created by Zao in the 1970s retains the usual flickering lines, but they are no longer mottled, rugged, or heavy, as in the past. This work integrated Chinese ink painting. The blank he left is wider, and the sky and the clouds reveal an implicit texture, foretelling the coming of his style of his next era.