Lot  028 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2023

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2023

Sun Kehong (Detail) - Van Gogh NPM

ZHANG Hongtu (Chinese-American, 1943)

2003

Oil on canvas

92 x 122.5 cm

Estimate

TWD 950,000-1,400,000

HKD 232,000-341,000

USD 29,700-43,800

CNY 217,000-320,000

Sold Price

TWD 1,440,000

HKD 357,320

USD 45,758

CNY 327,273


Signature

Signed reverse Zhang Hongtu and dated 2003

PROVENANCE
Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei

EXHIBITED
Dialogue with the Taipei Palace Museum: Zhang Hongtu Solo Exhibition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei, February 7–29, 2004

ILLUSTRATED
Dialogue with the Taipei Palace Museum: Zhang Hongtu Solo Exhibition, Lin & Keng Gallery Inc., Taipei, 2004, color illustrated, cover, inside cover and pp. 22-23

+ OVERVIEW

Zhang Hongtu's distinctive style of painting involves the use of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist techniques within the traditional Chinese landscape painting. He combines Western painting methods while retaining the traditional Chinese landscape painting's composition and its expansive perspective skillfully.

His artworks reflect the feelings of a foreigner, and the themes of his creations often play with the dichotomy of "East versus West," "refinement versus populism," and "idols versus ordinary people." He emulates the brushwork of Cézanne and Van Gogh in his renditions of Chinese landscapes, consistently presenting Zhang Hongtu's subversive attitude towards the world.

Lot 028 " Sun Kehong (Detail) - Van Gogh NPM'' captures the intense dynamism of Van Gogh's short, straight brush strokes in Sun Kehong's elegant and refined "Delectations for leisure hours-Yueshang (Rising moon)" It served as the cover artwork for the 2004 Lin & Lin Gallery catalog "Dialogue with the Taipei Palace Museum: Zhang Hongtu Solo Exhibition." A small-scale sketch of this work is already in the collection of the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, highlighting its significance.

Zhang Hongtu, who received education in both Eastern and Western art, believes that the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures has become a phenomenon. He sees his art as "based on Chinese painting, using new techniques to create his own blend of East and West." His paintings boldly break away from the traditional aesthetics of both Eastern and Western art and offer viewers a fresh and objective perspective, providing a completely new visual experience.

Zhang Hongtu has held solo exhibitions in the United States, Taiwan, and other places. He has received awards such as the 1991-1992 Pollock Prize in New York and the 1995-1996 National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Award in the United States. His works are included in the collections of institutions like the National Art Museum in Beijing, Guangdong Museum of Art, Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York, Princeton University Art Museum, the Peter Norton Family Foundation in New York, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and Saatchi Gallery in London.
Related Info

Select: Modern & Contemporary Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2023

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 4:00pm