Lot 652
Kiosk on a Cliff
ZHOU CHENG (Taiwanese, 1941)
1985
Ink and colour on paper, framed
81 x 157.5 cm
Estimate
TWD 480,000-700,000
HKD 128,000-186,000
USD 16,400-24,000
CNY 113,000-165,000
Sold Price
TWD 552,000
HKD 150,000
USD 19,368
CNY 126,316
Signature
Signed Zhou Cheng in Chinese
With three seals of the artist
With three seals of the artist
+ OVERVIEW
Zhou Cheng was born in Yilan, which is surrounded by hills and the sea. He has a profound admiration towards Nature, as he mentioned, "the emotions of landscape stemmed from a close interaction with humans. The more the interaction, the closer the bond." As an avid traveller-artist, his goal is to portray the beauty of landscape as a tribute to Nature. His landscape paintings show vast mountain ranges, boundless seas, deep gorges through the manipulation of the wrist, the brush, ink and colour. His paintings demonstrate the essence of landscape, and this makes his works unique. This painting features a choppy sea shore through a flat and wide composition. A lonely cliff stands at the center, sheltering a cottage and the lush bamboo grove. A poem was added on the top describing a picturesque scene of the choppy sea from the kiosk on top of the cliff. White waves are daunting and fierce.Restless seas have always been used to describe the work life of court officials. Lu You of Song dynasty once mocked at his retirement that he had been fighting against the choppy sea as a court official. Returning to this painting by Zhou Cheng, the scene at the kiosk is intriguing, yet one could only experience this from afar. Under the shelter of the cliff, two scholars reunite in a cottage facing a bamboo grove. This hints a merry time away from the suffering of the outside world, while the bamboo echoes with the lines of the poem of standing against the outside world. Through the depiction of the sea, the cliff, bamboo and scholars, the artist reinstates his wish for a pure friendship and a humble life, away from worldly pleasures.
Related Info
Refined Brushwork: Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art
Ravenel Autumn Auction 2020
Saturday, December 5, 2020, 2:00pm