Lot 273: WU DAYU

WU DAYU 1903-1988 UNTITLED NO. 7 Oil on canvas mounted on paper 51.5 by 38 cm.; 20 1/4 by 15 in.

Taipei, Wu Dayu Solo Exhibition, Lin and Keng Gallery, October -November, 2005

Wu Dayu, Taipei, 2006, Lin and Keng Gallery, p. 117

Private Asian Collection

Of the important artists that graduated from the Hangzhou Academy of Art such as Zao Wou-ki, Chu The-Chun, Wu Guanzhong and Chao Chung-hsiang, when recalling the influential and inspirational teachers of their artistic career, they all refer to Wu Dayu. No matter how difficult Wu Dayu's circumstances were, he worked tirelessly throughout his life. In the 1960s he produced 530 pastel drawings and between 1970 and 1988, in the years before he fell ill and died, he created three series' of oil paintings, Rhymes of Beijing Opera, Still Life, and Untitled. The work in this sale, Untitled No. 7, is an exceptional work from the third series. Prussian-blue, feather-black and earth-yellow collide and combine on the canvas in unique shades; the contrasting colors lend a sense of space to the work as the colors push through the layers. A light use of red adds the crowning touch to this work as it repeatedly moves through the canvas, enriching each layer of color. The artist's concept of beauty, as seen in this work, was written about by the artist in a letter, Discussing Art, to Wu Guangzhong in which he says:

"The beauty of shape, and the purity of this beauty, like the moon, holds a strongly felt yet unseen form... like music in front of your eyes, undulating soundlessly this beauty resembles the beautiful movement of a dance, although the painting is still."[1]

Untitled No. 7 is in no way a realistic work, however, the artist's sense of nature and consciousness of the world around him shows through. In the still plane of the canvas the artist transmits his rich imagination and sense of imagery, like a momentary portrayal of true life.


[1] Paint Talk: Wu Dayu, Lin and Keng Gallery, Taipei, 2006, p.19