ZAO WOU-KI



CELEBRATING THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST


Zao Wou-ki with painting - Getty Image

Chinese – French Artist Zao Wou – ki was born in Beijing, China in 1921. Zao´s given name, "Wou – ki" (or "Wuji" in the standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization used in China), translates to "no boundaries." This perfectly encapsulates Zao Wou–ki as an artist, who was uniquely able to combine the cultures and aesthetic visions of France and China in his Fine art paintings, prints, etchings, and lithography.



Zao Wou-ki - Suite Beauregard - 1981 - Etching

Zao Wou – Ki went to school in Nantung, a small town north of Shanghai, where his father worked as a banker. Zao Wou–ki was considered a gifted pupil and he took great interest in literature and in Chinese and world history. Zao Wou – ki´s family was one of intellectuals who appreciated painting and fine art, and Wou–Ki would learn the traditional Chinese art of calligraphy from his grandfather.
From the age of ten Zao Wou–ki created drawings and paintings constantly. In 1935, at the age of fourteen, Zao Wou–Ki was admitted to the School of Fine Arts at Hangzhou, China. There Zao Wou – ki studied life drawing, oil painting, and also received instruction in the theories of calligraphy and western perspective. Despite the traditional teachings in accuracy and realism, Zao Wuji sought to capture the broad outlines and essence in his artwork compositions.

Zao Wou–Ki was appointed lecturer at the School of Fine Arts and in 1941 held his first art exhibition. According to Wou–Ki "To tell the truth, the [Paintings] I showed were strongly influenced by Matisse and Picasso. My harlequins recalled the ‘Blue Period´, my statue women the ‘Greek Period´." Indeed it was in the artworks of Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso that Zao Wou–Ki would find the vision he considered closest to nature. Inspired by his collection of postcards of reproduced French paintings and full page illustrations of Renoir, Modigliani, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso artworks in American magazines, Zao Wou–ki developed his artistic approach.

 In 1947, the twenty–seven year old Zao Wou–Ki decided to leave China for Paris. Zao Wou–ki and his wife, Lan–Lan, sailed from Shanghai in early 1948 and after a voyage of 36 days, arrived in Paris, France where Zao Wou–Ki spent his first afternoon at the Louvre Art Museum. Zao Wou – ki settled in a studio near that of Alberto Giacometti; took French lessons; and visited and saw everything he could in Paris. The city inspired him and Zao Wou–ki easily frequented a circle of international artists, writers and intellectuals. While in Paris, Zao Wou–ki acquainted himself with European Lyrical Abstraction, a movement of postwar French artists pursuing free–form abstract expression through painting.

In 1949, Zao Wou–ki began making art prints after learning the technique of lithography at the Atelier Desjobert. The lithograph medium delighted Zao Wou – ki ––"The idea of throwing color on a large white stone, like on China paper, pleased me…," and Zao Wou–ki´s print experiments became lithographic masterpieces. In 1950 Zao Wou–ki published his prints accompanied by poems from celebrated poet Henri Michaux in 1950.

Zao Wou-ki - Flore et Faune - 1951 - Etching

Zao Wou–ki´s collaboration with Henri Michaux pushed him to review his Indian ink techniques and his roots in Chinese traditional drawing. Upon discovering Paul Klee´s paintings in 1951, Zao Wou–ki began to incorporate ideograms into his paintings, drawings, and prints. Zao Wuji still painted figurative elements, however, before he definitively committed to an Abstract painting aesthetic in 1953, inspired by archaic Chinese characters. Zao Wou–Ki had unknowingly come full circle back to traditional Chinese calligraphy – carefully drawing out each character with great passion and emotion.

Zao Wou-ki - Éloge des choses extrêmement légères - 1993 - Etching

Zao Wou–Ki travelled extensively in the 1950–1960s discovering and exhibiting in Italy, Spain, the United States, Japan, Greece, Switzerland and England. In 1950 Zao participated for the first time in the Salon de Mai, at which he was to exhibit regularly every year after that. Zao Wou–ki´s would befriended artists such as Rufino Tamayo and Joan Miro, as well as, architect I.M. Pei. In 1993 he was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor by the President of France and the following year was awarded the Premium Imperial Award of Painting in Japan.

Zao Wou-ki - Village en fête - Oil on canvas - 1954

Zao Wou – ki was regarded as one of foremost Chinese Contemporary painters of the 20th century.By the end of his life Zao Wou–ki had stopped producing new artworks due to health problems. He died on April 9th, 2013 at his home in Switzerland.

"How to represent the wind? How to paint emptiness? And the light, its brightness, its purity? I did not want to reproduce but to juxtapose forms, to assemble them in order to find in them the whispering wind over still water." ~ Zao Wou–ki

Select Museum Collections:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
Guggenheim Museum, NYC
Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris
Musee des Beaux–Arts, Montreal
Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico
National Institute of Fine Arts, Beijing
Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona

Speedy Graphito - Technical Temptation

Speedy Graphito, City Love, Painting on Canvas

Street Art pioneer Speedy Graphito was born in Paris in 1961. Speedy Graphito began his art career in the 1980´s on the streets of Paris, creating dynamic paintings and street murals using spray paint and stencils.




Speedy Graphito, Toxic Game,
Screenprint Unique on Paper

Originally a graphic designer and art director, Speedy Graphito quickly established a distinct urban art style that incorporates schematic and charasmatic characters, cartoons and manga alongside contemporary commercial brands, logos, and iconic pop culture imagery. Speedy Graphito´s art is inspired by the virtual and physical urbanscape, but predominantly the barrage of advertising that dominates today´s consumer culture. Street Artist Speedy Graphito has become recognized and revered for his satirical exploration of commercialism, often turning a critical eye on our society through his pop graffiti art.

Speedy Graphito, Temptation,
Screenprint on Paper

Particularly influenced by the iconography of Disney characters and video games, street artist Speedy Graphito often turns a critical eye on our society, as his artworks feed off the collective memory of iconic imagery to create a new universal language. As an example, Speedy Graphito´s "Temptation 2011" features Disney´s Snow White enamored with the half–eaten logo of Macintosh Apple, creating a shrewd and satirical criticism of consumer seduction.

An astute representation of social communication in the internet era, Speedy Graphito's "Snow White" screenprint mirrors our media and technology dominant social intercourse. Our new social experience is saturated by both text and pictoral messages, echoing the layers of an inundated graffiti wall. The seduction is explicated beyond Snow White and the Apple Logo, but further distinguishes our mass enchantment with a technological world at our finger-tips - just a click away from satisfaction.  

Speedy Graphito, Money, Painting on Canvas

Speedy Graphito´s paintings, prints, and street art murals can be found worldwide. Already recognized in the international arena, Speedy Graphito´s Art is well known in France, England, USA, Belgium, India, Japan, Brazil, and Dubai, as well as major auction houses. Speedy Graphito has recently participated in a number of solo art exhibitions in Los Angeles Art Galleries, as well as exhibiting at the 2011 Miami Art Basel.

Denis Bloch Fine Art is pleased to offer original paintings, drawings, limited edition screenprints, and unique prints by Street Artist Speedy Graphito.

Mr. Brainwash Biography

Mr. Brainwash ("MBW") is the pseudonym for the graffiti street artist Thierry Guetta.

Mr. Brainwash was born in France in 1966, and has become one of American's most popular 'street art' artists. Originally a videographer, Mr. Brainwash began his career in 1999 documenting the lives and artwork of various graffiti street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey. Mr. Brainwash has collected hours of footage often risking his own neck following graffiti artists creating their street art.  

Shortly after his initial introduction to Banksy, Mr. Brainwash made the decision to transition from art lover to artist as depicted in the film “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. Mr. Brainwash soon graduated from a few hand drawn stickers to making giant sized paste-ups, and his iconic pop graffiti art is now seen on the streets and art galleries of New York and Los Angeles.

The film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” as well as Mr. Brainwash and his relationship with the street artist Banksy is shroud in great controversy and mystery. There has been debate over whether the documentary is genuine or a mockumentary, although Banksy answers "Yes" when asked if the film is real.

Mr. Brainwash - Tomato Spray

Mr. Brainwash's uniformly subversive style fuses historic pop imagery and contemporary cultural iconography to create his own pop art - graffiti hybrid. The development of this style has catapulted Brainwash to international stardom. Mr. Brainwash's first solo show 'Life is Beautiful' was held in Los Angeles in June 2008, showing over 100 artworks. In addition to Mr. Brainwash’s widely recognized iconic art images, Life is Beautiful featured larger than life art installations which included a 20-foot robot made of old televisions, and a life-size recreation of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and a pyramid made from 20,000 books. Originally scheduled to open for only two weeks, the art exhibit was extended for three months, attracting more than 30,000 visitors.

Mr. Brainwash's graffiti -styled art has continued to garner recognition from art collectors and street art enthusiasts alike. In 2009, Mr. Brainwash collaborated with Madonna on her Greatest Hits album, creating the cover art for Celebration.

Mr. Brainwash - Love is the Answer

In 2010, Mr. Brainwash opened his second art exhibition ICONS in New York City. The show featured Mr. Brainwash’s paintings and silkscreens of world icons such as Madonna, Charlie Chaplin, and Albert Einstein, as well as portraits of music legends constructed of broken records and large-scale sculptural installations such as a giant boom box and a NYC cab in a life-sized Matchbox packaging. The sold-out art exhibition was extended until early May 2010. Not only were major art collectors acquiring Mr. Brainwash's paintings and prints but also prestigious auction houses. In the Fall of 2010 Mr. Brainwash made two significant auction sales for his unique paintings. The smaller of the two pieces featured a portraiture style depiction of model Kate Moss selling for $67,000. The larger piece continued Brainwash's fascination with Albert Einstein and featured the historic physicist in a front of a graffiti adorned wall holding a sign reading “Love is the Answer”. The work sold for well above the pre-auction estimates for $120,000.

Mr. Brainwash currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Note:

An interesting note on Mr. Brainwash’s unique signature and authentication – Mr. Brainwash has a series of additions to his signature to help further authenticate his original artworks. On the back of every unique piece he stamps his thumb print and adds a numbered code from a dollar bill. The bill is then cut in two, one half is given to the owner of the piece and the other is kept at Mr. Brainwash’s estate for future authentication. Any unique piece sold by Denis Bloch Fine Art will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity as well as the dollar bill.

Sam Francis – Space and Color

Sam Francis - Trietto II - Aquatint Print

“Painting is about the beauty of space and the power of containment.” – Sam Francis


Sam Francis with Wallse Ting in studio

American Abstract Artist Sam Francis was late to start his successful and brilliant career as a painter and printmaker. While serving as a pilot in the United States Air Force during WWII, Sam Francis suffered an injury that hospitalized him for several years. While recovering, Sam Francis began to paint over the side of his hospital bed to escape the mundane routine of the hospital as well as the pains of his aching body. Developing a love for art and finding an artistic voice was healing for Sam Francis, and the art created in this time had an astonishing remedial effect on Sam Francis’ mental and emotional state.

Sam Francis - Untitled SF345
Lithograph

Sam Francis’ experience as a pilot had a unique bearing on his paintings and prints, which often utilized aerial perspectives to communicate the silence of the skies. Sam Francis’ aerial approach to the canvas became paramount to his methodology as a painter, as well as a signature style for Sam Francis.

During the late 1940s, Sam Francis began producing and exhibiting his earliest abstract artworks. Francis was initially influenced by the work of the Abstract Expressionists, like Mark Rothko and Arshile Gorky, and Sam Francis incorporated many of their techniques and ideas in his art. Despite this influence, Sam Francis’ art was also in close dialogue with modern and contemporary French art. His references ranged from the Water Lilies of Claude Monet, which inspired many of Sam Francis ideas about atmosphere and space, to Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse, whose conceptions of pure color were particularly resonant with Francis.

Sam Francis - Pasadena Box (Plate 8)
Lithograph Print

While traveling to Japan during the 1950’s, Sam Francis became interested in Japanese calligraphy and art, particularly the Japanese use of negative space. Sam Francis was acutely aware of the dialogue between color and space on the canvas. In many of Sam Francis’ prints and paintings from the 1960’s the brushwork is relegated to the outer edges, leaving vast empty spaces in the center of each art piece. The negative space, or silence within Sam Francis’ art is as meaningful as Francis’ fluid brushwork of radiant color.

“Color is a kind of holy substance for me,” Francis said. “It’s the element in painting which I am most fascinated with. It is an element of painting which overcomes me. . . . Color in a way is a receptacle for a feeling and a way for you to hold it until understanding arrives or meaning is extracted.” Sam Francis’ artwork further investigated perceptions of light and color by contrasting glowing jewel tones with large areas of white. White in Sam Francis’ art does not function simply as a ground against which he applies color. Rather, the white areas are dynamically engaged in active communication with the colors. For Francis each color had a symbolic value: white corresponded to the infinite, blue to the cosmos and water, and yellow to the sun.

Sam Francis - Untitled - Monotype

Considered one of the premier colorists of the twentieth century, Sam Francis is best known for dramatic, lushly painted works comprised of vivid pools of color, thinly applied. Sam Francis has also been compared to Color Field artists on the basis of large, fluid sections of paint that seem to extend beyond the confines of the pictorial surface. Sam Francis’ art is a dynamic and sophisticated juxtaposition between color and space, a luminous conversation played out in strokes of lush color.

Visit our website for more available prints by Sam Francis.

A smARTer Investment

Jeff Koons, Cracked Egg (Red), 2008

If you’d added a few fine artworks to your portfolio over the last few years, instead of all those bank stocks, your retirement nest egg might be looking a little different right now.

Let’s face it, the stock market rollercoaster, particularly in the last month has left the average investor nauseous and contemplating getting off the ride all together (if not already). In many cases the market volatility has driven investors to alternative investment markets like gold and Fine Art.

Fine Art has been an attractive investment for centuries and is becoming increasingly recognized as it has outperformed more conservative investments over the last few decades. It is an alternative investment earning capital gains rather than a dividend.

Indeed, for the last ten years, the price index of all Fine Art works sold more than once worldwide has produced a nearly 11% annualized return, outperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of large cap stocks and most other asset classes, including bonds and commodities.

Marc Chagall, Multiflore, 1974

Fine Art, including paintings, sculpture, original prints and photography is a very interesting long-term asset class. Indeed, investment-grade art enjoys a low correlation with other asset classes, including stocks and bonds, strengthening its case as a candidate for portfolio diversification. And some maintain they can act as an inflation hedge, since “real assets” (like gold) tend to rise in value while the value of money falls.
Since the end of World War II the value of Fine Art works has appreciated enormously. Quality works of art have proved to be a remarkable store of value. This is predominantly due to increasing rarity caused by an expanding demand from museums and collectors, and dwindling supplies.

Before you even think about putting down money, however, it’s important to educate yourself on the forces affecting the art market overall. The best advice is to talk to seasoned collectors and professionals in the industry. Go to the galleries and ask questions. Get involved with the museum and befriend the curator. An educated consumer is going to be best equipped to maneuver in this marketplace.

If, as it is more likely the case, you want to invest your money in something that you also like the look of,
(which I recommend!), make sure that your heart doesn’t rule your head and you buy something that looks pretty but is unlikely to ever accrue in value or worse yet decrease.

On that note, beware of galleries and dealers promoting artists with niche bubble markets. There is a reason we have not seen some very “popular” commercial artists in any major Contemporary Museums – the following of these types of artists is purely promotional, and their value is backed by the people marketing them, not by an actual global market. Over time these types of mega-marketed commercial artists will fall victim to the tastes of the market and will be virtually worthless.

Jim Dine, Fortress of the Heart, 1981-82

It is important to note that the high end of the market is not at the mercy of public taste. The art market has its blue-chip investments (museum artists) and these quality investments will bring a reliable return. Of course, the entry point can be higher. Artwork that emanates from more mature markets, such as Museum Class Master Paintings, can cost anywhere from $10,000 to many millions depending on the artist.



Picasso Linocuts featured at the MOMA 2009

The alternative is the investment in Museum Class Master Graphics or Original Prints with an entry point in the $1,000 level. Of course even great Prints are now expensive, but I’d recommend those! The best ones generally increase in value the most. From a return on investment standpoint, it’s also good advice to buy the best piece you can afford. The market has become much more selective, with an emphasis on quality.