Flowers
Wu Guanzhong
1992
- YEAR:1992
- MEDIUM:Oil on canvas
- DIMENSIONS:53 × 65 cm
Introduction
Wu Guanzhong, along with Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun, are collectively known as the “Three Musketeers Who Have Studied in France.” In 1992, Wu Guanzhong had already been internationally acclaimed. He was the first 20th-century Chinese artist to have a solo exhibition at the British Museum (1992); the first Chinese artist nominated as Medaille des Arts et Lettres (Art Academician of France) by the prestigious Academie des Beaux – Arts de l’ Institut de France (French Academy of Fine Arts) (2002). At that time, his exploration of abstract art had reached a profound level, with his formal expression becoming increasingly pure and refined. With rich and vibrant pigments, his Flowers interprets the aesthetic pursuit of “resemblance without literal likeness” in Chinese ink and wash paintings. The forms of flowers are presented by pure colour blocks, and the luxuriant branches are depicted with measured rhythm, while the background and flowerpot are omitted, enabling the image to transcend the physical world and release a vigorous, lifelike energy within abstraction.
