CHEN QIKUAN (CHEN CHI-KWAN, 1921-2007)
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED NEW YORK COLLECTION (LOTS 1025-1028)
CHEN QIKUAN (CHEN CHI-KWAN, 1921-2007)

Noon

Details
CHEN QIKUAN (CHEN CHI-KWAN, 1921-2007)
Noon
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
45 x 44.8 cm. (17 ¾ x 17 5/8 in.)
Entitled and signed, with one seal of the artist
Dated 1969
Titleslip inscribed by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, with one seal
Provenance
Previously collected by The Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings, 19 May 1988, Lot 93.
Literature
Chen Chi Kwan Paintings 1940-1980, Art Book Company, Taipei, 1981, p. 99, pl. 90.
Han Mo: Special Study on Chen Chi-Kwan, Han Mo Xuan Publishing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, September 1991, pp. 104-105.
Chen Chi-Kwan Retrospective (Exhibition Catalogue), Taipei Fine Arts Museum, September 1991, p. 116, pl. 37.
Masters of Chinese Painting Vol. 64: Chen Chi Kwan, JinXiu Publishing Ltd., Taipei, 18 November 1995, p. 18.
Chen Chi-Kwan: Architecture and Paintings, National Museum of History, Taipei, December 2008, p. 95.
Exhibited
Taipei, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Chen Chi-Kwan Retrospective, 28 September-1 December 1991.
Further details
A New Perspective – the 100th Anniversary of Chen Qikuan’s Birth
Between 1948 and 1960, architect Chen Qikuan made his debut in the North American art circle with several solo exhibitions held in the US. His paintings from this period (Lot no. 1021 and 1022) recount his past and express the nostalgia towards his hometown.
At the invitation of renowned architect I. M. Pei, Chen co-designed the campus of Tunghai University in Taiwan in 1954 and subsequently moved there to become its Director of School of Architecture in 1960. While in Taiwan, Chen used his paintings to explore the relationship between humanity and the universe, a quest aligned with the philosophical pursuit of the literati. Through the objective perspective of his architectural training, Chen transformed his vision by re-shaping and regrouping his subject in a small and often narrow composition. By using the technique of Batik, ink rubbing and ink dripping, Chen departed from the traditional three-point perspective of Chinese paintings and designed his signature style of landscape.
By employing the architectural perception of time, space and perspective, Chen combined his inspiration from Western art to express the literati spirit under brand new and colourful expressions. Christie’s is honoured to present these Chen Qikuan paintings to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Sale room notice
Please note the additional literature:
LITERATURE:
Chen Chi-Kwan: Architecture and Paintings, National Museum of History, Taipei, December 2008, p. 95.
請注意以下新加出版:
出版:《陳其寬—構築意繪》,國立歷史博物館,臺北,2008年12月,第95頁。

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