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Lot Essay
As a painter, lithographer and poet, Walasse Ting has captivated viewers with the lighthearted mood of his works; most of all were tinged with playfulness. His paintings on rice paper are delicate and ornate; using bright colours was his signature style. In Garden (Lot 284), the work renders with detail and repetitive patterns. In Blue-Eye Cat Behind the Curtains (Lot 279),flowers radiate outwards across the large surface of the painting, creating a striking wallpaper of electric blue, yellow and green. Ting's use of figuration stemmed from a compulsion to express the feelings inspired in him by objects of beauty. He said: 'When I see a beautiful woman [and] I see flowers, its beauty makes me feel intangible, melancholy, love, refreshed, different, and reborn. I want to use different colours to express my inner feelings and emotions in my paintings.'
In Lady with a Double-Rooster Fan (Lot 280), Ting's rich use of colour split the image into several spaces, the blue of figure's hair seems to separate the space of the figure from the space of the plant. The 'shy' woman coyly conceals her face with an ornate fan, echo the woman's mixed emotions and express a delicate sensuality. In Untitled (Lot 282), three female figures cast their gaze on a plant-like bouquet of colours at the centre of the image, dividing the image in two.
The cropped perspective in Village in the Mountains (Lot 378) creates an added sense of tranquility, which leads the viewer into a clam and balance world. The relative austerity of this image is a rare and moving occurrence in his ink and colour works.
Ting's ink paintings sing in praise of its subtle beauty. In Instead of adapting the traditional idea of 'the void' in Chinese painting, he utilized the entire surface of paper in both Untitled (Lot 379) Two Warriors on Horses (Lot 380), demonstrating a new style emerged through the fusion of compositional styles from the East and the West.
Executed in the early 1970s, the canvas of Untitled (Lot 380) is completely covered with solid black with various colours of acrylic paint dancing freely. Two groups of red dots are set on the left and right panel. Each with a tilt of 45 degrees, they echo one another in a lively and exuberant manner. This particular lot was exhibited alongside works of Sam Francis and Joan Mitchell. Walasse Ting even signed 'Joan love ting 72' on the lower right of the artwork, giving it a personal and memorable meaning.
In Lady with a Double-Rooster Fan (Lot 280), Ting's rich use of colour split the image into several spaces, the blue of figure's hair seems to separate the space of the figure from the space of the plant. The 'shy' woman coyly conceals her face with an ornate fan, echo the woman's mixed emotions and express a delicate sensuality. In Untitled (Lot 282), three female figures cast their gaze on a plant-like bouquet of colours at the centre of the image, dividing the image in two.
The cropped perspective in Village in the Mountains (Lot 378) creates an added sense of tranquility, which leads the viewer into a clam and balance world. The relative austerity of this image is a rare and moving occurrence in his ink and colour works.
Ting's ink paintings sing in praise of its subtle beauty. In Instead of adapting the traditional idea of 'the void' in Chinese painting, he utilized the entire surface of paper in both Untitled (Lot 379) Two Warriors on Horses (Lot 380), demonstrating a new style emerged through the fusion of compositional styles from the East and the West.
Executed in the early 1970s, the canvas of Untitled (Lot 380) is completely covered with solid black with various colours of acrylic paint dancing freely. Two groups of red dots are set on the left and right panel. Each with a tilt of 45 degrees, they echo one another in a lively and exuberant manner. This particular lot was exhibited alongside works of Sam Francis and Joan Mitchell. Walasse Ting even signed 'Joan love ting 72' on the lower right of the artwork, giving it a personal and memorable meaning.