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Lot Essay
Born into a literary family in Beijing, Tseng Yuho studied painting under grandmaster Pu Xuezhai from a young age. Michael Sullivan said of her in his book "Art and Artists of Twentity-Century China" that her works "combine the ancient and modern, East and West, and are the expression of the ancient masters' core qualities in contemporary vocabulary."
In the 1950s, Tseng who had moved to Hawaii took her strong foundation in calligraphy and painting skills to create the unprecedented 'dsui hua' (embellished painting) style, adding aluminium foils onto handmade rice paper to create boundaries between the paper and the foil, then painting onto it with ink and watercolour. As she said, "although I had left China, Chinese culture has never left me." Pali Look-out, Honolulu (Lot 432) is an example of this style, with the canvas divided into blocks of varying sizes, and used to create contrast between the foreground and distant mountains. The Pali Look-out is located in Hawaii's Oahu island, and during the archipelago's unification wars in the 18th century, soldiers who defended the island lost the battle and leapt into the sea from there. Under her brush, the lookout embellished with golden foils shine with a holy light and soothe the many brave souls who gave their lives fighting for their homeland. Because of the different ways in which the foils had been applied, each painting produced with the 'dsui hua' style has its own unique aesthetic. This creative technique which fuses together Chinese and Western techniques represent a breakthrough of cultural barriers, opening new possibilities for painters and providing viewers with a multi-faceted viewing experience. These lively and dynamic paintings make Tseng one of the most outstanding female artists in the 20th century.
In the 1950s, Tseng who had moved to Hawaii took her strong foundation in calligraphy and painting skills to create the unprecedented 'dsui hua' (embellished painting) style, adding aluminium foils onto handmade rice paper to create boundaries between the paper and the foil, then painting onto it with ink and watercolour. As she said, "although I had left China, Chinese culture has never left me." Pali Look-out, Honolulu (Lot 432) is an example of this style, with the canvas divided into blocks of varying sizes, and used to create contrast between the foreground and distant mountains. The Pali Look-out is located in Hawaii's Oahu island, and during the archipelago's unification wars in the 18th century, soldiers who defended the island lost the battle and leapt into the sea from there. Under her brush, the lookout embellished with golden foils shine with a holy light and soothe the many brave souls who gave their lives fighting for their homeland. Because of the different ways in which the foils had been applied, each painting produced with the 'dsui hua' style has its own unique aesthetic. This creative technique which fuses together Chinese and Western techniques represent a breakthrough of cultural barriers, opening new possibilities for painters and providing viewers with a multi-faceted viewing experience. These lively and dynamic paintings make Tseng one of the most outstanding female artists in the 20th century.