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Lot Essay
Ting was introduced to abstract expressionism when he moved from Paris to New York in the late 1950s and became closely associated with artists such as Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell. Influences of American action painting, arte informale, and the European avant-garde CoBrA Group can be seen in Untitled (Lot 132) painted in 1956. The explosive composition and colours seem to imply a De Kooning-esque deconstructed human figure, giving us a glimpse into Ting's early fascination with the human body. I go to Moon (Lot 202), painted in 1959, utilizes the form of the phallus as the theme of his abstraction.
With its solemn black forms, the work conjures up the works of the American Abstract Expressionist painter Franz Kline. The immense black brushstrokes are entities in themselves, full of energy and action. In Spring in My Mouth (Lot 203), a profusion of blues, greens and white burst forth, filling the canvas with a fountain of spring colour. The spontaneity of action, with its frenzy of drips and dabbles of paint, evokes the immediacy and emotions of Jackson Pollock's drip paintings. The bright colours and drip technique used in this painting became a signature style of Ting's, which he would continue to use in the backgrounds of his figurative paintings.
In A Swarm of Roses (Lot 199), splashes of rainbow colour adorn the right side of the canvas. With a drizzling green arc ricocheting across the canvas, the painting's concentrated dynamism is so palpable that the colours literally seem to swarm with kinetic energy.
Subsuming figural imagery into his personal language of expression, Ting frequently depicted cats, flowers and birds in his paintings. In Happy Wedding Day (Lot 200) two demure cats are suspended among a confetti-like dripping of colours. The sunny colours and cat motif evoke a jovial, playful tone. In Untitled (Lot 198), a yellow horse is accompanied by two female figures, each carrying a parrot. With a simplicity of lines and characteristically whimsical colouring, Ting incorporates ink wash with acrylic to create a painting that articulates a sense of control and delicateness.
With its solemn black forms, the work conjures up the works of the American Abstract Expressionist painter Franz Kline. The immense black brushstrokes are entities in themselves, full of energy and action. In Spring in My Mouth (Lot 203), a profusion of blues, greens and white burst forth, filling the canvas with a fountain of spring colour. The spontaneity of action, with its frenzy of drips and dabbles of paint, evokes the immediacy and emotions of Jackson Pollock's drip paintings. The bright colours and drip technique used in this painting became a signature style of Ting's, which he would continue to use in the backgrounds of his figurative paintings.
In A Swarm of Roses (Lot 199), splashes of rainbow colour adorn the right side of the canvas. With a drizzling green arc ricocheting across the canvas, the painting's concentrated dynamism is so palpable that the colours literally seem to swarm with kinetic energy.
Subsuming figural imagery into his personal language of expression, Ting frequently depicted cats, flowers and birds in his paintings. In Happy Wedding Day (Lot 200) two demure cats are suspended among a confetti-like dripping of colours. The sunny colours and cat motif evoke a jovial, playful tone. In Untitled (Lot 198), a yellow horse is accompanied by two female figures, each carrying a parrot. With a simplicity of lines and characteristically whimsical colouring, Ting incorporates ink wash with acrylic to create a painting that articulates a sense of control and delicateness.