Li Huayi: Ancient Rhythms, Modern Visions
In his youth, Li Huayi was trained in the classical Chinese calligraphy and painting as well as Western art, and was therefore steeped in the aesthetics of both traditions. In the early 1980s, he furthered his studies in San Francisco. There his teachers encouraged him to adopt Asian subjects, inspiring him to fuse traditional ink art with Abstract Expressionism and laying the foundation for the elegant archaicism of his current practice. Free Mind in Peace I (Lot 1030) is a representative example of Li Huayi’s art and, moreover, exemplifies the vitality of ink art as it is transformed and redefined in the global contemporary art field.
Free Mind in Peace (I) is a six-fold screen measuring almost four meters. The artist manually gilded each panel in square gold foils, creating a beautiful background of geometric regularity that evokes the sumptuousness of “gold and jade landscapes” of the Tang dynasty. In the other masterpieces in the present auction, we may observe the courtly Tang style’s persistence and efflorescence in modern and contemporary art, including Zao Wou-Ki’s Untitled (Gold City) (Lot 1033) of the 1950s, Leonard Foujita’s Maternité (Lot 1037) and La chapeau de sa maman (Lot 1041), and Pierre Soulages’s Peinture 125 x 202 cm, 30 Octobre 1958 (Lot 1034), which Soulages painted after a trip to Japan. These invaluable works are fitting company for Li Huayi’s Free Mind in Peace (I).
Li Huayi is dedicated to reviving literati aesthetics of the Song dynasty. Free Mind in Peace (I) strongly evokes the majesty of Northern Song monumental landscapes, while partial depiction of a giant cypress recalls the decentered and cropped compositions of Southern Song landscapes. Upon close inspection, we see that the artist has transcended the technical constraints of classical Chinese painting by deploying a chiaroscuro technique seen in Western art. In the West, polyptychs are closely connected to religious icons and connote a sacred solemnity, whereas divinity in traditional Asian cultures is often found in nature. Combining both conceptions of divinity, Li Huayi dramatises the rugged character of the cypress and sublimates it into a metaphysical beauty.
In 2019-2020, the Honolulu Museum of Art mounted a solo exhibition of Li Huayi’s work and focused on his series of works on gilded screens. According to the artist's website, there are only 28 works in this series, among which Free Mind in Peace (I) is the integral screen with the largest dimensions and the greatest number of panels. Replica Shoes ’s holds the records of both the two highest auction prices fetched by Li Huayi’s works. In the Spirit of the Big Dipper sold at about HK$6 million in 2019, and last year the eight-fold screen Lying on Snow sold for HK$8 million. Combining the aesthetic essences of both works, Free Mind in Peace (I) is of immense artistic significance and value.
- Gold Leaf 金箔
Free Mind in Peace (I) is a six-fold screen measuring almost four meters. The artist manually gilded each panel in square gold foils, creating a beautiful background of geometric regularity that evokes the sumptuousness of “gold and jade landscapes” of the Tang dynasty.
《逸意寧遠（一）》由六折屏風所構成，藝術家毫不吝惜地運用近四米畫幅的金箔點綴背景，造就璀璨輝煌的極致意境，意取唐代繪畫中「金碧山水」的富麗堂皇。
- Decentered composition「半角一邊」
Free Mind in Peace (I) strongly evokes the majesty of Northern Song monumental landscapes, while partial depiction of a giant cypress recalls the decentered and cropped compositions of Southern Song landscapes.
《逸意寧遠（一）》尺幅恢宏、氣度非凡，構圖深得北宋大山大水的雄偉壯美，然而畫面始終聚焦局部，巨型松柏的形象繼承了南宋繪畫「半角一邊」的審美觀。
- Chiaroscuro 明暗對照法
Upon close inspection, we see that the artist has transcended the technical constraints of classical Chinese painting by deploying a chiaroscuro technique seen in Western art.
再細心觀察松柏之肌理，可發現藝術家在水墨創作中，亦引入了西方繪畫的明暗對照法，從視覺效果上突破國畫描繪手法的局限，更比瀟灑豪放而不重寫實的文人畫多了幾分執著與嚴謹。
- Polyptych 多聯屏
In the West, polyptychs are closely connected to religious icons and connote a sacred solemnity, whereas divinity in traditional Asian cultures is often found in nature. Combining both conceptions of divinity, Li Huayi dramatises the rugged character of the cypress and sublimates it into a metaphysical beauty.
在西方的傳統中，與宗教聖像繪畫密切相關，往往富有莊嚴和神聖的含義，而東方世界自古以來對「神」的理解，則是崇尚「自然」的宇宙恒律；李華弌的創作巧妙地將兩源結合，畫中彰顯了松柏傲骨崢嶸的氣概，其形象在金光閃爍之間獲得了全然的昇華。
李華弌：高古筆韻・現代視界
中國藝術在二十世紀的現代化過程中，除了通過留學海外的藝術家引進西方體系，而逐漸熟悉油畫、雕塑、版畫等媒介外，水墨作為傳統繪畫的主要媒介，亦深受時代啟迪，展開了精彩的變革，在全球前衛藝術思潮的激盪下，發展出嶄新的現代觀念。上海作為中國自十九世紀中葉以來對外交流最為頻繁的港口城市，便是這場水墨革新運動的主要據點，而在戰後時代成長於上海的李華弌，即是在如此的氛圍之下投身藝術創作。李華弌自小師從海派書畫名家王一亭之子王季眉，少年時則跟隨從比利時皇家藝術學院畢業的張充仁學習西方寫實藝術，養成其兼得東、西方美學精萃之深厚底蘊。八〇年代初，藝術家遠赴舊金山藝術學院深造，當時的美國藝壇仍然身處抽象表現主義的餘韻當中，學院的教授卻非常鼓勵他引用東方的題材與技巧，開創屬於自己的風格，啟發其將傳統水墨元素結合抽象表現的風格，成就今日李華弌筆下富有高古意藴的獨特視界，本季呈獻之《逸意寧遠（一）》（拍品編號1030）即為經典，作品體現東方水墨的銳意求變，在全球現代藝術語境中展示卓絕風采。
《逸意寧遠（一）》由六折屏風所構成，藝術家毫不吝惜地運用近四米畫幅的金箔點綴背景，造就璀璨輝煌的極致意境，意取唐代繪畫中「金碧山水」的富麗堂皇。綜觀本場拍賣的大師作品，可見北宗唐風經歷千年演變，早已在不同流派開枝散葉，更在現代藝術的領域裡，展現百花齊放的景象：趙無極於五〇年代創作《無題（黃金城市）》（拍品編號1033），以現代歐洲城觀碰撞金碧山水的技法、藤田嗣治從日本狩野派風格裡提煉唐繪金調，成就《聖母與子》（拍品編號1037）和《媽媽的禮帽》（拍品編號1041）兩幅金箔畫作、最出乎意料的是法國抽象大師皮耶・蘇拉吉在遊歷日本後，亦揮筆首作金墨雙色鉅獻《畫作 125 X 202厘米，1958年10月30日 》（拍品編號1034），表達對東方金屏風的美學演繹，如今李華弌的《逸意寧遠（一）》一同登場、互相輝映，實為難得。
除了唐繪，李華弌的創作亦復興宋代文人畫的氣質，《逸意寧遠（一）》尺幅恢宏、氣度非凡，構圖深得北宋大山大水的雄偉壯美，然而畫面始終聚焦局部，巨型松柏的形象繼承了南宋繪畫「半角一邊」的審美觀；松幹從遠景延伸至觀者眼前，主體偏離正中，從空間安排方面增添了鑑賞的意趣。再細心觀察松柏之肌理，可發現藝術家在水墨創作中，亦引入了西方繪畫的明暗對照法，從視覺效果上突破國畫描繪手法的局限，更比瀟灑豪放而不重寫實的文人畫多了幾分執著與嚴謹。李華弌不僅從技法上揉合中西，在形式表現上亦嘗試平衡兩源文化：多聯屏在西方的傳統中，與宗教聖像繪畫密切相關，往往富有莊嚴和神聖的含義，而東方世界自古以來對「神」的理解，則是崇尚「自然」的宇宙恒律；李華弌的創作巧妙地將兩源結合，畫中彰顯了松柏傲骨崢嶸的氣概，其形象在金光閃爍之間獲得了全然的昇華。
2019至2020年間，夏威夷火奴努努藝術博物館為李華弌舉行大型個展，更聚焦於其「金屏風」系列，充分體現藝術家革新東方水墨之成就；據藝術家官網的資料所示，李華弌的「金屏風」系列只有28件全幅金箔作品，而《逸意寧遠（一）》是當中尺幅最大、最多聯屏之單體金屏風。現時李華弌之首兩位最高拍賣紀錄均由蘇富比所創寫，「金屏風」兩聯作《北斗之虛》於2019年拍出近600萬港幣高價，而8組重屏作品《臥雪》則於2020年再創高峰，並以800萬港幣震撼落槌，《逸意寧遠（一）》包攬兩作精粹，如今首現香港蘇富比，誠為藏家一睹其鉅作風采之良機。
Li Huayi's Auction Precedent
