B ursting with a distinct kinetic dynamism and a warm, nostalgic energy, Christine Ay Tjoe’s Horizontal Yoyo is a superlative example of the artist’s celebrated approach to abstraction. Executed in 2008, the present work was created before the artist’s shift towards a more distinct style of abstraction, its exquisite linework and suggestive style of figuration representing a historic moment in Ay Tjoe’s oeuvre. Capturing the tantalising liminal space between figuration and abstraction, Ay Tjoe’s intuitive and freeform approach to composition brims with a palpable energy. Through expressive mark making in the artist’s distinctive shades of red, white and earthen black, a standing figure emerges from a central chasm of colour and line, arrestingly playing with a yoyo. This figure is depicted in Ay Tjoe’s instantly recognisable artistic vernacular of typographic application of acrylic pigment in various washes interjected by energetic scrawls and scribbles informed by the artist’s training as a draughtsman. A boldly expressive painter, the result of this technique is intensely physical, an effect heightened by Ay Tjoe’s love for mixed media. Astonishingly, Horizontal Yoyo features an embedded Swarovski crystal which the artist’s placed within the yoyo, which, when combined with Ay Tjoe’s rich impasto of scarlet pigment punctuated by light and dark, creates an effect reminiscent of Chaim Soutine’s ox carcass, or a Cy Twombly, in its visceral physicality.

Pulsating with vibrant colour, Ay Tjoe’s use of red has become iconic in her body of work, the enigmatic colour a symbol of powerful emotions such as passion, violence, rage, but always denoting a central balance between mind, body and soul. Emblazoned with raw, unrestrained gestures, the present work appears charged with palpable emotion, further heightened by the calm simplicity of the cream background. Ay Tjoe’s placement of delicate washes of pigment seem to spread almost involuntary and uncontrolled, each shape unfurling across the surface. This technique creates shifting light and dark bursts across the negative space, imbuing the canvas with flow and movement. A study in chromatic restraint, here Ay Tjoe’s palette is restricted to single shades of black, white and red, purposefully chosen to render the sharpest visual juxtaposition. Symbolically representing the conflict between darkness, light and the animalistic, these internal forces ultimately exist in a symbiotic balance. Capturing a t.mes less and incessant internal dialogue that unravels in paint before the viewer, Ay Tjoe’s work reminds us that we as humans can be fragile and strong, passionate and calculated, chaotic and calm. Horizontal Yoyo was first exhibited in the artist’s hometown of Bandung Indonesia in 2008 at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, before travelling to Paris to be featured at the Grand Palais’ showcase of contemporary Indonesian artists, thus cementing the artist’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading abstract artists.

Sotheby’s is honored to offer 11 works from the collects ion of a distinguished collects or with exceptional taste. The collects or is known for their fiery passion, astute acumen, intellectual depth, and meticulous approach. The collects or’s determination to pursue a piece they fall in love with is relentless.

What distinguishes this collects ion further, is that it is dynamic and au courant, exemplifying the collects or’s broad and long term perspective on art, artists and patronage. The collects or is as supportive of emerging and young artists as they are of modern masters and pioneers.

As a whole, the artworks have been lovingly and patiently put together for more than 40 years. In terms of opportunity and timing, it is a collects ion that is rare to encounter and incredibly difficult to replicate. It signifies an era of idealism and idealists, when the pursuit of art is an art form in itself.

克里絲汀 · 艾珠的《水平溜溜球》是藝術家備受讚譽的抽象傑作，畫面充滿獨特的動感和溫暖、懷舊的能量。此作創作於2008年，正是在藝術家轉向明確抽象風格之前，其精美的線條和暗示性的形象風格代表了艾珠創作生涯中的歷史性時刻。艾珠直覺而自由的構圖方式充滿了可感知的能量，捕捉了形象與抽象之間誘人的邊緣空間。藝術家使用了她標誌性的紅色、白色和土黑色調，以極具表現力的方式，使一位正玩著溜溜球的站立身影從中央的色彩與線條的裂縫中浮現出來。這個身影以艾珠獨特的藝術語言呈現，採用層疊壓克力顏料，並從中穿插富有活力的草書和塗鴉字符，呼應了藝術家所受過的畫家訓練。作為一位大膽表現的畫家，這種技術的結果極具動感，使得艾珠對混合媒介的熱愛在畫中體現得更加強烈。令人驚訝的是，藝術家在溜溜球的位置中內嵌了一顆施華洛世奇水晶，當此水晶與豐富的猩紅色厚顏料結合時，再加上明暗的對比，創造出一種讓人聯想起柴姆·苏丁（Chaim Soutine）的屠宰牛畫作，或是 塞 · 托姆布雷（Cy Twombly）的作品。

艾珠的畫作充滿了活力豐富的色彩，而她作品中標誌性的紅色更是讓人印象深刻；這種神秘的顏色象徵著強烈的情感，如熱情、暴力、憤怒，但總是標誌著心靈、身體和靈魂之間的中心平衡。這件作品布滿原始、無拘無束的動態，充滿了可感知的情感，而奶油色背景的平靜簡約更是增強了此感知。艾珠筆下細膩的色塊仿佛在自發和無法控制地擴散，每個色塊在畫面鋪展、延伸。這種技術在空白空間中創造了明暗的轉變，賦予了畫布流動感和運動感。本作中，艾珠的調色板限定在單純的黑、白和紅色調中，特意以此創造出最尖銳的視覺對比。這些顏色與力量象徵著黑暗、光明和野性之間的衝突，並最終以共生的平衡存在。艾珠的作品捕捉了在觀者面前以色彩展開的永恆而不斷的內心對話，這些作品在提醒我們，作為人類，我們可以是脆弱而強大、熱情而謹慎、混沌而平靜。《水平溜溜球》於2008年首次在艾珠家鄉印尼萬隆的 Selasar Sunaryo 藝術空間展出，然後前往巴黎參加巴黎大皇宮為當代印尼藝術家召開的展覽，幫助鞏固了艾珠作為東南亞頂尖抽象藝術家的地位。