Explosion of Creative Powers | Zao Wou-Ki’s Large-Canvas “Hurricane” Work

Swift, surging, and scribbled ink lines rush into the painting from the left and right, converging and colliding in the centre. Bright yellow tones, like golden beams, illuminate a work exploding with energy. Through the wild brushwork in 15.02.65 (Lot 1041), the viewers can envision Zao Wou-ki in the prime of his life standing in front of this massive no. 120 canvas with paintbrush in hand, poised to begin wrestling with the painting. This piece is typical of the works that Zao Wou-ki made during his collaboration with New York’s Kootz Gallery in the 1960s; it was also the most important painting in his 1965 solo show at the gallery. Kootz Gallery, which seldom published catalogues, chose this work as the focal point for this exhibition’s promotional materials and printed a leaflet, indicating how much Samuel Kootz appreciated Zao Wou-ki and his work, as well as his importance in the international art world.

In 1957, Zao Wou-ki left Paris indefinitely. He traveled to New York, a centre of post-war avant-garde art and culture. At the introduction of Pierre Soulages, Zao Wou-ki met Samuel Kootz, who had founded Kootz Gallery in New York in 1945. With his foresight and vision, he discovered and supported many emerging post-war artists, including a young Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Hans Hofmann, and other leading figures in American Abstract Expressionism. He also represented international artists such as Pierre Soulages and Pablo Picasso. Located on Madison Avenue, Kootz’s gallery became a symbol of the American art world, and through Kootz, Zao learned more about American Abstract Expressionism, which would significantly elevate his style. Kootz Gallery held a show for Zao every two years from 1960 to 1966, which laid a foundation for the artist in the American and international art worlds and encouraged more museums and private collects ors to purchase his work. This wonderful collaboration reflects Kootz’s affirmation of Zao Wou-ki as an artist with an international profile and highlights Zao’s success as a Chinese artist in the global art world in the 1950s and 1960s.

Prior to this, Zao Wou-ki had already experienced an artistic transformation in Paris and made an important breakthrough in his creative career: his Oracle Bone Period. Through antique -Chinese script, he engaged with pure abstraction. After he arrived in New York, Zao Wou-ki discovered that the American cultural context was entirely different from the long histories of China and France. In the post-war period, New York had become the world’s creative centre and leader of the avant-garde, and Abstract Expressionism condensed the unrestrained, bold, and innovative spirit of American culture. Deeply inspired by this spirit, Zao approached Eastern culture in a new way and changed his painting style. In his autobiography, Zao wrote that, at this t.mes , ‘I began to paint freely and do what I wanted… I wanted to depict movement, whether lingering in one place or flying fast as lightning. The multiple resonances of contrasting and identical colours made the canvas vibrate, allowing me to find a central, glowing point.’ This change in 1959 inspired the beginning of Zao’s Hurricane Period, recognized as one of his creative peaks.

Zao Wou-ki’s visit to the United States lasted less than two years, but Kootz’s influence on him lasted well beyond this brief t.mes . In his autobiography, Zao mentioned that Kootz was ‘accust.mes d to large-format paintings by American artists.’ With Kootz’s encouragement and guidance, Zao started to use no. 120 canvases, measuring nearly two meters, in 1959. Unlike in his Oracle Bone Period, his large-format Hurricane works required him to throw himself—body and soul—into the paintings. He could not have created these paintings without this international experience and prime physical condition. 15.02.65 is a classic work from this creative peak in Zao’s career.

Not long after this work was exhibited, in 1966, Kootz announced the closure of the gallery. Zao would not hold a solo show in New York for 15 years, until his friend Pierre Matisse, the son of Fauvist master Henri Matisse, arranged for a solo presentation in New York in 1979. 15.02.65 is a masterwork combining style, vigour, and meaning; it is a record of Zao Wou-ki’s peak in the American art world and the maturity of his Hurricane style, but it also bears witness to Samuel Kootz’s relationship with Zao Wou-ki as a friend and guide.

迅疾澎湃的狂草墨線從左右兩側闖入畫面，在中央交集衝突，而明黃色調則如金光一般燃亮畫面，繪製出一幅富有飽含能量與爆發力的作品。近賞《15.02.65》（拍品編號1041），彷彿能透過狂野的筆觸，看見年富力強的趙無極站在這120號的巨幅畫布前，提起畫筆，瀟灑淋漓地進行一次創作上的搏鬥。此作是趙無極於六〇年代與美國紐約庫茲畫廊（Kootz Gallery）合作期間所創作的經典，曾作為1965年趙無極庫茲畫廊個展的最重要作品展出。罕有印刷圖錄的庫茲畫廊，也為了這次展覽特別用本作作為宣傳重點，並印刷出版，足以可見庫茲（Samuel Kootz）對趙無極及其作品的重視程度，以及趙無極在國際畫壇上的重要地位。

1957年，趙無極離開了巴黎，開始了一段不定期限的遊歷，來到了紐約，一個戰後崛起的前衛藝術文化核心。趙無極在蘇拉吉（Pierre Soulages）的介紹下結識了庫茲畫廊的創辦人。庫茲於1945年創辦紐約庫茲畫廊，透過慧眼，發掘並支持了許多戰後新生的藝術家，包括當時還是年輕人的馬克·羅斯科（Mark Rothko）、威廉·德庫寧（Willem de Kooning）、漢斯·霍夫曼（Hans Hofmann）等美國抽象表現主義領軍人物，同時代理霍夫曼、蘇拉吉、以及畢加索（Pablo Picasso）等國際藝術家。處於曼哈頓麥迪遜大道的庫茲畫廊，成為了美國藝術界指標，而正是透過庫茲，趙無極真正認識和領悟到了美國的抽象表現主義，為他的創作風格帶來了重大的突破與昇華。庫茲畫廊在1960至1966年間，每兩年為趙無極舉辦一次畫展，不但為趙無極在美國與國際藝壇奠定了基礎，也促使了他的作品被更多的美術館和私人藏家收藏。這段珍貴的合作展現出了庫茲對於趙無極國際藝術家的定位的肯定，同時也突顯了趙無極在五、六〇年代，出身中國並成功打入國際藝壇的頂尖地位 。

此前，趙無極已在巴黎經過了一次藝術蛻變，達到創作生涯中的重要突破：「甲骨文時期」，通過東方的古文字，進入了純粹的抽象藝術創作。到達紐約後，趙無極發現美國的文化背景與中國和法國的悠久歷史截然不同，卻在戰後崛起，成為全球前衛文化創作的核心與領袖。美國的抽象表現主義正是凝聚了美國文化中灑脫、自由奔放和勇於創新的精神。深受此精神的啟發，趙無極自此領悟到了東方文化的新詮釋態度，也改變了他作畫的風格。在自傳中，趙氏反映他從那時開始「放手作畫，隨心所欲…我想表現動感：或迂迴纏綿、或風馳電擊；我想藉對比和同一色彩的多重振顫使畫布躍動起來，我要找到一個放光的中心點。」這一改變也促成了1959年開啟的「狂草時期」，趙無極藝術創作的巔峰。

趙無極在美國逗留的時間不足兩年，庫茲對趙無極的影響卻遠遠不只這短暫的時間。趙無極曾在自傳中提及庫茲習慣了「美國畫家作的大畫」，在庫茲的鼓勵和引導下，趙氏於1959年後開始使用接近兩米的120號畫布創作。與「甲骨文時期」不同，大篇幅的狂草風格創作要求藝術家全身心貫注於畫作之中，而這正是擁有全球化閱歷，並且正值壯年，體力充沛的趙無極才能成就的事，《15.02.65》便是代表了趙無極這段創作巔峰的經典巨作。

本作在1965年展出不久後，庫茲便在1966年開始個人的業務轉型，宣佈停止畫廊的運作，趙無極也自此開啟了長達十五年未在紐約舉辦個展的歲月，直到一九七九年在好友皮耶·馬諦斯（Pierre Matisse，野獸派大師亨利·馬諦斯之子）的安排之下，才恢復在紐約展出。《15.02.65》記錄了趙無極在美國藝壇的巔峰時期，坐標了「狂草時期」畫風的成熟，更是見證了庫茲於趙無極亦師亦友的伯樂之情，是集風格、氣派與意義為一身的巔峰之作。