Two swallows

Description

Black, white and grey are the main colours of the Jiangnan spring days. They are also bedrocks of the silvery-grey palette in Wu Guanzhong's paintings. These hues set foot on the path of his artistic journey. He said, "I have been drawing Jiangnan on and off all my life. Among my Jiangnan paintings, or even all my works, Two swallows is the most iconic and representative." This painting combines Chinese ink techniques with geometric concept of the West. It inspired Wu to explore how best to blend the East and the West in art in the 1980s. Since then, he continued to experiment with almost pure abstract geometric shapes to express Eastern emotions, resulting in many captivating masterpieces. In 2002, the Hong Kong Museum of Art showcased Two swallows alongside his later works Former residence of Qiu Jin and Reminiscence of Jiangnan in a major exhibition ― "Wu Guanzhong: A Retrospective". These works demonstrated his transition from figurative to almost pure abstract art. Wu Guanzhong visited the museum and liked this presentation very much. He described that "The private secrets in my heart are exposed to the public. A selection and combination of works from different periods reveal the purpose behind their creator's industrious efforts over several decades… The greatest joy to an artist is none other than being understood." For this reason, Wu Guanzhong entrusted his three daughters to the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

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