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On December 18, 2023, Aguttes draws the attention of collectors to Chinese modern and contemporary art. Their teams, who have been dedicated to highlighting Asian artists who have come to France for the past 10 years, one of the specialties of the house, kick off this session by presenting three Chinese modern artists with unique and rare artworks.

First, a rare canvas by Zeng Yilu is presented. Zeng Yilu is a socially engaged artist who quickly integrated into the Franco-Chinese art scene, participating, among other things, in the Chinese Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Art in Strasbourg at the beginning of the 20th century.


Zeng Yilu (1896 - 1989), Le temple, 1934
Estimation: 15 000 - 25 0000€

Next comes Sanyu, a painter who belongs to the first generation of Chinese artists who benefited from this dual education. Arriving in the City of Light during the astonishing period of the Roaring Twenties in Paris, between the two World Wars, he settled in the Montparnasse district and rubbed shoulders with Modigliani, Man Ray, Brancusi, Matisse, and even Picasso. His work on paper holds a significant place in the "Selected Works" catalog, featuring first a watercolor and then about a dozen ink works. These sheets bear witness to the artist's great mastery of drawing technique, illustrating randomly chosen models from encounters at the Grande Chaumière Academy. His lines become ever purer, reflecting the importance of calligraphy in Sanyu's artistic training. The subjects, often nudes, are painted in a few firm and controlled strokes, in very natural positions. Such representations inevitably evoke the taboo nature such depictions might have in other places.


Sanyu (1895-1966), Femme à la robe grise, 1920-30
Estimation: 180 000 - 200 000€


Découvrir la vidéo au sujet de Sanyu

Rarely presented at auction today, the painter Sha Qi delivered two luminous portraits to his patron, Léopold Straetmans, in 1938. Straetmans was a Belgian financier who had been based in Shanghai since 1906 and held important positions in the banking world in Asia throughout his career. The artist Sha Qi, trained in fine arts in China, notably by Xu Beihong, embarked on his own journey to Europe in the late 1930s. It was in Belgium that he worked on capturing light in his art under the guidance of Alfred Bastien. These two oil paintings showcase Sha Qi's post-impressionist talent at the peak of his artistic prowess.


Sha Qi (1914-2005), Portrait de Madame Vekemans, nièce de Léopold Straetmans, circa 1938
Estimation: 50 000 - 80 000€


Sha Qi (1914-2005), Madame Straetmans, 1938
Estimation: 50 000 - 80 000€

A few years later, the Chinese painter Chu Teh_Chun chose to come to France. The contemporary department presents a historical painting by him. This exquisite canvas from 1958 illustrates one of Chu Teh-Chun's early forays into the realm of lyrical abstraction. Straddling two cultures, he distills the best of both worlds into a unique composition, with attributes that make it a pictorial rarity. From the brown tonalities emerges a remarkable luminosity, a chromatic intensity reminiscent of Goya's art. The brushstrokes that crisscross the composition bear witness to his connection to the traditional art of Chinese calligraphy.

The year 1958 marks a crucial moment in the career of the Chinese artist, as it is precisely at this time that he abandons figurative expression to turn towards abstraction. This aesthetic transition began two years earlier, in 1956, when he discovered the work of Nicolas de Staël at the Museum of Modern Art—a encounter that deeply moved him. This extremely rare work on the market already encompasses all the elements that would constitute Chu Teh Chun's pictorial language for the rest of his career. More than a foreshadowing, it is an aesthetic manifesto, as radical as it is daring, which will undoubtedly capture the attention of connoisseurs on December 18th.


Chu Teh-Chun, Sans titre, 1958
Estimation : 450 000 - 750 000€


Discover the video about this artwork

The setting changes for the next part of the auction with remarkable classic signatures in contemporary art, including the magnificent work "Soeglet" by Victor Vasarely, created in 1983, which belongs to the artist's "Expansive Regressive Universal Structures" period (which spans from 1968 until the end of his career). This artistic phase is characterized by an exploration of the infinite universe of galaxies, cosmic pulsations, and cellular biological mutations. "Soeglet" is a captivating piece that perfectly embodies Vasarely's unique artistic style during this period. Composed of a complex network of lines and abstract patterns, it creates a striking optical illusion. The bold colors, particularly the electric blue and vibrant purple, add a vibrant dimension to the work, creating a striking visual contrast.

This piece, representative of the artist's later period, bears witness to Vasarely's creative genius and exceptional mastery in manipulating geometric forms and colors. His innovative use of optical illusion and his ability to create dynamic visual compositions profoundly influenced optical and kinetic art.


Victor Vasarely, Soeglet, 1983
Estimation: 120 000 - 180 000€

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Contact 
CHINESE MODERN ART
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier
Expert
+33 (0) 1 41 92 06 49
reynier@aguttes.com

CHINESE ART CONTEMPORARY
POST-WAR & ART CONTEMPORARY
Ophélie Guillerot
Expert
+33 (0)1 47 45 93 02
guillerot@aguttes.com