Lot 034
Work 99-A
Atsuko TANAKA (Japanese, 1932 - 2005)
1999
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
55.5 x 31 cm
Estimate
TWD 1,800,000-2,800,000
HKD 490,000-763,000
USD 63,100-98,100
CNY 416,000-647,000
Sold Price
TWD 1,680,000
HKD 466,667
USD 60,000
CNY 387,991
Signature
Signed reverse Atsuko Tanaka in Kanji and dated 1999
PROVENANCE:
Est-Ouest Auction, Hong Kong, December 1, 2015
Acquired from the above by the present owner
PROVENANCE:
Est-Ouest Auction, Hong Kong, December 1, 2015
Acquired from the above by the present owner
+ OVERVIEW
From 1953 to 1958, the art of Atsuko Tanaka struck the global art scene like lightning with styles spanning minimalism, which had just emerged at the time, to conceptualism, which had changed the role of physical materials, and even extending to transmedia strategies. Her development was ten years ahead of those of art movements that appeared later in Europe and the United States. The work titled 99-A marks a divergence between the original "Gutai'" philosophy and Tanaka's creations later in her career. From there, Tanaka shifted her focus from 3D installation art to graphic paintings, as different forms of polka dots and circles became the primary elements of her creations.
Tanaka likes to encircle and connect the rings in her paintings with threads of lines. The full-colored circles look like "units of life" that keep on stretching and bouncing within the boundary of a frame, entrapped within mixed trains of thought. These lines neither have a beginning nor an end. In this way, the visual language penetrates the expressive textures of daily life, thereby presenting the fascination and openness that brighten up Tanaka's paintings later in her career. Tanaka herself has always referred to these transmedia artistic experiments as "paintings," which laid the foundation for substantial abstract splash paintings in her later stages of artistic creation. As a representative figure in the group of post-war female artists, Atsuko Tanaka's work has always featured a strong transmedia art spirit. In particular, her colorful and decades-old Line and Circles is her most celebrated series of abstract installation art.
Tanaka likes to encircle and connect the rings in her paintings with threads of lines. The full-colored circles look like "units of life" that keep on stretching and bouncing within the boundary of a frame, entrapped within mixed trains of thought. These lines neither have a beginning nor an end. In this way, the visual language penetrates the expressive textures of daily life, thereby presenting the fascination and openness that brighten up Tanaka's paintings later in her career. Tanaka herself has always referred to these transmedia artistic experiments as "paintings," which laid the foundation for substantial abstract splash paintings in her later stages of artistic creation. As a representative figure in the group of post-war female artists, Atsuko Tanaka's work has always featured a strong transmedia art spirit. In particular, her colorful and decades-old Line and Circles is her most celebrated series of abstract installation art.
Related Info
Select: Modern & Contemporary Art
Ravenel Spring Auction 2021 Taipei
Saturday, July 17, 2021, 3:30pm