JIA YOUFU (BORN 1942)

FROM A PRIVATE ASIAN COLLECTION

JIA YOUFU (BORN 1942)
Mist-Covered Mountains
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
32.3 x 34.8 cm. (12 ¾ x 13 ¾ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist

SPECIALIST'S NOTES
Born in Hebei in 1942, Jia Youfu entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1960 where he studied landscape painting under Li Keran and Li Kuchan. Following his graduation in 1965 he taught and worked intermittently throughout the Cultural Revolution.

A contemporary master of eerie and striking landscape, Jia Youfu is acclaimed for his progressive reinvigoration and lyrical exploration of the ink-wash tradition. Jia has repeatedly travelled into the Taihang Mountains which have become a subject of his life-long fascination. Inspired by the monumental mountainscapes of Northern Song period, Jia sees in the awe-inspiring peaks the sublime presence of nature which he masterfully captures with broad, rugged brushstrokes set against atmospheric skies. Combined with the stark contrasts between light and darkness, the breathtaking heights of mountains often dwarf human existence and evoke contemplations on the relationship between man and nature.