Artwork Description

WU DAYU

Figure, n.d.
oil on paper
7.5 × 5.1 in (19 × 13 cm)

Wu Dayu presents a compact abstract composition in which the human figure is suggested rather than explicitly defined, emerging through layered passages of gestural brushwork and chromatic modulation. The surface is animated by rhythmic strokes that dissolve figuration into a field of dynamic visual forces, where contour and structure remain deliberately indeterminate.

As a pioneering figure in Chinese modern abstraction, Wu Dayu developed a visual language informed by both Western modernist movements and Chinese calligraphic tradition. His work reflects an emphasis on spontaneous gesture and the expressive potential of colour, where painting becomes an extension of internal rhythm and perceptual energy.

This small-scale work is characteristic of his late-period practice, in which abstraction becomes increasingly concentrated and introspective. The figure is no longer depicted but inferred through force, movement, and tonal contrast, aligning with his concept of “image as energy structure.”

Wu Dayu’s Figure encapsulates his synthesis of East and West, positioning abstraction as a means of psychological and formal exploration within Chinese modern art.