Lady Eating Pink Watermelon by Walasse Ting

Provenance:
Arij Gasiunasen Fine Art Inc., Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

Born Ding Xiongquan in Wuxi China, Walasse Ting moved to Paris in 1952 and became acquainted with members of CoBrA group, most notably: Pierre Alechinsky, Asger Jorn and Karel Appel. In 1957, Ting moved to the United States, and settled in New York, where he arrived at his mature and best-known style, which was influenced by Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. He began primarily as an abstract artist, but the bulk of his work since the mid-1970s has been described as popular figuratism, with broad areas of colour painted with a Chinese brush and acrylic paint. His most frequent subjects were cats, figures, and flowers. “Lady Eating Pink Watermelon” is a classic example of Ting’s fluorescent coloured paintings. Blooming pink and green flowers decorate every corner of empty space, mirroring the colours in the watermelon and creating a cheery and playful composition.