Wouo Tcha, “En Plein Construction”, c1955

Wouo Tcha (fl.1950s—?)

“En Plein Construction” (as titled on sheet), c.1955, an original woodcut in five(?) colours published in Peking (now Beijing) in 1956 by Éditions en Langues Étrangères (Foreign Languages Press) (fl.1952–) as plate 19 to the folio of 40 original woodcuts printed in the People’s Republic of China, “Gravures sur Bois de la Chine Nouvelle.” Note that this print was featured in the second National Exhibition of Fine Arts (China) in 1955 and was chosen from this exhibition for its inclusion in the 1956 folio of prints representing the achievements of “la Chine Nouvelle” (the new China).

I understand that this portrayed scene of construction is designed to celebrate advances made by China a year before Mao Zedong’s (1956) Hundred Flowers Campaign (viz. “Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend […] for promoting progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land” [see “The China Project” (2009), exh.cat. Qld Art Gallery, p. 297]).

Woodcut in five(?) colours printed on fine cream wove paper (China) with full margins and printed title as published.

Size: (sheet) 35 x 25.1 cm; (image borderline) 29.2 x 18.4 cm.

Lettered below the image: (centre) “19. En plein construction   Wouo Tcha”.

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression (but slightly out of register?) in a pristine condition.

I am selling this superb colour woodblock print designed to showcase and celebrate what must have been a period of thriving industry in China during the mid-1950s—mindful that the folio in which this print features was published by a press that was later “owned and controlled by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Languages_Press)—for AU$174 in total (currently/approximately US $112.90/EUR 103.36/GBP 88.31 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU $174) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this original and one of the earliest images of propaganda art from the founding period of the People's Republic of China (my apologies if I’m completely wrong about this), please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.