Wu Guanzhong, one of the most important artists of 20th-century China, took great interest in depicting centuries-old cypress trees in Zhuozhengyuan, or the Garden of Humble Administrator in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. He was amazed by the multiple layers of space formed by the interwoven branches.

Awakening, an ink and color painting on paper Wu made in 1994, shows how he transformed the figurative beauty of cypress and Chinese wisteria in Zhuozhengyuan into a celebration of lines, dots and formations in an abstract way.

The 1990s saw Wu's arduous exploration with an abstract approach to Chinese ink paintings. In his works of the period, Wu reduced the details of his subjects to focus on the dynamics of lines and dots and the diverse formations of space. 

Awakening was shown at Wu Guanzhong Art Exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 1999. 

The 3.6-meter-long painting, along with several other Wu works, will go under hammer at Yongle Auction's sale on May 21.