A Collection of Renowned Artists and Celebrated Works
2013-05-30 13:28:55
Time surely flies. Beijing Poly Auction is already entering its eighth year since its debut in the international auction league. The 2013 Spring Auction focuses on realistic oil paintings, in which Poly continues the strategy of limited collections of premium quality, assembling eternal oil paintings that are full of historical value. The collection will not only be a must-see event for all the art lovers, but also a visual feast for all the collectors.
The Poly Auction Modern and Contemporary Chinese Arts Evening Sale displays its rare and exceptional exhibit of 69 carefully selected pieces of art, with utmost collection and investment value, through three main arenas. Simultaneously reviewing the hundred years¡¯ history of Chinese oil paintings, Poly Auction also aims to provide professional collection and investment suggestions. The collection ¡°Pioneers: Fusing of Chinese and Western¡± features classic works like Street side Girl and A Fish Pool in the Mountain City, from masters of high academic and artistic status of the older generation. In the collection ¡°The Frozen Moment ¨C Eternal Chinese Realistic Oil Painting¡±, Jin Shangyi, Ai Xuan, Yang Feiyun, Wang Yidong and Li Guijun,five artists with both intellectual and market appeal, provide collectors with a high level aesthetic enjoyment with numerous great paintings. The strong lineup of pieces of ¡°Self-Expression: Modern & Contemporary Arts of China¡± presents a comprehensive collection of renowned overseas artists and a free and diverse landscape of the contemporary art.
440
LIU YE
BIG FLAGSHIP
oil on canvas
140 x 120 cm. (55 1/8 x 47 1/4 in.)
Painted in 1997
dated 1997 and signed in Chinese & pinyin
RMB 12,000,000 - 15,000,000
Liu Ye¡¯s Big Flagship was created in 1997 with vibrant colors and a composition unique, revealing a sort of irony, besides the sense of innocent. The image features a small theater with a red curtain which occupies two-thirds of the masterpiece. The spotlight concentrates viewers¡¯ attention, as if indicating the opening of a play. As the curtain rising up, appears the amazing warship, filling the painting with drama and absurdity. Liu harmonizes successfully the happiness and the enjoyment in a fantasy scene while a undertone of sadness floating by.
441
ZENG FANZHI
PORTRAIT 07-4
oil on canvas
190 x 160 cm. (74 3/4 x 63 in.)
Painted in 2007
signed in Chinese & pinyin and dated 2007
RMB 6,000,000 - 8,000,000
The ¡°mask¡± series by Zeng Fanzhi's already well known; in Portrait 07-4, even though the man didn¡¯t wear mask anymore, the real and full living expression is still not exposed, but presented through a stiff and inflexible expression. Large uninspired eyes stare at the viewer without any intention to reveal anything. In turn, the viewer cannot straightforwardly read any story of the man either. The figure here is nothing more than a symbol. With a coated solid background of compressed depth, the character appears suspended on the canvas with little balance. By hanging by nothing, a loss of character and emptiness is rendered in the open atmosphere. As Zeng's works are often an integration of humor and anxiety, what it reflects is the common experience of the whole society and creates the illusion that, at every moment, one is always a part of the greater landscape of society.
443
ZHOU CHUNYA
GREEN DOG
oil on canvas
250 x 200 cm. (98 3/8 x 78 3/4 in.)
Painted in 2002
signed in Chinese & pinyin and dated 2002
RMB 2,800,000 - 3,500,000
Green dog is almost an autobiographical painting that embodies humor through a visually impactful image of an animal that presents a rich symbol of life. After the creative transformation experienced in 2001, Green Dog, created in 2002 is more aggressive than the previous one. With only the tongue completed by a single red brushstroke, that instills a greater feeling of intensity and anxiousness, energy and life are expressed through the painting. Against the background of a simple grey tone, the effects green dog are even more dramatic.
452
ZHAO BANDI
XIAO ZHANG
oil on canvas
214 x 140 cm. (84 1/4 x 55 1/8 in.)
Painted in 1992
signed in Chinese
RMB 5,000,000 - 8,000,000
No matter being estimated from the composition, the color or the stroke treatment, Xiao Zhang can represent the new generation of artists, their rigorous academic training, artistic background, and creative determination. A young man sitting in the bed, smoking and sketching himself, stiffly rather than leisurely, seems in a brown study. The artist recalls that the man in the painting is one of his friends, but his name is not Xiao Zhang. The painting was titled like this because the man is not a special one but anyone, just like his name Xiao Zhang, which is very common. The artist hopes that he can describe the mentality of the whole society from presenting the daily life of everyone.
453
ZHANG XIAOGANG
repeated space no.4
oil on paper
50 x 40 cm. (19 5/8 x 15 3/4 in.)
Painted in 1990
signed in Chinese and dated 1990
RMB 1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Repeated Space No. 4 is a self-portrait. The artist himself served as the prototype of the painting, which was the product of exploring the relationship between oneself and the society. This painting was affected by the Picasso¡¯s Cubism in the form of expression. The red block looks like a mask, covering the half face, representing the society¡¯s hypocrisy and the duo characters of human nature. His big empty eyes reveal the sickness of society. And from the shackles on his hands we can feel creator¡¯s discontentment with the suppressed human nature and spirit in chain. The rigidness and dullness of people and the conflict relationship between human and the society form characters of the pre-transformation of the Zhang Xiaogang¡¯s ¡°Big Family¡± series.
400
JIN SHANGYI
PRAY
oil on canvas
60 x 50 cm. (23 5/8x 19 5/8 in.)
Painted in 1987
signed in Chinese and dated 1987
RMB 10,000,000 - 12,000,000
404
AI XUAN
ANQU VALLEY
oil on canvas
110 x 110 cm. (43 1/4x 43 1/4 in.)
Painted in 2013
signed in Chinese & pinyin and dated 2013
RMB 4,200,000 - 4,500,000
409
YANG FEIYUN
BIG PLANT
oil on canvas
130 x 97 cm. (51 1/8x 38 1/4 in.)
Painted in 1995
signed in Chinese and dated 1995
RMB 1,800,000 - 2,400,000
414
WANG YIDONG
THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE
oil on canvas
100 x 100 cm. (39 3/8x 39 3/8 in.)
Painted in 2009
signed in Chinese & pinyin and dated 2009
RMB 6,800,000 - 7,800,000
419
LI GUIJUN
FAMILIAR Sights
oil on canvas
90 x 60 cm. (35 3/8 x 23 5/8 in.)
Painted in 2006
signed in Chinese & pinyin and dated 2006; signed & titled in Chinese and dated 2006 on the reverse
RMB 1,200,000 - 1,500,000
