03 mai 2008
Yang Zhen, 'In China 1966', poster, 2006
Yang Zhen, 'In China 1966', poster, 2006. Copyright the designer
01 mai 2008
Li TIANBING né en 1974, Portrait d'enfant
Li TIANBING né en 1974, Portrait d'enfant
Huile sur toile signée en bas à gauche et datée 2006. 100 x 100 cm. Estimé : 20 000 / 30 000 €
Un beau sourire. Voici l’image de l’enfance heureuse et insouciante vue par Li Tianbing. Semblable à une vieille photo sortie du grenier, passée au filtre couleur d’un ordinateur, cette peinture plonge dans le passé de la Chine, celui de l’artiste. Pour savoir qui nous sommes, ne faut-il pas connaître l’enfant que nous étions ? Ainsi, ce fils de la révolution culturelle fait défiler de vieilles photos de jeunes garçons comme autant de souvenirs de sa propre enfance. Cette recherche identitaire est fondée sur la séparation, mais aussi sur la confusion du passé et du présent, celle encore de la réalité et de la fiction. Sensible à la disparition des traditions chinoises, Li Tianbing prône tout autant les bienfaits des nouvelles technologies - comme le numérique, la photographie ou la vidéo. Désigné "postcontemporain", l’artiste admet les limites de la peinture traditionnelle face aux autres médiums ; il se permet ainsi d’expérimenter des registres picturaux variés et audacieux. Dès l’âge de six ans, Li Tianbing pratique la peinture à l’encre de Chine, avant d’apprendre les techniques modernes occidentales. En 1997, il quitte son pays pour poursuivre ses études à l’École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris, dont il est diplômé en 2002, avec les félicitations du jury. Représenté dans les galeries parisiennes, Li Tianbing devient un artiste d’envergure internationale, exposant à Munich, Lausanne, Dubrovnik, New York ou Miami. Le peintre, qui travaille en France, retourne régulièrement en Chine. Finalement, sa peinture témoigne d’une ambivalence profonde, entre tradition et modernité, entre culture chinoise et culture occidentale.
Artcurial Deauville 14800 Deauville. Art Moderne et Contemporain. Vente du 3 mai 2008
29 avril 2008
Les bustes en porcelaine d'Ah Xian occuperont les Period Rooms du Gemeentemuseum cet été
Ah Xian, China, China – Bust 35, 1999. Porcelain in underglaze cobalt-blue with flower and bird design, 34 x 39,5 x 22 cm. Courtesy of Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
THE HAGUE.- This summer the five Period Rooms at the Gemeentemuseum will form the setting for an exhibition of the impressive porcelain busts and life-size porcelain figures made by Ah Xian. Born in Beijing in 1960, the artist has lived and worked in Australia ever since 1989 but this is his first one-man show in Europe. Although he decorates his busts and full-body sculptures with traditional Chinese motifs like dragons, birds, flowers and landscapes, Xian’s work also relates to contemporary Western society.
When Ah Xian emigrated to Sydney in 1989, it was initially to take part in an artist-in-residence programme there. In his home country he had been mainly a painter but in Australia he discovered porcelain (a material traditionally associated with China). He once explained the change by saying, “when you’re away from China, you have a clearer picture of the country and its culture.” Clearly, Xian exists between two cultures. The issue of identity is, of course, central to his work. How can an artist educated in a Chinese cultural context preserve his values and traditions while at the same time engaging with the contemporary world, which is dominated by Western values? The presentation in the Period Rooms will show that Ah Xian has found a unique solution to this problem.
A good example is his China China series of busts (1998 - 2002). He produced these in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen (and in other specialised cities), working in collaboration with artisans from various pottery studios. Under the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), Jingdezhen was the heart of China’s porcelain industry. In those days, the area had no fewer than 300 kiln complexes, each with its own firing specialisations. The styles, designs and techniques seen in Ah Xian’s busts – including lacquer and cloisonné – are the same as those found in traditional pieces from Jingdezhen. By making these designs resemble tattoos, Ah Xian makes a statement about the indelible nature of cultural backgrounds. However, his work is not a simple imitation of Chinese traditions. It is full of oppositions.
The most overt is the tension between the sculptural form of the bust and the painted surface designs. This reflects the opposition between East and West. The bust is part of a Western tradition of portraiture, while the painted designs derive from Chinese traditions of decoration. There is also a contrast between the exuberant colours and the almost meditative air of the form to which they are applied. However, the tension between the form of the bust and the painted decoration can also be seen as representing the opposition between the personal and the political.
Ah Xian, China, China – Bust 14, 1999. Porcelain in overglaze polychrome enamals with Four Seasons flower and butterfly design
33 x 37 x 23 cm. Courtesy of Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
22 avril 2008
ZHAN WANG (né en 1962) - GIFT FROM HEAVEN (SINGLE STONE), 1997
ZHAN WANG (né en 1962) - GIFT FROM HEAVEN (SINGLE STONE), 1997
Sculpture en métal chromé - Signée, datée et numérotée 1/1 - 35 X 20 X 20 CM ENVIRON - Estimation : € 15,000-20,000
Provenance : Collection particulière, États-Unis
(acquis directement auprès de l'artiste)
Etude Tajan. ART D'APRÈS-GUERRE ET CONTEMPORAIN - VENTE DU SOIR, 29 avr. 2008 19:30, Espace Tajan
ZHANG HUAN (né en 1965) - PILGRIMAGE - WIND AND WATER IN NEW YORK, 1998
ZHANG HUAN (né en 1965) - PILGRIMAGE - WIND AND WATER IN NEW YORK, 1998
Tirage chromogénique - Signé, titré et numéroté 13/15 sur une étiquette au dos - 126,8 X 229 CM - Estimation : € 20,000-25,000
Provenance : Collection particulière, Paris
Etude Tajan. ART D'APRÈS-GUERRE ET CONTEMPORAIN - VENTE DU SOIR, 29 avr. 2008 19:30, Espace Tajan
LI TIANBING (né en 1974) - AUTOPORTRAIT CRI N° 1, 2005
LI TIANBING (né en 1974) - AUTOPORTRAIT CRI N° 1, 2005
Huile sur toile - Signée et datée en bas à gauche - 100 X 100 CM - Estimation : € 15,000-20,000
Provenance : Collection particulière, France
Etude Tajan. ART D'APRÈS-GUERRE ET CONTEMPORAIN - VENTE DU SOIR, 29 avr. 2008 19:30, Espace Tajan
21 avril 2008
Xue Song (b. 1965), Coca Cola in China, mixed media on canvas
Xue Song (b. 1965), Coca Cola in China, mixed media on canvas
15 avril 2008
"Chinese New Realism and Avant-garde in the Eighties and Nineties" au Groningen Museum
Chen Yanning. Chairman Mao Inspects the Guangdong Countryside.
GRONINGEN.-The Groningen Museum presents the exhibit Writing on the Wall, Chinese New Realism and Avant-garde in the eighties and nineties through October 26. Gradually taking shape after the death of Mao Zedong (1976) and the subsequent winding-down of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Realists and Avant-garde from the eighties and nineties formed the start of modern art in China. A knowledge of the Chinese Avant-garde is crucial in order to understand the present-day world of art in China.
After 1976, the painters who had been trained to produce social-realistic propaganda art for the benefit of the Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution seized the opportunity to give more relevant content to the realistic style of their work, presenting a critical reflection on the previous period and displaying the spirit of the new era (so-called ‘Scar painting’ and ‘Rustic painting’). Important representatives in this development were Luo Zhongli, Chen Danqing, Ai Xuan, He Duoling.
In addition, countless Avant-garde artistic movements and groups appeared which, inspired by Western theories and movements, took a completely different path. They began to experiment with all possible materials and forms to articulate their ideas. This work contained mainly critical, ironic or sarcastic observations about the ruling regime, and was scarcely tolerated. The most prominent group within this movement was undoubtedly the ‘Stars group’, whose most important representatives were Wang Kepin, Huan Rui, Ma Desheng, and Ai Weiwei. The many artists’ groups from the early eighties formed the breeding ground for the ‘New Wave’ or ’85-Movement’ which arose in the mid-eighties.
However, many currently internationally renowned artists had to flee the country under pressure from the regime, after which only a few returned to inspire a new generation (such as Ai Weiwei for example). The ‘New Wave’ ended with the dramatic exhibition entitled China Avant-garde in the National Gallery of Art in Beijing in 1989.
In the nineties, despite the repression, a new generation took the opportunity to present its view on the furious economic and social developments taking place in the country. Three broad movements can be distinguished: Cynical Realism, Political Pop, and Kitsch Art. Furthermore, Performance Art has also become an important means of expressing aspects such as physical ordeal and personal identity, both as a comment and as a provocative statement directed toward the ruling regime. The exhibition will present an overview of this development by means of video and photography.
This is the first time that attention will be devoted within a single exhibition to both Chinese New Realism and Avant-garde art of the eighties and nineties. Much of the work on display has never been shown outside China, or even shown since the early eighties.
The exhibition presents work by: Ai Xuan, Chen Danqing, Chen Yanning, Ding Yi, Fang Lijun, Gao Xiaohua, Geng Jianyi, He Duoling, Huang Rui, Liu Wei, Liu Xiaodong, Ma Desheng, Wang Guangyi, Wang Jinsong, Wang Keping, Wen Pulin, Wenda Gu, Xu Bing, Yang Shaobin, Yu Youhan, Yue Minyun, Zhang Peili, Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Dali.
Ai Xuan. Safeguard. Carbolic on paper, Oil on paper
05 avril 2008
LI SHAN (NE EN 1942) - ROUGE SERIES : MAO, 1994
LI SHAN (NE EN 1942) - ROUGE SERIES : MAO, 1994
Acrylique, encre et papier imprimé collé sur toile - Signé et daté en bas à droite - 38 x 30,5 cm (15 x 12 in.) - Estimé : 20 000 / 25 000 €
Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris. Art Contemporain - Partie I. Vente du 5 avril 2008
ZHANG HUI (NE EN 1969) - RED DETACHMENT OF WOMAN 6, 2006
ZHANG HUI (NE EN 1969) - RED DETACHMENT OF WOMAN 6, 2006
Huile sur toile - Signée et datée en bas à droite - Contresignée, titrée et datée au dos - 144 x 162 cm (563/4 x 633/4 in.) - Estimé : 10 000 / 15 000 €
Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris. Art Contemporain - Partie I. Vente du 5 avril 2008