Yang Qian

(i) in a wooden frame, slight crack in the middle of the canvas and minor scratches along the edges; (ii) in a wooden frame, some buckling occured along the right side of the canvas. some cracks have been restored, there is another crack approx 2" in the upper right corner of the lower left quadrant; (iii)-(vi) framed under Plexiglas, in good condition. Works were not examined under UV light. Not examined out of frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Yang Qian lives and works in Beijing, China. He is known for voyeuristic portraits of women behind steamy glass windows and mirrors, but his early work represents the artist's deep training in Western art traditions. In the 1980s, Yang was keenly influenced by Western art, in particular the vivid, color-based style of Van Gogh, whose landscapes and portraits of peasants in their homes appear to have made a strong impression on him. We can see in the selection of six paintings from this early period that Yang explored expression through color, as we can tell from Blue and Orange Landscape (Lot 134). Here we come upon a mountainous landscape composed in blue and orange, apparently indicative of light in the late afternoon. We can see the sides and peaks of mountains, as well as a barren tree in black, which contrasts with the luminous colors of the painting. Yellow House (Lot 134) is even closer to Van Gogh, both in form and spirit; its country view consists of a yellow house with stone and wooden fences before it; hay and trees, as well as foliage behind the home glow with a golden orange color. The black mountains in the background add a bit of mystery to the scene. Girl with a Book (Lot 134) is more Matissean; an echo of light blue occurs in the flowers standing in a vase next to a beautiful girl wearing a striped sweater of the same color. A pillow of abstract design, with geometrical shapes in reds and dark blues, offsets the relatively simple composition.

The painting entitled Bathroom Beijing 24 (Lot 132), much more recent in origin, consists of a voluptuous nude in a shower, painted as if mist were partially obscuring our view. The shower line snakes across her body; we can barely make out her profile, although her body, in particular her breasts, are more clearly described. Figure with Projection of Mondrian (Lot 136) is a picture complicated by a double image of a nude sitting down, with her shadow repeating her form against an enlarged version of a Mondrian painting. These nudes exist on either end of the image, while the center of the artwork consists of a back view of two exactly similar nudes, who face three naked versions of the same woman. Intricately rendered, this composition is a technical tour de force. The final painting in the lot is Odalisque Now (Lot 135), another formally complicated work, which depicts two images of the same naked woman facing each other, with their arms and limbs intertwined and throwing shadows over the curves of their bodies. Although in some ways a close copy of the nude woman Ingres painted in 1814, this Odalisque doubles the woman's image in favor of a tangled, provocative reading of the female form.

-Jonathan Goodman