Yeh Tzu Chi (Ye Ziqi)

signed in pinyin and Chinese and dated 1989

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Private American Collection

This work is overall in very good condition. There are minor paint losses along the top border.
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Thought-Provoking Images in a Silent Space
The Monologue Series by Yeh Tzu Chi

Within Yeh Tzu Chi's series entitled "the monologue series", a vast majority of the works presented are still lives. However, unlike the conventional Western tradition of still life painting, Yeh focuses on the subject as a whole, and not as a mere manifestation of beauty. He manages to provoke a subjective response from the viewer, producing works with feeling, rather than mere pastiche. When choosing a subject to focus on, the artist is known to normally opt for single desolate objects, which in this case, appears in the form of dried oranges, melons, onions and flowers. Set upon simple monotone backgrounds, Chrysanthemum (Lot 553) and Onion (Lot 552) follow slightly more traditional rules of still life painting, with the focus solely on the single subject matter, as well as a naturalistic detailed depiction. Upon first glance, both subjects seem to exude a strong vitality; the flower in full bloom, and the onion mature and depicted with upright leaves. However, as the viewer begins to further study each plant, they will begin to discover an eccentric but whimsical setting through the work. For one, the chrysanthemum's roots have been cut and placed in a clear jar, implying the emptiness and discontinuity of life. The fresh red onion has been arranged in an even stranger manner, almost placed against gravity as it is set apart from the desolate background in a bold way. An empty sense of loneliness and hollowness seems to be exemplified in both works, accentuated by the darkened backdrops and isolated atmosphere. Yeh invites the viewer to contemplate these aspects of life within seemingly simple and equivocal compositions.

With slightly more surreal undertones, Yeh's other pieces Bathroom Sink (Lot 550) and Water Drops (Lot 551) highlight an exemplary dexterity within the artist, as he is able to create a slightly more surreal still life compared to the previous two pieces. In these two paintings, the artist remarkably displays lifeless objects like fruit peels and toothbrushes on a sink to capture a random interaction between the objects and the human hand, which rests limply in the scene. In Bathroom Sink, the impeccably detailed figure of a hand is depicted adjusting the faucet, almost blithely careful to avoid the surrounding objects. In contrast, Water Drops shows the hand placed under the faucet, catching a drop of water. Although both pieces may be interpreted as meaningless, they emphasize the absurdity and senselessness of the world, which is often explicitly illustrated in Yeh's art.