Liu Ye

signed in Chinese and Pinyin and dated 05; titled in English and dated 2005 on the reverse

Private Collection, China

USA, New York, Liu Ye: Temptations, Sperone Westwater, 14 September to 28 October 2006
Switzerland, Bern, Liu Ye, Kunstmuseum Bern, 7 February to 1 April 2007

Liu Ye: Temptations, Sperone Westwater, New York, USA, 2006, pl. 29
Liu Ye, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland, 2006 to 2007, pl. 103

"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Not Actuaclly Fairy Tale

Liu Ye never tries to disguise the fact that he is a 'typical happy kid';  those like him, who were born during the Cultural Revolution but not over-influenced by it, experienced a childhood that was 'in the heat of sun', full of beautiful images of blue sky, white clouds and a red sun. Hans Christian Andersen in the Snow is part of that childhood. The figure who fills the canvas approaches slowly through the snow looking out at us with a pair of elongated blue eyes, full of a father-like serenity and certainty; we are reminded of the fact that Liu Ye's own father is a writer of children's fiction. The circular composition alludes to the round paintings admired both formally and spiritually during the Renaissance. The whole painting is so pure and profound that seen through a child's eyes it might appear to be a crystal ball party to every secret of the universe.

Fairytales appear to be a lingering symbol in Liu Ye's work along with his own childhood memories, however, what he creates is more of an imagination of childhood and a reflection upon existence, which constitute a rational space refined and purified by Mondrian's geometrical explorations. Liu Ye's paintings actually represent an important transition in Contemporary Chinese Art from the reproduction and reflection of a collective Chinese experience to an in-depth response to individual memories and political life. The gentleman in Hans Christian Andersen in the Snow speaks for Liu Ye's deep yearning for a long gone childhood and his lost self. In the artist's well-constructed, depoliticized space, we can enjoy a rare tranquility although at the same time it is impossible to avoid the inexplicable sadness and anxiety that is a heartfelt response originating from an innate love for art, life and the whole world. Liu Ye achieved redemption through painting  and these paintings now provide a path of spiritual salvation for everybody else. It's never only a fairytale that Liu Ye is painting; as he said himself, "I don't want to be Hans Christian Andersen, I'd rather be Oscar Wilde."