Lot 19
  • 19

Li Guijun

Estimate
6,000,000 - 10,000,000 RMB
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Li Guijun
  • 140 Art Studio
  • oil on canvas
signed in Chinese and dated 1985.3 on the reverse, framed

Provenance

Private Collection, China

Exhibited

China, Beijing, National Art Museum of China, National Youth Art Exhibition, May, 1985, Outstanding Award

Literature

International Youth Year selected Works of Art, International Youth Year China Organizing Committee, Beijing, China, 1985, p.15
'List of Awarded pieces from National Youth Art Exhibition', Meishu, July, 1985, p.14
Chinese Oil Painting, Issue 8, 1985, cover p.3
Gao Minglu, 'The Comparison of Three Levels: Graduate works from Sichuan Fine Arts InstituteI', Meishu, October, 1985, p.11
Yi Xiaowu, 'Symbolist Elements in Contemporary Art', Meishu, October, 1985, p.2
Fei Wei, 'Contemporary Art at Low Tide', Meishu, 1986, p.20
Gao Minglu, 'On Rational Painting', Meishu, August, 1986, p.42
Wei Qimei, 'They are in the Wave', Art Research, Janurary, 1987, p.15
Classical Painting, Lijiang Publishing Limited, Guangxi, China, p.10
Gao Minglu, China Contemporary Art History1985-1986, Shanghai, China, Shanghai People's  Publishing House, 1991, p.74
Lü Peng and Yi Dan, China Modern Art History, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 1992, p.112
Gao Minglu, Chinese Avant-Garde Art, Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House, Jiangsu, China, 1997,p.112
Yi Ying, From Glorys of Hero to the Ordinary World: New Thoughts on Chinese Modern Art, China Remin University Press, Beijing, China, November, 2004, p.120-121
Gao Minglu, The Wall: Reshaping Chinese Contemporary Art, China Remin University Press, Beijing, China, 2006, p.71
Liu Chun, History of Chinese Oil Painting, China Youth Publishing House, 2005, p.284
Gao Minglu ed, The '85 Movement ¿, Guangxi, China, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2008, p.328
Lü Peng, A History of Art in 20th-Century China, Peking University Press, Beijing, China, 2009, p.757
Chinese Contemporary Art Catalogue: Painting, Oil Paiting vol.1, Shanghai Shuhua Press, Shanghai, China, 2010, p.75
Lü Peng, Thirty Years of Adventures: Art and Artists Post 1979, Timezone 8, 2010, p.33
Li Guijun, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House, Jilin, China, 2011, p.1
Beijing Youth Weekly, issue 13, 2012

Condition


"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."

Catalogue Note

140 Art Studio –Starting Point of '85 New Wave

According to Li Gui-Jun himself, the relationship he feels for painting is 'a bit like religion, a bit like lovers'. This faith-based passion can be found throughout an artistic experience that spans twenty years. Li Gui-Jun was still a freshman when he participated in the 'Advancing Artistic Exhibition of the Chinese Youths' and won the prize with his 140 Art Studio and despite his age he quickly became an influential young artist in the 1985 New Wave Art Movement.

On the surface, 140 Art Studio is a realistic portrayal of a typical atelier scene, developed when the artist was still a student in the faculty. This theme is a development in the tradition of works such as Gustave Courbet's nineteenth century The Artist's Studio, and the image of a male student  holding a book on the far right might even be a parody of Baudelaire. Similar to Courbet, Li Gui-Jun claimed of his painting: "it's not to impress people with concrete interests in life conveyed by the paintings that I want to achieve". Hence, 140 Art Studio attempts to express a symbolic intention that goes beyond physical objects or a faithful reproduction of a real scene. The tubes on the wall strengthen the abstract meaning of the painting by geometrically separating the monotonous background; at the same time the wall serves to rigidly cut off the characters' contact with an external environment. The three college students, though occupying the same space, are immersed in their own worlds independent of one another. Both the closed space and the dislocated sense of time are metaphors for individual solitude and the difficulty of communication in society. 

At the centre of the painting, on the far wall, Li Gui-Jun intentionally suspends  a'wave', which significantly enhances the surreal flow of the painting. Just like the inconspicuous mirror in Las Meninas by Velázquez, the 'wave' shows us a receding space and creates a false impression of visibility and invisibility; it is not only a wave but also a spiritual path to another dimension, which signifies the hope and the confusion evoked by an unattainable freedom.  

Li Gui-Jun has succeeded in creating a balance between concrete objects and the rational thought of reality;  a balance he has successfully transformed into an abstract concept. As opposed to his masters Yang Fei-Yun and Ji Shang-yi, Li Gui-Jun focuses on a symbolic expression of realistic themes, which reflects much more effectively the  diverse social consciousness and cultural structures of youth, and provided him with an escape from one-dimensional artistic methods. For this reason he always avoids certain attributes of physical images choosing instead to lead his audience into a broader space for thought. 140 Art Studio is a unique piece of work with its 'unfashionable' insistence upon paintings of the popular realistic style at that time. The younger generation's self-conscious reflections and their desire for recognition of individual existence are reflected in this painting, along with a ubiquitous sense of society's loneliness. Undoubtedly, 140 Art Studio was a starting point for what was to be over twenty years' experience of 'continuously wandering and exploring between abstraction and constitution, symbols and aestheticism, objects and languages'.