Chen Ke

Private Collection, China

China, Nanjing, Nanjing Museum, Archaeology of the Future: the Second Triennial of Chinese Art, 2005

China, Bejing, Today Musuem, Spin: the First Decade of the New Century, September, 2012

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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."

Chen Ke is the leading artist of the 'post-1970s' cartoonist generation in China. Characterized by her romantic, naïf and vivacious  imagination, Chen Ke appears like a Disneyland cartoon character coming alive in the realm of reality. Magic Hair is an excellent example from the artist's early oeuvre. It captures all aspects of her artistic style. . The work depicts the full-body image of a peculiar-looking girl with China-doll skin. The iconic theme of a melancholic girl living alone in a fantasy world of her own is rendered in a fresh, lively colour against a large white background that is generally seen in Chinese ink painting. To focus the viewer's attention on the girl's hair, her body and head are represented disproportionately, making the viewer aware that it is impossible for her small, delicate body to support the colossal hair. Her hair, like sinuous tree roots growing, like a dreamy river flowing, meanders slowly into the infinite world of time and space. Different hues of colour imbue the painting with magical power where the girl with rosy cheeks immerses herself into the blissful state of no worries. Apart from the dark wash of her hair, the painting is dominated by a soft palette. The whole scene, including the flooding water from the basin, makes it appear almost sculptural, like a Barbie doll.