- 123
Lui Liu (Liu Yi)
Estimate
2,800,000 - 3,800,000 HKD
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Description
- Lui Liu (Liu Yi)
- Public vs. Republic
- oil on canvas
signed in Pinyin and dated 2011
Provenance
Private Asian Collection
Exhibited
Beijing, Today Art Museum, The Oil Paintings of Lui Liu, 6 April – 17 April 2011
Literature
Hi Art, Hi Art, Beijing, 2011, May Issue, p. 89
Lui Liu and Situ Yong, Liu Pangzi Painting Skills, People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Beijing, 2012, p. 12
Lui Liu and Situ Yong, Liu Pangzi Painting Skills, People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Beijing, 2012, p. 12
Condition
This work is in very good condition. There is a 12-cm long slight abrasion along the upper left edge; a small paint loss on the top edge, 5 cm to the left corner; and a hair next to the artist's signature. Under UV light, there are spots of fluorescence scattered in the right part, presumably inherent to the artist's working method.
"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."
"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
Lui Liu ’s Surrealist Masterpiece - Public vs. Republic
Hallucination and Fantasy
“Everyone has dreams. That is why painting dreams has become something an artist should do. My purpose in painting is merely to let other people see my paintings during the day, and think about their own dreams at night.”
Lui Liu
Following his internet sensation Beijing 2008, fine art painter Lui Liu has quickly become a household name. Liu was among the first cohort of students since the end of Cultural Revolution to enter the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied alongside Chen Danqing, Yang Feiyun and Wang Yidong. His advanced skills in Realist painting are undisputed. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, the artist travelled alone to Canada, where he spent the following two decades. Meanwhile, the Realism movement in China went through a gradual process of freeing itself from the Soviet influence, and shifted its focus of development to Native Realism and Classical Realism. Lui Liu, who has been active in North America, did not join the artistic mainstream emerging in Mainland China. Instead, he carved a niche of his own by placing his creative focus on exploring the potential within the Surrealist movement. His works are enigmatic and full of cryptic metaphors, their themes are often about the society whilst an intense sense of modernity is conveyed. Public vs. Republic (Lot 123) serves as a powerful example of the artist’s profound treatment of the allegorical ideas which permeate his dynamic and vivid imagination.
Truth within the fantastical and the absurd
In modern human civilisation, Surrealism represents far more than just an artistic category. It is truly a movement that revolutionises our thinking on a grand scale. During the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud and fellow pioneer psychologists discovered the enormously powerful subconscious underneath the conscious mind. Their discoveries sparked a vast wave of interest and research. In 1924, French poet André Breton first published his Manifesto of Surrealism, marking the beginning of the Surrealist movement.
Salvatore Dali, Franz Kafka, Liu Yichang’s stream-of-consciousness novels, or even the recent and hugely popular Hollywood blockbuster Inception are all intimately related to Surrealist concepts. At the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the large-scale retrospective Le Surréalisme et l'objet recently closed in March 2013. Such a high profile event reflects Surrealism’s enormous influence on the past century. Extremely well-versed in capturing the essence of Surrealism, Lui Liu is an exceptional talent that stands out in the Contemporary Chinese art scene.
As Breton stated in his Manifesto of Surrealism, “The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be -- the greater its emotional power and poetic reality.” During the second half of the 20th century, China went through the experiment of completely turning to socialism, a series of large-scale reformations as well as major economic reforms. The face of its society went through enormous transformations over a short period of time, which as a result prompted a wide range of possibilities for Surrealism. Whether in its exaggerated contrast and associative thoughts, or in the setting of characters and situation, Public vs. Republic truly embodies the essence of Surrealism. The wide open dimensions for interpretation allow the viewer to relate the painting to real people and events in contemporary society, greatly contributing to the work’s depth and richness.
A string of hidden metaphors open to a multitude of interpretations
Public vs. Republic offers an immediate, powerful visual impact and a staggering sense of reality, as if the event portrayed is indeed unfolding in front of the viewer, despite the absurd nature of such an event. At first glance, the man in the middle bears a distinct resemblance to the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong, but upon closer examination, he seems to be an amalgamation of several other modern figures, including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. This earnest, idealistic character exhibits a martyr like sense of awakening and realisation akin to Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross.
Yet the women around him are confrontational, hypocritical, false and absurd, suggesting the temptation of flattery and foreboding the downfall of heroism. The character who commands our attention the most, however, is the Peking opera performer, who is wearing a traditional headdress, at the front of the picture. Does she have the same facial expression as the other women? Or is she sending a different message to the man? Is her nakedness a veiled metaphor of the awkward situation faced by cultural traditions as times change and societies evolve? The placement of a Peking opera character in the painting instills a classical dimension as well as an element of nation and culture. It also heightens the conflict among the characters and creates strong dramatic tension, appositely described by Chen Danqing in his article My Classmate Lui Liu as “a sense of drama with strong emotional impact, yet difficult to decipher”.
Public vs. Republic accentuates the idealistic spirit of the main character who impetuously rushes towards his dreams, in the midst of the power struggle between various characters in the painting. The work exhibits a sense of righteousness, but is simultaneously laced with a witty, dark Quixotic humor. Hidden deeply underneath are the artist’s empathetic understanding of the world as well as his piercing insights and wisdom.
Hallucination and Fantasy
“Everyone has dreams. That is why painting dreams has become something an artist should do. My purpose in painting is merely to let other people see my paintings during the day, and think about their own dreams at night.”
Lui Liu
Following his internet sensation Beijing 2008, fine art painter Lui Liu has quickly become a household name. Liu was among the first cohort of students since the end of Cultural Revolution to enter the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied alongside Chen Danqing, Yang Feiyun and Wang Yidong. His advanced skills in Realist painting are undisputed. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, the artist travelled alone to Canada, where he spent the following two decades. Meanwhile, the Realism movement in China went through a gradual process of freeing itself from the Soviet influence, and shifted its focus of development to Native Realism and Classical Realism. Lui Liu, who has been active in North America, did not join the artistic mainstream emerging in Mainland China. Instead, he carved a niche of his own by placing his creative focus on exploring the potential within the Surrealist movement. His works are enigmatic and full of cryptic metaphors, their themes are often about the society whilst an intense sense of modernity is conveyed. Public vs. Republic (Lot 123) serves as a powerful example of the artist’s profound treatment of the allegorical ideas which permeate his dynamic and vivid imagination.
Truth within the fantastical and the absurd
In modern human civilisation, Surrealism represents far more than just an artistic category. It is truly a movement that revolutionises our thinking on a grand scale. During the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud and fellow pioneer psychologists discovered the enormously powerful subconscious underneath the conscious mind. Their discoveries sparked a vast wave of interest and research. In 1924, French poet André Breton first published his Manifesto of Surrealism, marking the beginning of the Surrealist movement.
Salvatore Dali, Franz Kafka, Liu Yichang’s stream-of-consciousness novels, or even the recent and hugely popular Hollywood blockbuster Inception are all intimately related to Surrealist concepts. At the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the large-scale retrospective Le Surréalisme et l'objet recently closed in March 2013. Such a high profile event reflects Surrealism’s enormous influence on the past century. Extremely well-versed in capturing the essence of Surrealism, Lui Liu is an exceptional talent that stands out in the Contemporary Chinese art scene.
As Breton stated in his Manifesto of Surrealism, “The more the relationship between the two juxtaposed realities is distant and true, the stronger the image will be -- the greater its emotional power and poetic reality.” During the second half of the 20th century, China went through the experiment of completely turning to socialism, a series of large-scale reformations as well as major economic reforms. The face of its society went through enormous transformations over a short period of time, which as a result prompted a wide range of possibilities for Surrealism. Whether in its exaggerated contrast and associative thoughts, or in the setting of characters and situation, Public vs. Republic truly embodies the essence of Surrealism. The wide open dimensions for interpretation allow the viewer to relate the painting to real people and events in contemporary society, greatly contributing to the work’s depth and richness.
A string of hidden metaphors open to a multitude of interpretations
Public vs. Republic offers an immediate, powerful visual impact and a staggering sense of reality, as if the event portrayed is indeed unfolding in front of the viewer, despite the absurd nature of such an event. At first glance, the man in the middle bears a distinct resemblance to the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong, but upon closer examination, he seems to be an amalgamation of several other modern figures, including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. This earnest, idealistic character exhibits a martyr like sense of awakening and realisation akin to Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross.
Yet the women around him are confrontational, hypocritical, false and absurd, suggesting the temptation of flattery and foreboding the downfall of heroism. The character who commands our attention the most, however, is the Peking opera performer, who is wearing a traditional headdress, at the front of the picture. Does she have the same facial expression as the other women? Or is she sending a different message to the man? Is her nakedness a veiled metaphor of the awkward situation faced by cultural traditions as times change and societies evolve? The placement of a Peking opera character in the painting instills a classical dimension as well as an element of nation and culture. It also heightens the conflict among the characters and creates strong dramatic tension, appositely described by Chen Danqing in his article My Classmate Lui Liu as “a sense of drama with strong emotional impact, yet difficult to decipher”.
Public vs. Republic accentuates the idealistic spirit of the main character who impetuously rushes towards his dreams, in the midst of the power struggle between various characters in the painting. The work exhibits a sense of righteousness, but is simultaneously laced with a witty, dark Quixotic humor. Hidden deeply underneath are the artist’s empathetic understanding of the world as well as his piercing insights and wisdom.