Xu Bing

signed XU BING, titled, dated 2005, and with two seals of the artist

Albion Gallery, London

United Kingdom, London, Saatchi Gallery, Ink: The Art of China, 19 June - 5 July, 2012, p. 44

Kuo, Jason C., Chinese Ink Painting Now, Distributed Art Publishers, New York, USA; Timezone 8, Hong Kong, China, 2010, p. 255

Overall in very good condition. Framed size: 161.3 x 161.3 cm; 63 1/2 x 63 1/2 in.
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Inscription:
At the Temple to The First Ruler of Shu
Poem by Liu Yu Xi

To Your Heroic Spirit.
Generations paid reverence here for a thousand years
When the land was divided a pot with three feet
It was your merit to restore the ancient coinage of Han
With your minister Zhuge Liang you founded a kingdom
But the son you bore could not compare in brilliance
And when Shu fell
Your former singing girls came to dance before the palaces of Wei

The inscribed is a historical poem by Tang Dynasty poet and philosopher, Liu Yuxi (772-842 CE), documenting the progression of the Shu Kingdom (221-263 CE), one of the three kingdoms that fought for dominance over China in the 3rd century.

Born in Chongqing, Xu Bing is an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist trained at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. Using ancient methods of printmaking and calligraphy to explore new dimensions for contemporary Chinese art, he produces seminal artworks that focus on issues of language and meaning. Beginning in 1994, Xu embarked on his internationally recognized Square Word Calligraphy series (Lot 511) that fuses English and Chinese writing systems and elicits important questions about society's designation of different cultures. Legible in English, each word is written in square shapes resembling Chinese characters. Reflecting his long-time role as a teacher, the artist installed mock classrooms with copybooks and computers in past exhibitions to teach attendees how to read and write in "Square Word" calligraphy. His teachings for the new written word are best conveyed in An Introduction to Square Word Calligraphy, which also asserts the spiritual value of practicing calligraphy. As per the artist, it is "not merely a communicative tool but, also an activity that combines both artistic expression and spiritual energy."¹

Xu Bing is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for his contribution to the arts including the 1999 MacArthur Fellowship (aka "Genius Grant"), the 2003 Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize, and the 2006 Southern Graphics Council Lifetime Achievement Award. His innovative works have been featured in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, New Museum of Contemporary Art, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Joan Miro Foundation, National Gallery of Prague, and Spencer Museum of Art, among other major institutions.

¹ Hearn, Maxwell K., Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA, p. 48