Liu Xiaodong

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

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現藏者直接購自藝術家本人

Jean Marc Decrop and Christine Buci-Glucksmann, Eds., Modernités Chinoises, France 2003, p. 91, illustrated in colour

Jean Marc Decrop, Ed., Red Flag Collection: Liu Xiaodong, Hong Kong 2006, pp. 2-3, illustrated in colour (cover)

Adrian Cheng and John Dodelande, Eds., Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection, New York 2021, no. 47, illustrated in colour

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Jean Marc Decrop與Christine Buci-Glucksmann編著，《Modernités Chinoises》（法國，2003年），頁91，載彩圖

Jean Marc Decrop編著，《Red Flag Collection: Liu Xiaodong》（香港，2006年），頁2－3，載彩圖（封面）

鄭志剛與John Dodelande編著，《Chinese Art: The Impossible Collection》（紐約，2021年），圖版47，載彩圖

One of the most recognisable examples of Liu Xiaodong’s psychological Neo-Realist paintings, Watching (2000) presents a captivating image of contemplation in which his figures appear wholly consumed in their own thoughts and interior worlds. A painter of modern life, Liu was at the forefront of Neo-Realism in the 1990s, painting people and reality as he saw them without adornment or embellishment. Known for his depiction of groups of people on a large-scale, Watching is a signature example of the artist’s practice and as such has been exhibited around the world and published in notable publications. In Watching, Liu’s figures stand separately yet in proximity to one another, each absorbed in meditative thought. The serenity of the lush background reflects the subjects’ reverie, arousing a sense of ennui that is characteristic of the artist's work.

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《觀看》創作於2000年，畫中各人都在思考並沉醉在各自的內心世界中，氣氛耐人尋味，體現了劉小東在心理層面呈現的「新寫實」（neo-realist）風格，是他其中一幅最具辨識度的作品。劉小東是1990年代新寫實主義的先驅人物，常以現代生活的日常場景為主題，毫無修飾地描繪他眼中的人物和現實境況。他以繪畫人群的大型畫作聞名，《觀看》正是其中一幅典範佳作。劉小東有不少大型作品曾在世界各地展出，並收錄於許多重要專著中。本作中的幾個人物分散地站立在同一個範圍內，每個人都在沉思冥想；他們身後青蔥平靜的風景，正好反映著這些人在白日夢中的狀態，散發著劉小東作品獨有的厭世氣息。