徐冰

一九九一年作
款識：Xu Bing 徐冰，1991，A/P 《析世鑒》卷二第三十七頁。
鈐印：「徐冰木刻」。

直接受贈自藝術家
美國私人收藏

Overall in good condition. There is light scattered foxing throughout the image and the paper bears a slightly yellow tone inherent to original paper used by the artist. Overall framed dimensions: 62 by 79 cm; 24⅜ by 31⅛ in.
"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."

徐冰作為中國著名當代藝術家以其大膽創新的藝術風格享譽海外，其作品大多蘊含深意，常對現象背後意義進行扭曲與重構。532號及533號拍品為徐冰罕見之早期作品，成於1980年代改革開放初期，紀錄其於版畫學習之前遊歷中國各地時的所見所聞所感。兩幅作品中均可一窺徐氏經驗主義的前衛思想以及版畫製作的特殊技法，亦反映其對資源消耗等現實問題的藝術詮釋。

本拍品所繪為位於黃河上游的龍羊峽水電站西側景觀。受毛澤東「人定勝天」思想的影響，中國曾大興水利工程，龍羊峽即為黃河流域數個水利工程之一。此類工程雖宏偉壯觀，然建成後的發電量卻往往遠不及預期所想，而對生態環境卻造成了不可逆的影響與破壞。1986年夏，徐冰以寫生的形式記錄這一歷史性時刻，銅板上蠟，以針作畫。返回北京畫室之後再以強酸浸洗，上墨印製成版畫，整個繪製過程甚為特殊。此作也表現了徐氏對中國飛速發展變化進程的感慨與反思。

此幅為徐冰1991年完成的代表作《天書》系列其中一頁。《天書》為一系列木板印刷的線裝書籍及宣紙長卷，以懸掛及平鋪的方式裝置於展示空間。所印文字皆為徐氏所創之「新漢字」，既無法識別亦無含義，旨在反思中國文化以文字為核心的本質與思維方式，亦批判現代教育機構對文字重要性的褻瀆與輕視。《天書》系列自1987年開始創作之際即被視為20世紀中國藝術之傑作，徐冰亦於1999年憑藉此作榮獲美國文化界最高獎——麥克亞瑟獎。