The Sanya Collection Josep Soler i Casanellas

The history behind the only time than a few of the greatest Chinese

contemporary artists met together and uses traditional techniques. A set of 28

works 140x70 cm in brush and ink on xuan paper did in 2007 during a

Gathering to Sanya .

www.artantide.es

2012

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Introduction

This book is about friendship.

A double story of friendship. First, the story of the encounter of a generation of

contemporary Chinese artists unprecedented group of the first artists who

embraced contemporary art in China, a project around one of the most

important personalities of Chinese art, Lü Peng. Second, and from the purchase

of works of these artists, searching and finding friendship with Lü.

About the history of friendship of the artists and how born The Sanya collection

was will have to talk Lü. Sure than in the memory of the artists and the

material collected by Lü will be much material and stories. But that must be Lü

who bring to light in the future. In any case, it is a story unique in the world of

art, as individual and competitive like it is. Only once in the incipient boom

years of 2007, which later became the greatest artists were working together in

a series of works using the techniques of traditional Chinese art, far from the

oil, the acrylic and canvas usually used in their work.

From the history of friendship with Lü is still continuing and I hope will continue

for years. From the difficulties of finding him, the difficulties of communication,

the difficulties to understand what I searched, have passed 5 years of

exchanges of ideas, reflections, projects to promote Chinese contemporary art

beyond the borders of China, and encounters in Amsterdam, Venice, Beijing,

Chengdu, and Barcelona.

China in 5 years has changed dramatically in economic terms and will hopefully

do also in political terms. It is a world distant yet completely closed to us, very

difficult to understand his dynamics, but hopefully with further and deeply

collaboration of trade, ideas and travel will promote mutual understanding and

open the country to new forms of freedom.

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The Origin: how become a collector

accidentally

I received the Christie’s catalogue for the auction on Nov 25, 2007 and I registered because I wanted a Yue Minjun (if the price were to be within my budget) or the Sanya collection, but I believed this would be very expensive, considering Christie’s estimated price. The auction confirmed that Yue was unaffordable, but regarding the Sanya collection, I was surprised there was not a big interest during the auction.

The auction started with bad signs, one hour delay in Christies live due to excess of public. That means only one thing: too much interest, bids too high. In fact, despite a fair budget, I only can bid at the beginning of the lots. I lost the Yue's, the Tang's... The Sanya collection approaches but my chances were very few, all the lots before reached a very high prices, the lot before, an oil on paper by Zhang Xiaogang, reached 1.800.000HKD, plus auction fees, plus shipment, plus import taxes... The Sanya collection contained at least two very nice Zhang's, one Yue Minjun face smiling, Wangs, Zhengs lines, Zhou blossoms, Mao Paternalism, Ye birds...and despite there were in ink, the price will be high, I thought. The bid started, one click, answer, another click, I thought now will start the war, nothing, one, two for internet bidder, pause, ????, estrange, third for internet bidder. It was mine!!! Where was the mistake, I told to me. 28 works, greatest contemporary artists, color ink, traditional tools... I did not understand why so few interest, I had to wait for receiving the works in order to be sure I did not make a mistake. Which? I do not know, but someone sure. They arrived, no mistake, on the contrary, the works arrived framed, and they look much nicer than in the catalog's picture. Then the problem was that I waited for 28 pieces of paper and I received 28 framed works, where to put them? Where to storage them? Well, that's another history.

I do not understand this lack of interest because of several reasons:

- The honorable purpose of the sale - The idea of the collection - The works are by the most valuable contemporary artists - They are unique and rare works because they are painted by contemporary artists with traditional tools - They are unique because they link contemporary and tradition - They are unique and rare because the artists never did that and probably never will do this again - Someone who would like to support the idea could bid for the woks

Well, the only reason I can think of is that people only want to speculate, to buy recognizable works and in canvas support. They do not think at long term and about the intrinsic value of the works. Despite all this, I think it is a very good business; the works of Zhang Xiaogang alone could get a big price. The lot before was an oil on paper (52x76cm) sold at 1.800.000 HKD (160.000€ or 230.000$) plus 20% buyer’s premium. Any small piece of paper of Basquiat, Warhol or Picasso is valued hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Until I receive

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the works at home and see them I would not believe the price I paid for them. It is largely the higher price I ever paid for a painting.

Anyway, I wanted to write even before receiving the paintings because I would like know who painted what. Three works of Zhang Xiaogang are very recognizable, one Yue Minjun with an smile face also, Wang’s for his let’s say easy work, Ye Yongqing for his traditional work, Mao Xuhui for his scissors, Zeng Fanzhi for his lines and Zhou for his early landscapes, other less. My idea is to maintain the collection with all the information and materials, and the “spirit” which drove the gathering first and the collection afterward. On top of this I would like to buy, step by step and depending on the budget available each year, one work from each one of the artists who went to the gathering. I believe “the Sanya Collection” could be an exhibition per se.

But thinking about that, I told myself “why not to suggest Lü Peng to do something more and take advantage of the great idea of the gathering and sold the works all together like a Collection: “the Sanya Collection”. To do something more to help him also in to rise founds.

Why not to write a book about your Sanya gathering? I very much liked the description in the catalogue and the answers from the artists, therefore why not to explain it in a book. A book containing an explanation of the works, but also with the travel comments and landscape descriptions, the ideas emerged during the gathering, the situation of the artists in the art world, their opinions and thoughts, asking them for contributions, anecdotes, their experiences in this world which is changing so fast and so positively for them… I think you had a unique opportunity to share a trip experience with the most important contemporary artists, all together. Capitalist market moves very fast and probably they will never meet again like this. A book between an “on the road” novel, a critic research and an art book.

Once received the collection I can affirm that it has been a great acquisition, the works framed win in quality and become more powerful, to see the fragility of do so by ink much more. Each work has something in se, but the interpretation of the Zhang works with traditional tools is extremely qualitative. The exercise of Yue Minjun ahead of smile faces is also appreciated (a curiosity, the work was prepared to hold in vertical, probably it’s difficult to understand if you are not familiar with his work and see it from away). Each work is great per se, but the whole is magnificent, unique and rare.

I’m sure, the value of each work separately is bigger than the whole collection, but that’s the difference between speculate and become a collector.

Thanks to Mao Xuhui, Wang Guangyi, Wu Shanzhuan, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Peili and Zhou Chunya for maintain this spirit of a generation of Chinese painting. And thanks to Lü Peng for maintain them linked.

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The Story behind the Works from

'Sanya Elegant Gathering'

The idea of having a relaxing gathering with friends has been on my mind for a

while. Since 1993, Chinese artists have frequently participated in international

and many other exhibitions. Since the late 90s, and especially nowadays, few

artists have been able to relax and rest because of their active involvement in

exhibitions and activities. I started to write 20th Century Chinese Art History in

2004, and at that time I talked to Wang Guangyi, Wu Shanzhuan and Zhou

Chunya about a possible gathering in the future. The chance came as my book

was going to be published in January 2007. I knew I could get the artists

together under the pretext of discussing it. I began to contact Wang Guangyi,

Zhou Chunya, Wu Shanzhuan, Mao Xuhui, Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, Zeng

Fanzhi, Li Luming, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun and Zhang Peili in December 2006,

and invited them for a gathering in Sanya. Everybody was strongly interested in

this idea and so the "elegant gathering" by the sea was confirmed in mid-

December. Unfortunately, because I adjusted the meeting time later, Fang Lijun

could not make this appointment as he had to go to Hong Kong for an activity.

Of course, this was not only a vacation. I arranged a "brush meeting", where all

the artists gather together and paint on the same subject. Not only because this

was a traditional custom for Chinese scholars when they met together at

gatherings, but also I was thinking that I could bring the calligraphy and

paintings to auction after the gathering, and use the proceedings to support

AAA's (Asian Art Archive) academic research and my own art history teaching

program. Of course, I do not see this "brush meeting" as a formal academic

activity. I asked my friend in Nanjing to purchase xuan paper, brush, ink and

four albums for me, as my plan was to let the artists paint without restraint in a

relaxing environment with our traditional utilities instead of oil paint.

Our gathering started on the evening of January 9th. We flew to Tianhong

Resort in Sanya from different cities that day, and Zhou Chunya was the last

one to arrive. Tianhong Resort was the smallest hotel in Sanya's Yalong Bay,

thus it was most suitable for a private gathering, for we could avoid of the

crowds of tourists. After dinner that evening, the artists finished four albums

and a few individual ink on xuan paper paintings in the meeting room by the

resort's swimming pool. In this most relaxed and casual atmosphere, most of

the abstract ink works were completed by brush and, in some cases, hands.

The artists that were present are not considered traditional Chinese painters,

and they seldom use brushes or ink. Consequently, they were able to apply ink

in a totally free way. Zhang Peili completed most of his works by hand.

Everybody was so excited, and some paintings were results of group efforts.

We went to Mount Nan the next day. None of us would have thought that one

day, we, the modern artists, the avant-garde artists, the pioneer artists, and

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the contemporary artists, would worship in a Buddhist temple with incense. All

of us felt that time had flown quickly in the past decades, and that our

understanding and perception of life had changed significantly. The artists

donated generously to the temple, and the scene of Wang Guangyi, Zhang

Xiaogang and Zhang Peili worshiping devotedly in the temple impressed me

deeply. We returned to the resort after dinner, and everybody remained in a

peaceful state of mind. We talked about the past and present state of Chinese

art, people and circumstances. In a peaceful atmosphere, Zhang Xiaogang, Mao

Xuhui, Ye Yongqing and Zhou Chunya completed different number of paintings,

and most of the consignments for this auction were completed that night.

I have included many contemporary artists in my book 20th Century Chinese

Art History. The place that important events have taken in Chinese art history,

from the Modernism campaign in the late 70s to today's contemporary art, is an

issue that concerns most of us. In fact, I hoped through this gathering I could

listen to opinions from different artists on this matter. Though their thoughts

and opinions may not be bases for my future research on Chinese art history,

their feedbacks were beneficial nonetheless.

To my great joy, I managed to achieve my goal. As a member of AAA's

academy council, I believe that AAA's work is most helpful for the research in

Asian contemporary arts (including Chinese art, of course). It is therefore my

continuous goal to contribute to this cause. At the same time, as a lecturer in

the Department of History of Art at the China Academy of Fine Arts, I hope that

my students can have achievements in their studies of contemporary arts. They

need to collect information and interview artists in their research, which

requires financial aids. I would like to take any opportunity to help their

endeavors, and that the "Sanya Elegant Gathering" is an excellent way to do

this. I hope that these works completed by the artists whilst in high spirits can

be sold successfully and collected by those who really appreciate them; and

that the proceeds will fund AAA's research and part of my art history teachings.

To take such an opportunity and carry out this idea relies on the artists.

Therefore I would like to thank all the artists who attended "Sanya Elegant

Gathering": Only because of your generous participation that this charitable

cause was possible. The images and marks you have left are historical

memories. I would also like to thank the AAA. My idea was supported and

encouraged by Claire Hsu and Jane Debevoise, who helped turn these works

into something that will benefit AAA's cause. In addition I would like to thank

Christie's Hong Kong for their understanding and constructive advice to put

these works as a charity auction, which makes the art and the auction

particularly special. Thus, I cannot help but express my appreciation again!

Lü Peng Tuesday, July 10, 2007.

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ZHANG XIAOGANG

Elder Brother, Lu Peng:

I hope you are well. I feel so warm after reading your words about Sanya. I

believe what we have discussed, did and thought in Sanya will show their

historic meaning and cultural value as time passes by. I totally agree with the

way you support AAA's work and development by consigning our spontaneous

paper works made in Sanya to an auction. Thanks for all you have done.

Regards, and have a nice summer, Zhang Xiaogang June 15th, 2007.

Zhang Xiaogang (张晓刚; born in 1958 in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan

Province, in Southwestern China) is a contemporary Chinese symbolist and

surrealist. Paintings in his Bloodline series are often monochromatic, stylized

portraits of Chinese people, usually with large, dark-pupil eyes, posed in a stiff

manner deliberately reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and 1960s.

Since then Zhang Xiaogang become the most valued Chinese contemporary

artist with a record in April 2011 at Sotheby’s his earlier

work Forever lasting love reached

9.000.000$. Zhang’s artworks focus on

the relationship with past, memory and

history. The artist has always placed an

emphasis on the existence of history and

memory in the present. In his works,

history exists in the present, there is no

way to erase it, and it is continuously

being revised. It is impossible to not involve history; our

current perception is too derived from our memories. Zhang has always been a

traditional artist, who expresses man’s experiences and emotions through his

paintings. Those scintillating spots, scars and lines on his canvases reveal the

references to history and the release of emotions. Such traditional expression

and the insistence on it bring us back to the belief in and worship of painting’s

narrative. His effort is to re-emphasize the power of emotion and feeling over

the “super-flat” and “cool.” More recent works by Zhang Xiaogang of the

Amnesia and Remembrance series deal with the workings of memory. The artist

is interested in how memory can be selective and often inaccurate. Here the

artist draws upon elements of his very early work prior to

1993, light bulbs, and open books with writing, pens etc.

All three are incredible works of Zhang, adjusting to his

subjects, but with the lightness, the softness of its lines,

the works are even more sensitive, more ethereal. Have a

pulse to keep the lines as thin and a sublime match the

color. One way to return the contemporaneity to traditional or how tradition can

be contemporary. And yet, the works retain all of its time.

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YUE MINJUN

This great gathering will become a historical memory! This graffiti has recorded

our rebellion and craziness! A book of Chinese art history starts the new era of

arts!

Yue Minjun June 18th, 2007

Yue Minjun (岳敏君; born in 1962 in the town of Daqing in Heilongjiang). He is

best known for oil paintings depicting him in various settings, frozen in

laughter. He has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolor

and prints. While Yue is often classified as part of the Chinese “Cynical Realist”

movement in art developed in China since 1989, Yue himself rejects this label,

while at the same time "doesn't concern himself about what people call him."

One of the most recognizable artists in the West for their smiling faces, smiling

a self-portrait. One of the artists trying to evolve,

leaving behind these

icons. From his early

work in interpreting

the works from classic

western painters but

lack the main figure;

their smiling faces;

to the interpretation

of the great

traditional Chinese

artists in his Labyrinth

series, in this particular works Yue Minjun adopts

the black-and-white

technique of Chinese classical painting to

reintroduce the precious Chinese cultural

heritage and its wealth of painting epitomized

by maestros like Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, and

Xu Beihong, which the Cultural Revolution

(1966-1976) suppressed for the reason of

being part of the

feudalistic “old culture”; or the last coming back to his

firsts motives with a series of pieces re-appropriating

classical Christian paintings like The Annunciation

except the main characters are missing leaving empty

structures and buildings. His strokes are strong here,

both in the smiling face, and in the two papers that

appear a relationship with nature, a reinterpretation of the classic landscapes of

traditional art.

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ZENG FANZHI

Hello, Lu Peng!

First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this Sanya gathering. It

was a wonderful gathering. We had the chance to discuss and recall people and

events in 1985, in which I learned and understood a lot. Of course, I agree that

you bring our co-works to auction to support AAA and your work! Thanks again!

Zeng Fanzhi July 3'd, 2007.

Zeng Fanzhi (曾梵志 born 1964 in Wuhan). He is noted for his Mask series of

portraits depicting Chinese people of the 1990s. In May 2008, one of them,

Mask Series 1996 No. 6, was auctioned for $9.7 million, a record for

contemporary Asian art. By volume has become in 2011 the Chinese artist most

desired by collectors. His series of masks reaches nearly

as high price of Zhang Xiaogang, followed by a series of

lines. The latter is their particular line using four brushes.

An example of

the

simplification of

the art that we

have in The

Sanya

Collection.

These inks on paper work are a

magnificent and rare example of artist Zeng Fanzhi's iconic and immediately

recognizable expressionistic style. At times faint and wandering, at others

aggressive and definite, the dynamic and complex bundle of lines that slowly

unravel across the page, are a testament to the artist's experiments with

subconscious expression through an 'automated' process. Evoking Zeng's

landscape paintings, in which the artist uses one hand to create his subject

while simultaneously using his other hand in an automatic fashion, this work

conveys Zeng's meditative and subconscious working method. Ultimately, this

drawing encapsulates the psychological tension for which Zeng is famous, and

is a rare and stunning testament to the imagination and emotional range of the

artist. "Watermelon" has strong symbolic implication. The cut open red pulp

associates with silent violence and protest, extending

previous claiming of topics like Peking Union Medical

College Hospital, mask, etc. Image of watermelon has

once appeared in his early self-portrait or in the theme of

Last Supper, symbolizing blood and flesh. Here, the

independently existing "Watermelon" presents the full

visual sense resembling silent monolog of the painter.

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ZHOU CHUNYA

The Trip to Sanya

Previously I have mysterious feelings towards the sea, and luxurious feeling

towards sunshine. Both of them are so attractive to people who live in cloudy

inland areas. Even the air becomes precious as time goes by. A place with fresh

air also has people over 100 years old living there. Only one place has premium

sunshine, air and sea, and it is Sanya. I cannot forget my first trip to Sanya.

Zhou Chunya.

Zhou Chunya (周春芽, born in 1955 in Chongqing) is best-known for his

colorful “green dog” series of paintings, a dearly loved German Shepherd. But

he is also considered one of the country’s most talented painters of nature and

rural scenes. His works is almost expressionists, sometimes using jagged brush

strokes and other times creating colorful, blurred sweeping landscapes. His

canvases are often filled with figures left alone in the world or nature scenes

devoid of humans. In recent years, he has begun to

paint a series of portraits filled with sexual scenes in

nature. Zhou usually does this via his sensibility for

color (which always escapes being a language) and

through the very desire to activate the iconographic

tradition of Chinese painting. The arena of neo-

expressionism is the politics of the responsible Self,

allied to the exploration of a divided Self, and the

celebration of nature’s encompassing energies. If the

‘Green Dog’ paintings delve into Eros, the rock

paintings have the undercurrent of the death instinct,

whilst the floral series hold out for survival, security and care.

The work from the Sanya Collection like in The "Peach Blossoms" series

resonates with bright greens, pinks and reds, which are worked with free and

flowing brush strokes creating a vivid and enticing scene. Although reminiscent

of traditional Chinese paintings the energetic and vivid strokes set the works

apart from the soft and elegant images traditionally rendered. Both the colors

and the compositions have a bold and unrestrained expression as if emotions

have been set free. Zhou is considered the greatest master in the use of colors

in Chinese contemporary painting. In fact, he is

the only one who has dared to so many colors.

But the latter, proof of its dominance is seen in

the second work using only shades of gray to

represent one of the famous peach blossoms

approaching a kind of abstraction work but

showing a strong impressionism.

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WANG GUANGYI

We were together because of Lu Peng's 20th Century of Chinese Art. Thus,

these wonderful texts and images were born.

Wang Guangyi

Wang Guangyi (王广义, born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in 1956 or

1957), is known for being the leader of the New Art Movement circles that

erupted out of China after 1989 and for his Great Criticism series of paintings,

using the images of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and

contemporary brand names from western advertising. As an example, Artinfo

notes that one of Wang Guangyis’s Great Criticism paintings “responds to the

recent influx of advertising by juxtaposing the Coca-Cola logo with an image of

a Chinese soldier, appropriating the visual iconography of both the Chinese

Cultural Revolution and American pop art.”

Through his critique, Guangyi’s paintings weave intricate narratives, implicating

the role of the

artist as an active

participant (both

as subjugator

and subservient)

in economic and

social policy.

Guangyi treads a

very delicate line

between moral

dictum and capitalist endorsement; the interpretation

of his paintings alternates with the subjectivity of context. Amalgamating,

confusing, and blurring opposing ideological beliefs, Guangyi’s billboard sized

canvases readily sell out national valor, while simultaneously devaluing status

symbol luxury for the proletariat cause.

The works from The Sanya collection probably go a step forward in his criticism,

reflecting all his thoughts. From hyperrealism to the abstract. How many works

of nudes or regarding sex or photography has been

shown in China right now? Just a few, maybe for that the

importance of the word SEX in this works, and the link

with ART? Perhaps beyond what the words mean, of the

interrelationships and consequences. In any case Wang

Guangyi remains the leader of the Chinese

Contemporary painters and one who always looks for

new forms of expression within the art world, caring little

market value.

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MAO XUHUI

Lu Peng, Greetings! Your letter and words brought me back to beautiful Sanya.

As you mentioned, our gathering was most restful. I live in plateau area without

a glimpse of sea, so the trip to Sanya left me deep and wonderful memories:

the moist air, the soft sunshine, the transparent greenish-blue sea and the

beach with our footprints ... Of course we also had academic activities. With the

publishing of the first book in 20th century Chinese art history, a group of

artists who have contributed positively to Chinese contemporary art had the

chance to get together. We reviewed history, looked forward to the future, and

painted free and relaxed with brushes under a harmonious and pleasant

atmosphere. Having heard that these spontaneous works will be consigned to a

renowned auction house in Asia, with the income being used to support AAA

and your own teaching, I am indeed very happy! I think this is most meaningful

and I am honored that my work can contribute to your cause! Meanwhile, say

Hello to Sanya! Have a nice summer, Da Mao (Mao Xuhui)

Mao Xuhui (毛旭辉, was born in Chongqing, Sichuan in 1956), the idealistic

leader of the mid-1980s Southwest Art Group, which

included Zhang Xiaogang and Pan Dehai, has never strayed

far from Kunming and Gui Mountain in Yunnan province, the

wellspring of his creativity. Mao Xuhui began to take "power"

as a theme in 1989 with the Parents series of paintings. In

1992 he completed the Vocabulary of Power series. It was

from the image of the "parent" that the "scissors" was developed. The "parent"

is an iconic yet shapeless shadow seated on an overwhelming altar-like throne.

It is aloof and awe-inspiring, like a religious icon. The stylized shape of the

"parent" resembles a pair of scissors, and it gradually becomes one which, in

the Scissors series, presides over domestic settings as the "parent" would sit

upon the altar. The menacing presence of the scissors is compounded as an

instrument of the everyday; as such it is a domestic as well as "democratic"

symbol, carrying associated powers by being visually suggestive of the

anthropomorphic god-like "parent" icon. It was not until 2011 that the auction

of his early works its price rose sharply, placing it in the position he deserved in

Chinese contemporary art.

The works in the Sanya collection keep the issues of Mao Xuhui

represented in the series of Paternalism, the chair with the icons. In

this works he is much more intensive because the chair remains

alone, isolated in an island and at the meantime the chair

dominates the island and the whole picture. In the Sanya collection,

two years later the sunshine overwrites the clouds. Therefore, the works in

Sanya are so important, they are the translation of the issues of Mao Xuhui

(scissors and paternalism series) with classical tools, bringing simplicity to them

against the more complex oil on canvas.

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YE YONGQING

At the beginning of this year, Beijing was still cold. Remnant snow was

everywhere, and the city was in a depression. I got a text message from Lu

Peng, in which he used the words, blue sky, white cloud, beach, palm trees,

sunshine and short sleeve T-shirt, to describe our upcoming gathering in Sanya.

Names on the invitation were old friends that I have known for decades. For

many years, gatherings had happened occasionally in different places around

the world, but these people are always the focus of discussion. Lu's new art

history of 100 years brings us not only memory, but also numerous questions.

The three days in Sanya passed by quickly, but fortunately the past, the current

and the future life of Lu Peng's art history remains. If these spontaneous ink

play and graffiti works can do something for the past, the current and the

future life of our art history, I am more than happy to see the results. -Ye Shuai

(Ye Yongqing) June 17th, 2007 Beijing.

Ye Yongqing (叶永青 was born in 1958 in KunMing, Yunna Province) is a

pioneering artist who was part of the Sichuan School of artists. He has spent

much of his

career painting

portraits of birds,

one with jagged,

clever lines. He

also has focused

in recent years

on creating

colorful collages.

Currently the 1st president and artistic director of China Contemporary Art

Institute of China Academy of Art founded in 2010.

I admit, I do not know before, his work on the Gathering are the most

traditional, and I change now when I see them closely, I must say that the

cranes are incredible, the set of strokes and drops of varying intensity are

marvelous and ink red and green gives an incredible force. They appreciated

the difficulty of working with ink. I confess that it is the one that most attracts

me to see their current work completely away from traditionalism and closer to

Basquiat trying to explain a lot of things in a piece of paper or canvas. Trying to

motivate the viewer to think about. In addition to

reading an article by Lü Peng, he is the one who has

made a very strong intellectual activity and certainly the

most unfortunate with the success. Surely he has more

technical skills in the use of ink among the other artists;

his other works are also exceptional.

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WU SHANZHUAN

Chong fu jiu shi Ii liang yijiu ba wu nian, wan quan wu Ii er ling ling ling nian!

(Repetition is power 1985! Completed physics 2000!) Repeat these words five

times and you will get a total of 100 Chinese characters. Plus" San Ya Ya li"

(Sanya Elegant Gathering) has four characters. Multiplied by this by two equals

108* characters! - Wu Shanzhuan

*Note from the translator: Mr. Wu here is making an allusion to 108 heroic

outlaws in the famous Chinese epic Outlaws of the Marsh, to symbolize the

Chinese contemporary and avant-garde artists' rebellious hearts.

Wu Shanzhuan ( 山專 was born in 1960 in Zhoushan) is one of the most

influential artists in the avant-garde movement. He rose to prominence in the

1980s as a long-haired conceptual artist known for his experimental works with

language and the use of big character posters, a kind of precursor to the better

known works of Gu

Wenda and Xu Bing,

which also toyed with

language and meaning.

Wu was part of the red

humor group, engaged

in performance art,

created installations,

appeared at the famed

no u turn exhibition in

1989, he created a “Big

Business” performance

that involved selling

shrimp; and later left for

Europe, where he spent more than a decade in Germany and Iceland before

returning to China in 2005. His works are filled with satire, language tricks,

symbols and radical games. He often posed nude in his art works, for a while

with his former wife, Inga Thorsdottir. His work is filled with absurd imagery

and fantastical language.

The art to write and the billboard for the collection. I like very much his last

works, using strong colorful images and words to reinforce the message, his

work on ink is really interesting. For the artist who use more words in his

works, the less.

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ZHANG PEILI

Zhang Peili (张培力 born in 1957 in Hangzhou). Zhang Peili earned his

reputation as the father of video art in China for his response to an invitation to

create a new work for the historic Huangshan Conference on modern art in

1988. He borrowed video equipment – which was, at the time, hard to come

by – from friends at the customs bureau and used it to film his latex-gloved

hands breaking a mirror and then meticulously gluing the shards back into

place.

He is beginning with the cool and contained painting of the mid-1990s and then

moving into the aesthetics of boredom and control in his first video projects.

Zhang Peili is an enigmatic figure: while he is widely respected in China as a

pioneering video artist and a progenitor of the use of electronic media in the

wake of the 85 New Wave

movement of the mid-1980s, his

international reputation relies

primarily on a small number of survey

exhibitions. In 2011 one of his early

paintings was auctioned for a

shocking HK$23 million during the

controversial Sotheby’s sale of a

portion of the Ullens Collection in

Hong Kong.

The recognition of Zhang Peili is less

than their counterparts likely due to

use video and installations in their

work.

Probably why their work is one of the most abstract of all the collection and

maybe the translation in his own words by an interview: “What I felt during the

early stages of my development as an artist was that there is a kind of

underlying force or power. Sudden changes or disasters, which have been

caused either by nature or human beings, made me realize that people live in

an illusion, and this feeling has become stronger as my career as an artist has

developed. All these beautiful and supposedly stable states are so fragile. They

are just illusions. Changeable and destructive states are inevitable. THEY are

the realities”.

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WANG GUANGYI and ZHAN PEILI

What can we expect from two artists like them? Introduce the use of hands.

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ZHANG XIAOGANG and WU

SHANZHUAN

A tribute to Qi Baishi.

Qi Baishi (齐白石; was born in January 1, 1864 in

Xiangtang, Hunan – Beijing, September 16, 1957). He

is perhaps the most noted for the whimsical, often

playful style of his watercolor works.

The subjects of his paintings include almost

everything, commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys,

vegetables, and so on. He theorized that "paintings

must be something between likeness and

unlikeness, much like today's vulgarians,

but not like to

cheat popular

people". In his

later years, many

of his works

depict mice,

shrimp, or birds.

He was also good

at seal carving

and called himself

"the fortune of

three hundred

stone seals".

In 1953 he was elected to the president of the Association of Chinese Artists.

One of his paintings, Eagle Standing on Pine Tree was sold for 425.5 million

yuan ($65.5 million) in 2011, becoming one of the most expensive paintings

ever sold at auction.

According to Artprice index the firsts four artists by amount in auctions 2011

are: Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.

Unable to close this collection to better.

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