Signature
Signed lower right HSIA Yan in English and dated 81
Signed on the reverse HSIA Yan in English titled Con
Edison Men and dated 1981, inscribed oil on canvas
36" x 52" in English
PROVENANCE:
O.K. Harris Gallery, New York
Private collection, Europe
EXHIBITED:
Yan Hsia, OK Harris Gallery, New York, May-June,1982 ;
Meridian International Center; Washington, D.C., USA
Museum of Fine Art,Hanoi, Vietnam;
Shanghai,Painting Institute,Shanghai,China;
Working People's Cultural Palace Beijing,China;
CIPTA Gallery, Jakarta Arts Center, Manila;
Metropolitan Museum Singapore Art Museum, Outward Bound, May 1999-September 2000
+ OVERVIEW
THE FREE SOUL OF THAT TIME IN NEW YORK
"True artistic exchange happens when an artist extends their cultural influence beyond their own country while the core of their work remains within their home country"
Hsia Yan, one of the avant-garde artist of his time, who collaborated with Hsiao Chin on Ton Fan Art Group and was instrumental in bringing modern Taiwanese painting into international exhibitions. Being born into a chaotic world, although the world keeps spinning, Hsia Yan emigrated to New York in 1968 and was influenced by New Realism of the time. Using his pen he captured the streetscapes of New York with great accuracy. New Realism at the time was also known as Photorealism, with great emphasis placed on technique and fine execution, creating a "present" moment. This "present" is irrelevant to the actual length of time; it originates in the action of the moment. Within this avant-garde moment, Hsia Yan became a representative of photorealism in New York.
With Eastern style and philosophy, Hsia Yan's New York period stands out within the trend of photorealism. However, ultra-realism without the subjective emotion of the creator is a reproduction of the real world, the viewer has the feeling of actually being there, recording a sort of beautiful industrial civilization. This "Con Edison Men" was created in 1983: a blurry bustling pedestrian scene, emulating long exposure photography. His works use his free painting method to concentrate on the composition of the picture with the inspiration involuntarily incorporated. Hsia Yan vividly reproduces the bustling feeling of speed of people in modern urban civilization. This existence, with emptiness, desolation, and a feeling of modernity that arises from urban life. Their steps are fixed, free of the constraints of time and space. It could be the past, it could be this very moment, or it could be the future. Hsia Yan's art embodies the most intense life experiences in a natural and dynamic painting language, while creating his own timeless works for the observation of the times.
