Lot  158 Ravenel Spring Auction 2011 Taipei

Ravenel Spring Auction 2011 Taipei

Peach Blossoms

ZHOU Chunya (Chinese, 1955)

2008

Oil on canvas

120 x 150 cm

Estimate

TWD 6,000,000-8,000,000

HKD 1,579,000-2,105,000

USD 200,000-266,700

Sold Price

TWD 13,200,000

HKD 3,577,236

USD 460,412


Signature

Signed lower right Zhou Chun Ya in Chinese and English, dated 2008

+ OVERVIEW

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 the Peach Blossoms series, the peach flowers bloom luxuriantly and enticingly. The strong and vibrant colors add to the luxury and enchantment of the peach garden. In the garden, peach blossoms, traditional symbols of fertility and lust in Chinese culture, wave and glisten in the sun. Under the blossoms entwined lovers caress, embrace, copulate, or sometimes gaze, seemingly perplexed. The lush and resplendent peach blossoms create a harmony with the passionate lovers, as the painting expresses the full vigor and spontaneity of life. However, the blossoms are also transitory representing the fleeting nature of life. The peach blossoms in full bloom will be short-lived heralding the shortness of life for all living things. The blooming of the peaches represents the ecstasy of life; while the falling of the peach blossoms brings unstoppable sorrow. The flamboyant yet fleeting peach blossoms represent passionate, unbounded yet fleeting love. The paintings can also be understood as representing the acquisition of the thing most desired at a particular moment, and the failure to possess that forever. Between the desires of the flesh and the soul, a tragedy is unfolding, as we grasp at beauty and love and contemplate life's journey we are always faced with inevitability of death." (Interpreting "Peach Blossoms and Lovers" Series of Zhou Chunya (excerpt), Liu Lice, Wen Yi Zheng Ming, 2008, Issue 05)

Related Info

Modern & Contemporary Asian Art

Ravenel Spring Auction 2011 Taipei

Sunday, June 5, 2011, 2:30pm