Lot  118 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2006

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2006

Great Criticism - Gillette

WANG Guangyi (Chinese, 1957)

2004

Oil on canvas

150 x 120 cm

Estimate

TWD 5,200,000-7,000,000

HKD 1,239,000-1,667,000

USD 159,100-214,100

Sold Price

TWD 6,034,000

HKD 1,459,956

USD 186,696


Signature

Signed on the reverse Wang Guangyi in English and Chinese, dated 2004

EXHIBITED:


Always to the Front-China Cotemporary Art, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, April 29 - May 29, 2005

ILLUSTRATED:


Always to the Front - China Contemporary Art, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, 2005, color illustrated, p. 42

+ OVERVIEW

While many seek emotional resources from the world, the history, and the country in the 80's, Wang was a typical utopian during that time, he tried to create an orderliness, cold, and simple style of his own. But, "there have always been an annoying problem during that time, that is, I don't feel excited when others praised my works" he said. After that, he tried to collect some of those familiar, once abandoned techniques back, and later in 1988, he painted three Mao Tsetung portraits, and these portraits have made him a part of the '89 'China Contemporary Art Exhibition', he was widely praised, and that moment is the starting point of his creation.

He discovered that works created from fresh experiences "will bring confidence to the artist, and they're also new and unique." When he attended the "Venice Biannual" with his "Great Criticism" in 1993, he had already stopped to make efforts on his styles; instead, he used the copy and paste technique to produce images directly. His "Great Criticism" is no doubt influential to the academia. When talking about the Cultural Revolution, "Great Criticism" aimed to the consumer culture, the picture that the artist presents filled with wisdom, humor and strong visual attractions. His pop art style has become an unique Chinese style and symbol, and this makes his "Great Criticism" is the symbol that represents himself in the art world.

In Wang's "Great Criticism", he used a now useless class struggle gesture to reformulize the existing consumer culture, formed a virtual, unreal criticism. World-famed brands have changed their traits and properties in his works, he also changed their relationship with the reality, and they're dyed with the consumer culture and got involved with the politics. These pictures often arouse people's conflict emotions, and the impact from the material world, politics have become the first subject to be attacked by artists, and through the destruction of these ideas, the artist made his stand.

Related Info

The 20th & 21st Century Chinese Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2006

Sunday, December 3, 2006, 12:00am