Yue Minjun - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale in Association with Poly Auction Hong Kong Thursday, December 3, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Alexander Ochs Gallery, Berlin
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    Scheveningen, Museum Beelden aan Zee, Xianfeng! Chinese Avant-garde Sculpture, 2005
    Herford, Museum fur zeitgenossische Kunst und Design, Loss of Control, 2008

  • Catalogue Essay

    As part of 5 unique sets of sculptures that the artist created, the present lot is part of the group entitled Contemporary Terracotta Warriors No. 5. Yue Minjun created five of these sets of unique sculptures, each comprising 25 warriors with a different stylistic rendering of the arms: some with their arms crossed in front of their bodies, some with their hands over their ears and, in this instance, with their arms raised. The artist wittily injects contemporaneity through his reinterpretation of the historical terracotta warriors found in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, one of China’s most influential emperors. Yue Minjun creates each of his warriors to be identical in order not to exhibit individualism, boldly critiquing the numbing similitude that plagues current society in the modern age.

Ж140

Two works: Contemporary Terracotta Warriors No.5

2003
each signed, numbered and dated ‘yue minjun 5 17/25; 18/25 2003’ on the reverse respectively
acrylic on fibreglass and reinforced plastic with iron base
each 187 x 92 x 42 cm. (73 5/8 x 36 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.)
Executed in 2003, these two works are number 17 and 18 from a set of 25 and will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Estimate
HK$550,000 - 750,000 
€70,200-95,700
$70,500-96,200

Sold for HK$1,071,000

Contact Specialist

Danielle So
Associate Specialist, Head of Day Sale

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale in Association with Poly Auction

Hong Kong Auction 4 December 2020