Yue Minjun - BRIC London Thursday, April 14, 2011 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong; acquired directly from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    Beijing, Schoeni Art Gallery, Beijing Inaugural Exhibition/10th Anniversary Celebration, 16 March – 16 April 2002

  • Literature

    Beijing Inaugural Exhibition/10th Anniversary Celebration, exh. cat., Schoeni Art Gallery, Beijing/Hong Kong, 2002

  • Catalogue Essay

    “We are in a world full of idols. We see them everywhere. Liu Hulan, Lei Feng, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Picasso, Stalin and so on and so forth. They stand erect in your heart and your life is under their influence and control. I discovered what each of these people as an idol share in common, spreading his or her own image everywhere. Just occasionally I simplify and use this method in my art, repeatedly idolizing myself. I long to be an idol, because once a person becomes an idol, he or she can enter into the blood veins of others and control their ideology. “Frankly speaking, nowadays the phenomenon of idols has become extremely tiresome. People have such strong feelings for their idols that as soon as an image of great person flashes through their minds they feel nauseous. Life has become tasteless and absurd because of the idols. Do you not think one should counter and ridicule idols with a hearty laugh?
    “I want simply to confront idols with idol, to allow society to become a little more interesting!”
    (Yue Minjun, ‘Some thoughts about art’, from the artist’s website)

14

99 Idol Series, No. 84

1996
Oil on canvas.
25.5 x 20 cm (10 x 7 7/8 in).
Signed in Chinese, titled and dated ‘Yue Minjun 1996  – 84’ on the reverse.

Estimate
£50,000 - 80,000 

Sold for £91,250

BRIC

14 - 15 April 2011
London