Li Chen - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong Friday, October 6, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Ephemeral beauty – similar to the life cycle of a flower, from bud to blossom, all worldly beauties eventually fade away. After all, many objects of natural beauty are transient for they cannot withstand the test of time. Li Chen captures the moment of flowers blooming splendidly, as if celebrating its glamorous beauty when the heart is free of earthly burdens and attachments. Artist Li Chen hints that a life without regret is a life that has achieved its fulfillment: we establish our fames in the world and learn to give them up, then we take the plunge into another journey with a pure spirit.

     

    This work contains many aesthetic appeals: golden flower petals raining down on the character that sits on a flower bed, the visual impression of sculpture is thus elongated through space, which is considered a unique structure in the Spiritual Journey Through the Great Ether series. Although the top of sculpture follows a zigzag course, the whole body nonetheless adheres to a vertical line. Petals are in picturesque disorder with distinct folding marks. The work is outlined by simple contour and irregular angles, and is made lively by the interplay between smooth and uneven surfaces, dark and gold colors. Li Chen precisely captures the sense of sorrow, informing by subtle and mixed emotions of joy and sentiment.

    • Provenance

      Asia Art Center, Taipei
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

    • Exhibited

      Shanghai, Aurora Museum, Through the Ages - Li Chen Solo Exhibition, 3 November 2018 - 27 January 2019 (another example exhibited)
      Taipei, Museum of Contemporary Art, Being: In/Voluntary Drift – Li Chen Solo Exhibition, 1 July - 27 August 2017 (another example exhibited)
      Taipei, Asia Art Center, Chineseness – A Documentary Exhibition on Li Chen, 28 December 2013 - 28 February 2014 (another example exhibited)

    • Literature

      Asia Art Center., Monumental Levity of Li Chen: Premiere Sculpture Exhibition Place Vendome Paris, Taipei, 2014, p. 165 (another example illustrated)
      Asia Art Center., Through the Ages - Li Chen, Taipei, 2019, p. 114-117, cover (another example illustrated)
      Museum of Contemporary Art., Being : In / Voluntary Drift - Li Chen Solo Exhibition, Taipei, 2018, p. 108-115 (another example illustrated)

133

Ephemeral Beauty

incised 'Li Chen 2013' and numbered ‘19/30’ lower back
bronze
49 x 14.5 x 18 cm. (19 1/4 x 5 3/4 x 7 1/8 in.)
Executed in 2013, this work is number 19 from an edition of 30, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Asia Art International Group Corporation.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$300,000 - 500,000 
€36,300-60,600
$38,500-64,100

Sold for HK$762,000

Contact Specialist

Anastasia Salnikoff
Head of Day Sale, Associate Specialist
+852 2318 2014
anastasiasalnikoff@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 7 October 2023