Xue Song - New Now & Design Hong Kong Sunday, November 26, 2023 | Phillips

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  • DAW Chinese Contemporary Art Collection: A Collector’s Story

     

    DAW was exposed to and fascinated by western contemporary art through attending Art Basel and working in New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was collecting western Pop art, a reflection of the rising industrialisation and economic power in the 1960s and 1970s.

     

    When visiting Shanghai and wider China for the first time in 1997, DAW quickly felt the shift from communism to capitalism and was introduced to Lorenz Helbing, a Swiss and owner of ShanghART Gallery. DAW was intrigued by the quantum shift in economic growth, infrastructural mega projects, and the fast social adoption by the Chinese people. This shift was reflected in the Chinese Contemporary Art driven by creative and free-spirited artists. DAW was immediately attracted by the strength and power of this art.

     

    With the support of Lorenz, DAW visited most of the represented artists in their studios and started to collect works from many of China’s most significant artists, including Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Enli, Wang Guangyi, among many others….. Recently, PHILLIPS spoke with DAW about how he entered the art world and the evolution of his collecting journey.

     

    Portrait of DAW by Xue Song, 2003

     

    PHILLIPS: How did your path to collecting Chinese Contemporary Art begin? Do you recall what the first piece was you acquired?

     

    DAW:  I took my time to visit many galleries and artist studios, before buying my first Chinese Contemporary Art pieces, since I wanted to deeply understand the market (I guess a very Swiss approach). Finally, I bought my first pieces from Xue Song, Geng Jianyi, Ding Yi and Zeng Fanzhi at once through ShanghART in 2002.

     

    PHILLIPS: Looking back over your collecting journey, how have your tastes evolved?

     

    DAW: When the Chinese Contemporary Art market started to take off through the first pieces appearing at auctions in 2006-2007 (for example, Zeng Fanzhi shot in the world auction ranking from position 4,968 in 2004 to 28 in 2007), a new and younger generation of artists emerged with different views and topics reflecting the quantum shift and the fast-changing world. I started to visit these younger artists and collecting their artworks.

     

    PHILLIPS: You are truly an engaged collector in that many of your works have been purchased directly from the artists’ studios. Is it important for you to meet artists in person?  

     

    DAW: I am a very curious person and like to meet interesting people. Therefore, it was natural for me to meet the source of inspiration and understanding more about the creators.

     

    PHILLIPS: What is the focus regarding the artists in your collection? Do you feel there are themes that unites the works you have acquired? What inspires you in this category of art?

     

    DAW:  To simplify it, I guess that my collection is all about faces, scapes (land and city) and objects. It all goes back to the people, their country, and creations.

     

    PHILLIPS: What advice would you give to a collector who is just starting out? What criteria should one set for oneself when collecting?

     

    DAW: First of all, it is important to collect what you like (unless you see art as alternative investment asset). Second, I never saw myself as a collector, as I was passionate about living with the art pieces. Third, if you are buying into new art (like I did at that time) and it does not cost too much money (all relative of course), do not worry too much. If the price tag is heavier, carefully look at the artist works portfolio and evolution, understand the role of the gallery representing the artist and check out potential auction results.

     

    PHILLIPS: Apart from art, are there any other interesting categories that you’ve collected in? Does this relate to your art collecting habits or philosophy in any way?

     

    DAW: I was into Asian antiques, vintage cars, watches, and furniture and of course into books, music, films and wines. It was all about surrounding myself and enjoying the most beautiful things of what life has to offer. 

     

    PHILLIPS: From your point of view, what are the key trends shaping the future of art collecting and collection management? Which part of the technological advances today excites you the most?

     

    DAW: Collecting art (like many other categories) has become a lot easier and transparent with the birth of the internet. With the birth of blockchain technology in 2009, art collecting and collection management will move more digital. This does not mean that physical and traditional art media will disappear, but it will be more and more digitally depicted. Blockchain and NFTs are a game changer for traditional and digital art. The last two years of the Covid19 pandemic have perpetuated this shift.

     

     

    Catalogue Note

     

    Widely lauded for his distinctive collages combining charred remnants of classical Chinese works with recognisable figures, Xue Song toys with the tension between destruction and creation, high and low art, effectively blurring categorial imperatives. Inspired by old portraits of Sun Zhongshan, the silhouette in the present lot is pieced together by a collage of paper fragments, an iconic medium that Xue started to experiment with in the 1990s.

     

    In a strange twist of fate, Xue’s change in artistic direction was spurred by a fire that consumed his studio in 1991, reducing everything within to ashes. After a period of reflection, the artist saw creative potential in the devasting loss, and began to incorporate burnt fragments which survived with images compiled from his rich sources:

     

    “Every year, I cut images from maybe a thousand books and from piles of old newspapers and photographs searching for the right images. Maybe it could be an image of Chairman Mao or Shanghai beauties, women playing mah-jong, scenes from the Cultural Revolution, or it could be of contemporary events.”
    —— Xue Song

     

    In light of the accident, ash and burnt paper became integral elements of Xue’s collages, even after all original fragments were consumed. In the present lot, the paper shards are distinctly charred – the edges of each individual piece are singed by hand and meticulously applied onto the canvas, as a reminder of fate, remembrance, mourning and rebirth.

     

    The artist in his studio with the present work

     

    • Provenance

      ShanghArt Gallery, Shanghai
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

DAW CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION

Ж65

Sun Zhongshan

signed, titled, inscribed and dated 'Celebrity Series "Sun Zhongshan" [both in Chinese] Xue Song [in Chinese and Pinyin] 2001.' on the reverse
mixed media and paper collage on canvas
180.2 x 150.5 cm. (70 7/8 x 59 1/4 in.)
Executed in 2001.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$250,000 - 350,000 
€29,400-41,100
$32,100-44,900

Sold for HK$228,600

Contact Specialist

Angela Tian
Associate Specialist, Head of New Now & Design Sale
20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2058
AngelaTian@phillips.com

New Now & Design

Hong Kong Auction 26 November 2023