Yu Ji - Let Loose: Online Auction Hong Kong Thursday, June 29, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Hailing from one of Yu Ji’s most notable series “Public Space” which the artist began creating since 2007, the present work is an otherworldly revisitation of sculpture and an extension of its three dimensionality, further challenging the ideas of context and narrative. In reference to the indistinctive reproductions of Socialist-era public lavatories following China’s ‘Open Door’ policy, Public Space No.3 is a wholly organic example that displays the artist’s exploration of utilising upcycled materials within her works. Drawing upon her recollection of memories and interest in the configurations and architectural designs of these public spaces, Yu Ji constructed the present communal structure with meticulously handcrafted plaster cubes presented atop of a makeshift pedestal fabricated with slabs of discarded wood – imbuing a sense of fragility and distinctiveness.

     

    Throughout this conceptual series of sculptural works, the artist aims to consider the shifting nature of our quotidian relationship between mind, body, and architecture. At once unassuming, lies an underlying complicatedness where Yu Ji adopts a literary approach of investigating Walter Benjamin’s unique concept of ‘involuntary’ and ‘conscious’ memory.

     

    Yu Ji’s unique artistic practice continues to transcend time and space whilst subverting the authority of formal and historical accuracy. This has positioned her as one of the most exciting contemporary Chinese artists working today.

    • Provenance

      C Space Gallery, Beijing
      Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Gibraltar (acquired from the above by the present owner)

    • Exhibited

      Beijing, C-Space, I STAND ALONE, 26 November 2011 - 18 February 2012
      Paris, Palais de Tokyo, Inside China, 20 October 2014 - 11 January 2015
      Shanghai, K11 Art Foundation, Inside China: L’intérieur du Géant (Shanghai station), 2 - 31 August 2015

    • Literature

      White Space, Reproduced, Beijing, 2011, p. 10
      Karen Smith, As Seen, Beijing, 2012, n.p.

Property from the Tiroche DeLeon Collection

Ж59

Public Space No. 3

signed and dated 'Yu Ji [in Chinese] 2011' on the underside
plaster dust and wood
overall 119.7 x 50.3 x 33.4 cm. (47 1/8 x 19 3/4 x 13 1/8 in.)
Executed in 2011.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$80,000 - 120,000 
€9,300-14,000
$10,300-15,400

Sold for HK$76,200

Contact Specialist

Sophia Choi
Associate Specialist, Head of Online Sales
20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2093
sophiachoi@phillips.com
 

Let Loose: Online Auction

29 June - 6 July 2023