The Sanya Collection

2012

The Sanya Collection Josep Soler i Casanellas The history behind the only time than a few of the greatest Chinese contemporary artists met together and uses traditional techniques. A set of 28 works 140x70 cm in brush and ink on xuan paper did in 2007 during a Gathering to Sanya . www.artantide.es

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Introduction This book is about friendship.

A double story of friendship. First, the story of the encounter of a generation of contemporary Chinese artists unprecedented group of the first artists who embraced contemporary art in China, a project around one of the most important personalities of Chinese art, Lü Peng. Second, and from the purchase of works of these artists, searching and finding friendship with Lü.

About the history of friendship of the artists and how born The Sanya collection was will have to talk Lü. Sure than in the memory of the artists and the material collected by Lü will be much material and stories. But that must be Lü who bring to light in the future. In any case, it is a story unique in the world of art, as individual and competitive like it is. Only once in the incipient boom years of 2007, which later became the greatest artists were working together in a series of works using the techniques of traditional Chinese art, far from the oil, the acrylic and canvas usually used in their work.

From the history of friendship with Lü is still continuing and I hope will continue for years. From the difficulties of finding him, the difficulties of communication, the difficulties to understand what I searched, have passed 5 years of exchanges of ideas, reflections, projects to promote Chinese contemporary art beyond the borders of China, and encounters in Amsterdam, Venice, Beijing, Chengdu, and Barcelona.

China in 5 years has changed dramatically in economic terms and will hopefully do also in political terms. It is a world distant yet completely closed to us, very difficult to understand his dynamics, but hopefully with further and deeply collaboration of trade, ideas and travel will promote mutual understanding and open the country to new forms of freedom.

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The Origin: how become a collector accidentally I received the Christie’s catalogue for the auction on Nov 25, 2007 and I registered because I wanted a Yue Minjun (if the price were to be within my budget) or the Sanya collection, but I believed this would be very expensive, considering Christie’s estimated price. The auction confirmed that Yue was unaffordable, but regarding the Sanya collection, I was surprised there was not a big interest during the auction.

The auction started with bad signs, one hour delay in Christies live due to excess of public. That means only one thing: too much interest, bids too high.

In fact, despite a fair budget, I only can bid at the beginning of the lots. I lost the Yue's, the Tang's... The Sanya collection approaches but my chances were very few, all the lots before reached a very high prices, the lot before, an oil on paper by Zhang Xiaogang, reached 1.800.000HKD, plus auction fees, plus shipment, plus import taxes... The Sanya collection contained at least two very nice Zhang's, one Yue Minjun face smiling, Wangs, Zhengs lines, Zhou blossoms, Mao Paternalism, Ye birds...and despite there were in ink, the price will be high, I thought. The bid started, one click, answer, another click, I thought now will start the war, nothing, one, two for internet bidder, pause, ????, estrange, third for internet bidder. It was mine!!! Where was the mistake, I told to me. 28 works, greatest contemporary artists, color ink, traditional tools... I did not understand why so few interest, I had to wait for receiving the works in order to be sure I did not make a mistake. Which? I do not know, but someone sure. They arrived, no mistake, on the contrary, the works arrived framed, and they look much nicer than in the catalog's picture. Then the problem was that I waited for 28 pieces of paper and I received 28 framed works, where to put them? Where to storage them? Well, that's another history.

I do not understand this lack of interest because of several reasons: - The honorable purpose of the sale - The idea of the collection - The works are by the most valuable contemporary artists - They are unique and rare works because they are painted by contemporary artists with traditional tools - They are unique because they link contemporary and tradition - They are unique and rare because the artists never did that and probably never will do this again - Someone who would like to support the idea could bid for the woks Well, the only reason I can think of is that people only want to speculate, to buy recognizable works and in canvas support. They do not think at long term and about the intrinsic value of the works. Despite all this, I think it is a very good business; the works of Zhang Xiaogang alone could get a big price. The lot before was an oil on paper (52x76cm) sold at 1.800.000 HKD (160.000€ or 230.000$) plus 20% buyer’s premium. Any small piece of paper of Basquiat, Warhol or Picasso is valued hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Until I receive

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the works at home and see them I would not believe the price I paid for them.

It is largely the higher price I ever paid for a painting.

Anyway, I wanted to write even before receiving the paintings because I would like know who painted what. Three works of Zhang Xiaogang are very recognizable, one Yue Minjun with an smile face also, Wang’s for his let’s say easy work, Ye Yongqing for his traditional work, Mao Xuhui for his scissors, Zeng Fanzhi for his lines and Zhou for his early landscapes, other less. My idea is to maintain the collection with all the information and materials, and the “spirit” which drove the gathering first and the collection afterward. On top of this I would like to buy, step by step and depending on the budget available each year, one work from each one of the artists who went to the gathering. I believe “the Sanya Collection” could be an exhibition per se.

But thinking about that, I told myself “why not to suggest Lü Peng to do something more and take advantage of the great idea of the gathering and sold the works all together like a Collection: “the Sanya Collection”. To do something more to help him also in to rise founds.

Why not to write a book about your Sanya gathering? I very much liked the description in the catalogue and the answers from the artists, therefore why not to explain it in a book. A book containing an explanation of the works, but also with the travel comments and landscape descriptions, the ideas emerged during the gathering, the situation of the artists in the art world, their opinions and thoughts, asking them for contributions, anecdotes, their experiences in this world which is changing so fast and so positively for them… I think you had a unique opportunity to share a trip experience with the most important contemporary artists, all together. Capitalist market moves very fast and probably they will never meet again like this. A book between an “on the road” novel, a critic research and an art book.

Once received the collection I can affirm that it has been a great acquisition, the works framed win in quality and become more powerful, to see the fragility of do so by ink much more. Each work has something in se, but the interpretation of the Zhang works with traditional tools is extremely qualitative.

The exercise of Yue Minjun ahead of smile faces is also appreciated (a curiosity, the work was prepared to hold in vertical, probably it’s difficult to understand if you are not familiar with his work and see it from away). Each work is great per se, but the whole is magnificent, unique and rare.

I’m sure, the value of each work separately is bigger than the whole collection, but that’s the difference between speculate and become a collector.

Thanks to Mao Xuhui, Wang Guangyi, Wu Shanzhuan, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Peili and Zhou Chunya for maintain this spirit of a generation of Chinese painting. And thanks to Lü Peng for maintain them linked.

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The Story behind the Works 'Sanya Elegant Gathering'

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The idea of having a relaxing gathering with friends has been on my mind for a while. Since 1993, Chinese artists have frequently participated in international and many other exhibitions. Since the late 90s, and especially nowadays, few artists have been able to relax and rest because of their active involvement in exhibitions and activities. I started to write 20th Century Chinese Art History in 2004, and at that time I talked to Wang Guangyi, Wu Shanzhuan and Zhou Chunya about a possible gathering in the future. The chance came as my book was going to be published in January 2007. I knew I could get the artists together under the pretext of discussing it. I began to contact Wang Guangyi, Zhou Chunya, Wu Shanzhuan, Mao Xuhui, Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, Zeng Fanzhi, Li Luming, Ye Yongqing, Yue Minjun and Zhang Peili in December 2006, and invited them for a gathering in Sanya. Everybody was strongly interested in this idea and so the "elegant gathering" by the sea was confirmed in midDecember. Unfortunately, because I adjusted the meeting time later, Fang Lijun could not make this appointment as he had to go to Hong Kong for an activity.

Of course, this was not only a vacation. I arranged a "brush meeting", where all the artists gather together and paint on the same subject. Not only because this was a traditional custom for Chinese scholars when they met together at gatherings, but also I was thinking that I could bring the calligraphy and paintings to auction after the gathering, and use the proceedings to support AAA's (Asian Art Archive) academic research and my own art history teaching program. Of course, I do not see this "brush meeting" as a formal academic activity. I asked my friend in Nanjing to purchase xuan paper, brush, ink and four albums for me, as my plan was to let the artists paint without restraint in a relaxing environment with our traditional utilities instead of oil paint.

Our gathering started on the evening of January 9th. We flew to Tianhong Resort in Sanya from different cities that day, and Zhou Chunya was the last one to arrive. Tianhong Resort was the smallest hotel in Sanya's Yalong Bay, thus it was most suitable for a private gathering, for we could avoid of the crowds of tourists. After dinner that evening, the artists finished four albums and a few individual ink on xuan paper paintings in the meeting room by the resort's swimming pool. In this most relaxed and casual atmosphere, most of the abstract ink works were completed by brush and, in some cases, hands.

The artists that were present are not considered traditional Chinese painters, and they seldom use brushes or ink. Consequently, they were able to apply ink in a totally free way. Zhang Peili completed most of his works by hand.

Everybody was so excited, and some paintings were results of group efforts.

We went to Mount Nan the next day. None of us would have thought that one day, we, the modern artists, the avant-garde artists, the pioneer artists, and 6

the contemporary artists, would worship in a Buddhist temple with incense. All of us felt that time had flown quickly in the past decades, and that our understanding and perception of life had changed significantly. The artists donated generously to the temple, and the scene of Wang Guangyi, Zhang Xiaogang and Zhang Peili worshiping devotedly in the temple impressed me deeply. We returned to the resort after dinner, and everybody remained in a peaceful state of mind. We talked about the past and present state of Chinese art, people and circumstances. In a peaceful atmosphere, Zhang Xiaogang, Mao Xuhui, Ye Yongqing and Zhou Chunya completed different number of paintings, and most of the consignments for this auction were completed that night.

I have included many contemporary artists in my book 20th Century Chinese Art History. The place that important events have taken in Chinese art history, from the Modernism campaign in the late 70s to today's contemporary art, is an issue that concerns most of us. In fact, I hoped through this gathering I could listen to opinions from different artists on this matter. Though their thoughts and opinions may not be bases for my future research on Chinese art history, their feedbacks were beneficial nonetheless.

To my great joy, I managed to achieve my goal. As a member of AAA's academy council, I believe that AAA's work is most helpful for the research in Asian contemporary arts (including Chinese art, of course). It is therefore my continuous goal to contribute to this cause. At the same time, as a lecturer in the Department of History of Art at the China Academy of Fine Arts, I hope that my students can have achievements in their studies of contemporary arts. They need to collect information and interview artists in their research, which requires financial aids. I would like to take any opportunity to help their endeavors, and that the "Sanya Elegant Gathering" is an excellent way to do this. I hope that these works completed by the artists whilst in high spirits can be sold successfully and collected by those who really appreciate them; and that the proceeds will fund AAA's research and part of my art history teachings.

To take such an opportunity and carry out this idea relies on the artists.

Therefore I would like to thank all the artists who attended "Sanya Elegant Gathering": Only because of your generous participation that this charitable cause was possible. The images and marks you have left are historical memories. I would also like to thank the AAA. My idea was supported and encouraged by Claire Hsu and Jane Debevoise, who helped turn these works into something that will benefit AAA's cause. In addition I would like to thank Christie's Hong Kong for their understanding and constructive advice to put these works as a charity auction, which makes the art and the auction particularly special. Thus, I cannot help but express my appreciation again!

L端 Peng Tuesday, July 10, 2007.

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ZHANG XIAOGANG Elder Brother, Lu Peng: I hope you are well. I feel so warm after reading your words about Sanya. I believe what we have discussed, did and thought in Sanya will show their historic meaning and cultural value as time passes by. I totally agree with the way you support AAA's work and development by consigning our spontaneous paper works made in Sanya to an auction. Thanks for all you have done.

Regards, and have a nice summer, Zhang Xiaogang June 15th, 2007.

Zhang Xiaogang (张晓刚; born in 1958 in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, in Southwestern China) is a contemporary Chinese symbolist and surrealist. Paintings in his Bloodline series are often monochromatic, stylized portraits of Chinese people, usually with large, dark-pupil eyes, posed in a stiff manner deliberately reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and 1960s.

Since then Zhang Xiaogang become the most valued Chinese contemporary artist with a record in April 2011 at Sotheby’s his earlier work Forever lasting love reached 9.000.000$. Zhang’s artworks focus on the relationship with past, memory and history. The artist has always placed an emphasis on the existence of history and memory in the present. In his works, history exists in the present, there is no way to erase it, and it is continuously being revised. It is impossible to not involve history; our current perception is too derived from our memories. Zhang has always been a traditional artist, who expresses man’s experiences and emotions through his paintings. Those scintillating spots, scars and lines on his canvases reveal the references to history and the release of emotions. Such traditional expression and the insistence on it bring us back to the belief in and worship of painting’s narrative. His effort is to re-emphasize the power of emotion and feeling over the “super-flat” and “cool.” More recent works by Zhang Xiaogang of the Amnesia and Remembrance series deal with the workings of memory. The artist is interested in how memory can be selective and often inaccurate. Here the artist draws upon elements of his very early work prior to 1993, light bulbs, and open books with writing, pens etc.

All three are incredible works of Zhang, adjusting to his subjects, but with the lightness, the softness of its lines, the works are even more sensitive, more ethereal. Have a pulse to keep the lines as thin and a sublime match the color. One way to return the contemporaneity to traditional or how tradition can be contemporary. And yet, the works retain all of its time.

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YUE MINJUN This great gathering will become a historical memory! This graffiti has recorded our rebellion and craziness! A book of Chinese art history starts the new era of arts!

Yue Minjun June 18th, 2007 Yue Minjun (岳敏君; born in 1962 in the town of Daqing in Heilongjiang). He is best known for oil paintings depicting him in various settings, frozen in laughter. He has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolor and prints. While Yue is often classified as part of the Chinese “Cynical Realist” movement in art developed in China since 1989, Yue himself rejects this label, while at the same time "doesn't concern himself about what people call him."

One of the most recognizable artists in the West for their smiling faces, smiling a self-portrait. One of the artists trying to evolve, leaving behind these icons. From his early work in interpreting the works from classic western painters but lack the main figure; their smiling faces; to the interpretation of the great traditional Chinese artists in his Labyrinth series, in this particular works Yue Minjun adopts the black-and-white technique of Chinese classical painting to reintroduce the precious Chinese cultural heritage and its wealth of painting epitomized by maestros like Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, and Xu Beihong, which the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) suppressed for the reason of being part of the feudalistic “old culture”; or the last coming back to his firsts motives with a series of pieces re-appropriating classical Christian paintings like The Annunciation except the main characters are missing leaving empty structures and buildings. His strokes are strong here, both in the smiling face, and in the two papers that appear a relationship with nature, a reinterpretation of the classic landscapes of traditional art.

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ZENG FANZHI Hello, Lu Peng!

First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this Sanya gathering. It was a wonderful gathering. We had the chance to discuss and recall people and events in 1985, in which I learned and understood a lot. Of course, I agree that you bring our co-works to auction to support AAA and your work! Thanks again!

Zeng Fanzhi July 3'd, 2007.

Zeng Fanzhi (曞梾志 born 1964 in Wuhan). He is noted for his Mask series of portraits depicting Chinese people of the 1990s. In May 2008, one of them, Mask Series 1996 No. 6, was auctioned for $9.7 million, a record for contemporary Asian art. By volume has become in 2011 the Chinese artist most desired by collectors. His series of masks reaches nearly as high price of Zhang Xiaogang, followed by a series of lines. The latter is their particular line using four brushes.

An example of the simplification of the art that we have in The Sanya Collection.

These inks on paper work are a magnificent and rare example of artist Zeng Fanzhi's iconic and immediately recognizable expressionistic style. At times faint and wandering, at others aggressive and definite, the dynamic and complex bundle of lines that slowly unravel across the page, are a testament to the artist's experiments with subconscious expression through an 'automated' process. Evoking Zeng's landscape paintings, in which the artist uses one hand to create his subject while simultaneously using his other hand in an automatic fashion, this work conveys Zeng's meditative and subconscious working method. Ultimately, this drawing encapsulates the psychological tension for which Zeng is famous, and is a rare and stunning testament to the imagination and emotional range of the artist. "Watermelon" has strong symbolic implication. The cut open red pulp associates with silent violence and protest, extending previous claiming of topics like Peking Union Medical College Hospital, mask, etc. Image of watermelon has once appeared in his early self-portrait or in the theme of Last Supper, symbolizing blood and flesh. Here, the independently existing "Watermelon" presents the full visual sense resembling silent monolog of the painter.

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ZHOU CHUNYA The Trip to Sanya Previously I have mysterious feelings towards the sea, and luxurious feeling towards sunshine. Both of them are so attractive to people who live in cloudy inland areas. Even the air becomes precious as time goes by. A place with fresh air also has people over 100 years old living there. Only one place has premium sunshine, air and sea, and it is Sanya. I cannot forget my first trip to Sanya.

Zhou Chunya.

Zhou Chunya (周春芽, born in 1955 in Chongqing) is best-known for his colorful “green dog” series of paintings, a dearly loved German Shepherd. But he is also considered one of the country’s most talented painters of nature and rural scenes. His works is almost expressionists, sometimes using jagged brush strokes and other times creating colorful, blurred sweeping landscapes. His canvases are often filled with figures left alone in the world or nature scenes devoid of humans. In recent years, he has begun to paint a series of portraits filled with sexual scenes in nature. Zhou usually does this via his sensibility for color (which always escapes being a language) and through the very desire to activate the iconographic tradition of Chinese painting. The arena of neoexpressionism is the politics of the responsible Self, allied to the exploration of a divided Self, and the celebration of nature’s encompassing energies. If the ‘Green Dog’ paintings delve into Eros, the rock paintings have the undercurrent of the death instinct, whilst the floral series hold out for survival, security and care.

The work from the Sanya Collection like in The "Peach Blossoms" series resonates with bright greens, pinks and reds, which are worked with free and flowing brush strokes creating a vivid and enticing scene. Although reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings the energetic and vivid strokes set the works apart from the soft and elegant images traditionally rendered. Both the colors and the compositions have a bold and unrestrained expression as if emotions have been set free. Zhou is considered the greatest master in the use of colors in Chinese contemporary painting. In fact, he is the only one who has dared to so many colors.

But the latter, proof of its dominance is seen in the second work using only shades of gray to represent one of the famous peach blossoms approaching a kind of abstraction work but showing a strong impressionism.

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WANG GUANGYI We were together because of Lu Peng's 20th Century of Chinese Art. Thus, these wonderful texts and images were born.

Wang Guangyi Wang Guangyi (王广义, born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in 1956 or 1957), is known for being the leader of the New Art Movement circles that erupted out of China after 1989 and for his Great Criticism series of paintings, using the images of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and contemporary brand names from western advertising. As an example, Artinfo notes that one of Wang Guangyis’s Great Criticism paintings “responds to the recent influx of advertising by juxtaposing the Coca-Cola logo with an image of a Chinese soldier, appropriating the visual iconography of both the Chinese Cultural Revolution and American pop art.”

Through his critique, Guangyi’s paintings weave intricate narratives, implicating the role of the artist as an active participant (both as subjugator and subservient) in economic and social policy.

Guangyi treads a very delicate line between moral dictum and capitalist endorsement; the interpretation of his paintings alternates with the subjectivity of context. Amalgamating, confusing, and blurring opposing ideological beliefs, Guangyi’s billboard sized canvases readily sell out national valor, while simultaneously devaluing status symbol luxury for the proletariat cause.

The works from The Sanya collection probably go a step forward in his criticism, reflecting all his thoughts. From hyperrealism to the abstract. How many works of nudes or regarding sex or photography has been shown in China right now? Just a few, maybe for that the importance of the word SEX in this works, and the link with ART? Perhaps beyond what the words mean, of the interrelationships and consequences. In any case Wang Guangyi remains the leader of the Chinese Contemporary painters and one who always looks for new forms of expression within the art world, caring little market value.

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MAO XUHUI Lu Peng, Greetings! Your letter and words brought me back to beautiful Sanya.

As you mentioned, our gathering was most restful. I live in plateau area without a glimpse of sea, so the trip to Sanya left me deep and wonderful memories: the moist air, the soft sunshine, the transparent greenish-blue sea and the beach with our footprints ... Of course we also had academic activities. With the publishing of the first book in 20th century Chinese art history, a group of artists who have contributed positively to Chinese contemporary art had the chance to get together. We reviewed history, looked forward to the future, and painted free and relaxed with brushes under a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere. Having heard that these spontaneous works will be consigned to a renowned auction house in Asia, with the income being used to support AAA and your own teaching, I am indeed very happy! I think this is most meaningful and I am honored that my work can contribute to your cause! Meanwhile, say Hello to Sanya! Have a nice summer, Da Mao (Mao Xuhui) Mao Xuhui (毛旭螉, was born in Chongqing, Sichuan in 1956), the idealistic leader of the mid-1980s Southwest Art Group, which included Zhang Xiaogang and Pan Dehai, has never strayed far from Kunming and Gui Mountain in Yunnan province, the wellspring of his creativity. Mao Xuhui began to take "power" as a theme in 1989 with the Parents series of paintings. In 1992 he completed the Vocabulary of Power series. It was from the image of the "parent" that the "scissors" was developed. The "parent" is an iconic yet shapeless shadow seated on an overwhelming altar-like throne.

It is aloof and awe-inspiring, like a religious icon. The stylized shape of the "parent" resembles a pair of scissors, and it gradually becomes one which, in the Scissors series, presides over domestic settings as the "parent" would sit upon the altar. The menacing presence of the scissors is compounded as an instrument of the everyday; as such it is a domestic as well as "democratic" symbol, carrying associated powers by being visually suggestive of the anthropomorphic god-like "parent" icon. It was not until 2011 that the auction of his early works its price rose sharply, placing it in the position he deserved in Chinese contemporary art.

The works in the Sanya collection keep the issues of Mao Xuhui represented in the series of Paternalism, the chair with the icons. In this works he is much more intensive because the chair remains alone, isolated in an island and at the meantime the chair dominates the island and the whole picture. In the Sanya collection, two years later the sunshine overwrites the clouds. Therefore, the works in Sanya are so important, they are the translation of the issues of Mao Xuhui (scissors and paternalism series) with classical tools, bringing simplicity to them against the more complex oil on canvas.

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YE YONGQING At the beginning of this year, Beijing was still cold. Remnant snow was everywhere, and the city was in a depression. I got a text message from Lu Peng, in which he used the words, blue sky, white cloud, beach, palm trees, sunshine and short sleeve T-shirt, to describe our upcoming gathering in Sanya.

Names on the invitation were old friends that I have known for decades. For many years, gatherings had happened occasionally in different places around the world, but these people are always the focus of discussion. Lu's new art history of 100 years brings us not only memory, but also numerous questions.

The three days in Sanya passed by quickly, but fortunately the past, the current and the future life of Lu Peng's art history remains. If these spontaneous ink play and graffiti works can do something for the past, the current and the future life of our art history, I am more than happy to see the results. -Ye Shuai (Ye Yongqing) June 17th, 2007 Beijing.

Ye Yongqing (叶永青 was born in 1958 in KunMing, Yunna Province) is a pioneering artist who was part of the Sichuan School of artists. He has spent much of his career painting portraits of birds, one with jagged, clever lines. He also has focused in recent years on creating colorful collages.

Currently the 1st president and artistic director of China Contemporary Art Institute of China Academy of Art founded in 2010.

I admit, I do not know before, his work on the Gathering are the most traditional, and I change now when I see them closely, I must say that the cranes are incredible, the set of strokes and drops of varying intensity are marvelous and ink red and green gives an incredible force. They appreciated the difficulty of working with ink. I confess that it is the one that most attracts me to see their current work completely away from traditionalism and closer to Basquiat trying to explain a lot of things in a piece of paper or canvas. Trying to motivate the viewer to think about. In addition to reading an article by Lü Peng, he is the one who has made a very strong intellectual activity and certainly the most unfortunate with the success. Surely he has more technical skills in the use of ink among the other artists; his other works are also exceptional.

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WU SHANZHUAN Chong fu jiu shi Ii liang yijiu ba wu nian, wan quan wu Ii er ling ling ling nian!

(Repetition is power 1985! Completed physics 2000!) Repeat these words five times and you will get a total of 100 Chinese characters. Plus" San Ya Ya li" (Sanya Elegant Gathering) has four characters. Multiplied by this by two equals 108* characters! - Wu Shanzhuan *Note from the translator: Mr. Wu here is making an allusion to 108 heroic outlaws in the famous Chinese epic Outlaws of the Marsh, to symbolize the Chinese contemporary and avant-garde artists' rebellious hearts.

Wu Shanzhuan ( 山專 was born in 1960 in Zhoushan) is one of the most influential artists in the avant-garde movement. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as a long-haired conceptual artist known for his experimental works with language and the use of big character posters, a kind of precursor to the better known works of Gu Wenda and Xu Bing, which also toyed with language and meaning.

Wu was part of the red humor group, engaged in performance art, created installations, appeared at the famed no u turn exhibition in 1989, he created a “Big Business” performance that involved selling shrimp; and later left for Europe, where he spent more than a decade in Germany and Iceland before returning to China in 2005. His works are filled with satire, language tricks, symbols and radical games. He often posed nude in his art works, for a while with his former wife, Inga Thorsdottir. His work is filled with absurd imagery and fantastical language.

The art to write and the billboard for the collection. I like very much his last works, using strong colorful images and words to reinforce the message, his work on ink is really interesting. For the artist who use more words in his works, the less.

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ZHANG PEILI Zhang Peili (张培力 born in 1957 in Hangzhou). Zhang Peili earned his reputation as the father of video art in China for his response to an invitation to create a new work for the historic Huangshan Conference on modern art in 1988. He borrowed video equipment – which was, at the time, hard to come by – from friends at the customs bureau and used it to film his latex-gloved hands breaking a mirror and then meticulously gluing the shards back into place.

He is beginning with the cool and contained painting of the mid-1990s and then moving into the aesthetics of boredom and control in his first video projects.

Zhang Peili is an enigmatic figure: while he is widely respected in China as a pioneering video artist and a progenitor of the use of electronic media in the wake of the 85 New Wave movement of the mid-1980s, his international reputation relies primarily on a small number of survey exhibitions. In 2011 one of his early paintings was auctioned for a shocking HK$23 million during the controversial Sotheby’s sale of a portion of the Ullens Collection in Hong Kong.

The recognition of Zhang Peili is less than their counterparts likely due to use video and installations in their work.

Probably why their work is one of the most abstract of all the collection and maybe the translation in his own words by an interview: “What I felt during the early stages of my development as an artist was that there is a kind of underlying force or power. Sudden changes or disasters, which have been caused either by nature or human beings, made me realize that people live in an illusion, and this feeling has become stronger as my career as an artist has developed. All these beautiful and supposedly stable states are so fragile. They are just illusions. Changeable and destructive states are inevitable. THEY are the realities”.

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WANG GUANGYI and ZHAN PEILI What can we expect from two artists like them? Introduce the use of hands.

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ZHANG XIAOGANG and WU SHANZHUAN A tribute to Qi Baishi.

Qi Baishi (齐白石; was born in January 1, 1864 in Xiangtang, Hunan – Beijing, September 16, 1957). He is perhaps the most noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works.

The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys, vegetables, and so on. He theorized that "paintings must be something between likeness and unlikeness, much like today's vulgarians, but not like to cheat popular people". In his later years, many of his works depict mice, shrimp, or birds.

He was also good at seal carving and called himself "the fortune of three hundred stone seals".

In 1953 he was elected to the president of the Association of Chinese Artists.

One of his paintings, Eagle Standing on Pine Tree was sold for 425.5 million yuan ($65.5 million) in 2011, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction.

According to Artprice index the firsts four artists by amount in auctions 2011 are: Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.

Unable to close this collection to better.

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