 |
| Cai Guoqiang - Imagining the Universe |
On Nov 26, Christie’s Hong Kong will auction Faces of the New China: An Important Private Collection, in a stand-alone sale within the prestigious Evening Sale and with a total estimate in excess of HK$150,000,000.
The single owner collection comprises 14 iconic works by preeminent contemporary Chinese artists including Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun, Cai Guoqiang, Liu Ye and Tang Zhigang. Representing the pinnacle of the earliest years of Chinese avant-garde art, these pieces epitomize the period when the artists established their creative paths and idiosyncratic styles.
 |
| Ode to Joy |
A cornerstone of the collection are the three monumental gunpowder drawings from the artist Cai Guoqiang, selected from his masterwork "Drawings for the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation". The three works, Imagining the Universe, UFO and Ode to Joy, embody the core motifs of Cai’s art and the aesthetic concepts he has developed over the past 20 years. This series in particular is one of his most cited works, recognized for its epoch-making significance and immense value.
 |
| UFO |
Each work from "Faces of the New China" represent the characteristics of China in a particular space and time, thereby becoming the faces of an era. For these artists, portraiture became a genre through which to explore both traditional Chinese aesthetical forms, while also being equally reactive to modern Western styles of expression. Here are some of the lots:
 |
| Zhang Xiaogang - Portrait in Yellow |
 |
| Lui Ye - Happy Family |
 |
| Yue Minjun - The Massacre of Chios |
