798 District Blog

The exchange of contemporary art between Belgium and China is a new achievement of the two countries’ cultural interaction. The exchange can help us not only examine the contemporary art of the two countries from a new perspective, but also pinpoint the cultural similarities and differences related to the two countries’ contemporary art. The exchange of contemporary art between Belgium and China is a new achievement of the two countries’ cultural interaction. The exchange can help us not only examine the contemporary art of the two countries from a new perspective, but also pinpoint the cultural similarities and differences related to the two countries’ contemporary art.

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NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s Asia week sales concluded this week realizing the combined total of $22,574,864, well over pre sale expectations (combined est. $10.6/15 million). The top selling lot of the week was Two Mynas on a Rock, a 1692 masterpiece by Bada Shanren which sold for $3 million – many multiples of the pre-sale estimate and a new record for a Classical Chinese Painting sold at Sotheby’s in the US – in the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale. Bada Shanren, Two Mynas on a Rock, sold for $2,994,500 (est. $400/600,000) Manjit Bawa, Untitled, Sold for $602,500 (est. $200/300,000) There were also several exceptional prices in the Indian and South East Asian Art sale where a record was set for a painting at auction by Manjit Bawa when Untitled sold for $602,500 – double the pre-sale high estimate (est. $200/300,000). Further highlights included an Untitled work by MF Husain which fetched $1,058,500, over five times the high estimate (est. $150/200,000). Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Discussing the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, Dr. Caroline Schulten, Head of the Chinese Works of Art Department at Sotheby’s New York, said “We are delighted with the result of the spring sale. The price of nearly $3 million for Bada Shanren’s Two Mynas on a Rock is a reflection of the compelling beauty of the painting. We are thrilled to have achieved such a stunning price for this masterful depiction of two birds that has not appeared on the market for over 25 years. Jades, ceramics and furniture also performed well with particularly strong prices for fresh to the market works priced conservatively.”

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NEW YORK, NY.- This morning at Sotheby’s a record was set for a Classical Chinese painting sold in the US when Bada Shanren’s Two Mynas on a Rock from 1692 sold for $2,994,500 – many multiples of the $400/600,000 estimate, at the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction. Henry Howard-Sneyd, Vice Chairman, Asian Art at Sotheby’s said: “The price of nearly $3 million is a reflection of the compelling beauty of Bada Shanren’s Two Mynas on a Rock. We are thrilled to have set a record for a Classical Chinese painting sold in the US for this masterful depiction of two birds that has not appeared on the market for over 25 years. The stunning success of this and other paintings sold this morning again demonstrates the appetite for fresh to the market works priced conservatively.” Two Mynas on a Rock led the largest and most important selection of Classical Chinese painting offered at Sotheby’s New York for many years. Several of these paintings achieved superb prices including, Scholar by Zhang Daqian, which has not been offered at auction for over 50 years which sold for $902,500 (est. $120/180,000) and an Album Of Figures And Accompanying Calligraphy by Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-Chien, 1899-1983) And Pu Ru (1896-1963) which sold for over 10 times the high estimate when it fetched $662,500 (est. $40/60,000). A new record for Chinese calligraphy sold in the US was also set when Calligraphy in Xing Shu (Running Script) After Zhong Yao’s “Zhang Le Tie” also by Bada Shanren sold for $482,500 (est. $100/150,000). After the first session the auction had brought $9,636,813, already exceeding the pre-sale high estimate by nearly $2 million.

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NEW YORK, NY.- Eli Klein Fine Art presents Zhao Bo’s second solo exhibition in New York, his first at the Gallery. Through his paintings, Zhao Bo records the monumental cultural and political shifts in China, shown from the perspective of Chinese people. China’s opening to the West in the late 1980s ushered in a new era and these paintings provide a snapshot into this unique period. He clashes Communist and contemporary icons together in the same scene, revealing that Chinese society is more interested in adapting to contemporary culture than adhering to staid traditionalism.

Mocking the social realist propaganda of Communist China, Zhao Bo replaces the ideal Chinese worker or citizen with an ostentatious cartoon. The bright colors and enthusiastic poses express the vitality and exuberance of this new Chinese generation. Rather than revering Chairman Mao and principles of Communism, these wide-eyed figures revel in the glow of billboards and luxury goods. Yet, their placement in front of important Communist markers, such as Mao’s tomb or signs proclaiming, “Long live the people,” is a constant reminder of the government’s presence.

Zhao Bo received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in Chongqing, China. His works have been exhibited in museums in China and the United States including the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Art Museum of Shanghai, the He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, and the Art Museum of Chongqing.

The exhibition will be on view at Eli Klein Fine Art through April 22, 2010

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NEW YORK, NY.- An exceptionally broad range of pre-modern Japanese art will go on view this March during New York City’s Asia Week in two exhibitions held by JADA, the Japanese Art Dealers Association.

The works of art range from a 12th century Buddhist sculpture to satirical ephemera of the 18th century and a four-foot tall model of pagoda once owned by New York railroad baron E. H. Harriman and later in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, the exhibitions will present a complete suit of armor formerly in the collection of Japan’s leading Hokosawa clan (one of three works of art once in the possession of the millennia-old ruling family to be presented). Also in the exhibitions will be goldleaf screens, sculptures, prints, lacquers, and hanging scrolls that illustrate a reverence for nature as well as those that illuminate Japanese artists’ love of humor.

JADA 2010: An Exhibition by the Japanese Art Dealers Association
Among the earliest works in JADA 2010, an episodic survey of traditional Japanese art, is a Standing Jizō Bosatsu (Skt. Ksitigarbha), a wood sculpture that dates from the Heian period, 12th century. The delicate hands, facial features, and the shallow carving of the drapery mark this work as stylistically related to the work of Jōchō, whose famous image of the Buddha Amida is worshipped at the temple Byōdō’in near Kyoto. Jizō, a merciful protector of abandoned souls, appears again in a 16th or 17th century elaborate, intact traveling shrine. Decorated with a robe with cut gold, the figure holds both a crystal jewel and staff, Jizō stands on a lotus and cloud base within a shrine that features interior gilding.

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HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong will hold the Fine Chinese Paintings 2010 Spring Sale on 6 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Building on the success of the thematic collections offered in previous seasons, Sotheby’s will again present distinguished private collections that boast immaculate provenance and quality this spring. The collections presented include: ‘Exquisite Paintings and Calligraphy from Studio Ling Ou’, ‘A Collection of Calligraphy Couplets of Eminent Statesmen in the Late Qing Period’ and ‘Calligraphy Works from Prominent Figures of Wang Jingwei’s “Puppet Government”’. On the same day, Sotheby’s will also hold the sale of ‘Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection (Part 3)’. The total of over 260 lots in both sales is expected to fetch in excess of HK$200 million*.

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NEW YORK, NY.- Eli Klein Fine Art presents Zhang Gong’s first solo exhibition in the United States. Zhang Gong’s work parodies instantly recognizable Western art, demonstrating the effect of Western popular culture on contemporary Chinese society.

In his most recent works, Zhang Gong incorporates cartoon characters with scenes from modernist Western paintings and other popular images. These juxtapositions simultaneously satirize and question ideas about what constitutes high art and originality. His own unique creation, Miss Panda, interacts with the Western characters in chaotic scenes. Miss Panda often finds her way into famous Western paintings, reminding the viewer that Western art, once banned, has now been assimilated into the collective consciousness of modern Chinese society. Through his works, Zhang Gong brings historic and contemporary art into dialogue with one another.

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The Japanese section of the sale will feature a noteworthy group of paintings of beauty and the erotic

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This week’s auctions of contemporary art in New York saw the market take a distinct upswing, with energetic sales culminating in an astonishing $43.8m given at Sotheby’s for a rare silk-screen painting by Andy Warhol.

“This was an unbelievably strong sale,” said New York dealer Christophe Van de Weghe on Wednesday night. “People just wanted to spend money tonight, they were tired of holding back.”

The auction house had just raised $134.4m in its 54-lot sale, well ahead of its high estimate of $97.7m (presale estimates do not include commissions; results do). Only two lots failed to find buyers.

Read more at ft.com