Oil on canvas

140 x 189 cm. 55 1/8 x 74 3/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and English and dated on lower right，
titled on back of the frame.

Literature：
Lingnan Art Publishing House， Guangdong， China， Third China National Exhibition of Oil Paintings， 2008， p.185；
People’s Fine Arts Publishing House， Beijing， China， He Dan， 2001.

He Dan was born in northern Shaanxi province and later went on to study in France. His style is steeped in Chinese culture， and he reminisced about the old folk songs of the loess land he once lived through the techniques and aesthetics of Western oil paintings. Most contemporary Chinese painters started out imitating works of masters who came before them. Contemporary painter Qi Baishi’s traditionally-rooted works， pre-Soviet realism oil paintings， western oil paintings， Han dynasty tombstone relief and pictorial bricks， Lianhuanhua - a palm-size picture book of sequential drawings， and contemporary New York and Tokyo schools are all popular subjects they modelled on， marking a period of trend-following in history. In these painters， one can clearly sense a thirst for recognition from the world. Unlike them， He Dan did not start out by following any given trend； rather， he went straight to reality for inspiration. Such reality is his motherland， the natural scenery of northern Shaanxi province and its people. His unique Oriental style earned him long-term access to the French Ministry of Culture “An Artist Studio” in Paris， whereas his works are also collected by a number of prestigious institutions worldwide. He has now returned to China as vice-director of Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. Renowned art educationist Jin Zhilin has this to say about him： “He Dan’s art embodies the cultural lineage of our predecessors. I think this is the underlying reason for the singularity of his art.”
Presented in this spring auction is a classic large-scale work from the artist. In the Memory of People， everyone， men and women， young and old， is seated around white dinner tables， eating or waiting to eat similar kinds of food. The landscape is a sprawling nothingness with only crowds of people who exist in the form of “piles”， conveying the absence of life and soul. The body and mind of humans， like sand and gravel， is in the control of natural， societal and some unknown， hidden forces. Smoke ashes scatter amid the crowds， bringing with them a smattering of hope. Apparently， no one is able to escape from the lot of post-modern industrial civilization anymore. Through the depiction of this “crowd of people”， the artist lays bare the confusion and sadness of people who are helpless in the face of fate， unable to live as “individuals” even presented with such secular pleasures as feasts and gatherings in the time of prosperity. He Dan’s portrayal of the crowds has aptly captured the subtle social relationship between people in the community life. The seemingly tumultuous but essentially solitary social context the piece delivers has resonated with many.

Price estimate:
HKD： 65,000 - 100,000
USD： 8,400 - 12,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 76,700