Oil on canvas

24×24 cm  9 1/2×9 1/2 in

Signed in English and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2015, Looking for the Mark of China, Soka Art Beijing, Bejing, P.31
2015, Liu Ye Catalogue Raisonne 1991-2015, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Berlin, p. 279
EXHIBITED
May 1- Jun 28 2015， Looking for the Mark of China， Soka Art Beijing， Beijing

PROVENANCE
Important private collection， Asia

This work is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity with artist’s signatureLiu Ye was born in the 1960s， during the turmoil of culture revolution. However， he was well protected by his parents and his childhood was peaceful and happy. It paves the way for his later creation overwhelmed with colors of fairy tales. At the age of 15， he was enrolled into School of Arts and Crafts in Beijing. The restrict training on industrial design has horned his patience and self-control， which also laid the basis for the astonishing refinement and accuracy in this later works. In 1990， Liu studied for his master degree at Berlin University of the Arts. He was greatly influenced by some Dutch artists， one of whom is Piet Mondrian， whose lines and color squares have inspired Liu Ye to explore his own symbolic presentation.
In 1995， Liu Ye returned to China after graduation. Different from the dominant practice of “Political Pop” and “Cynical Realism”， especially in the era of economic booming， Liu cached his soul in the childhood memories and fairylands. With his cartoon figures， rich colors， precise techniques， adorable and cordial style， Liu stands firmly to his “pure” and “blissful” approach， to win the public attention and to become one of the contemporary art elites with a typical style.
The Rarely Seen Diamond-shaped Composition
The work Composition with Square No.2 was created in the late 1990s by Liu Ye. It is his first try to break away from the original square format to create a novel composition with diamond-shapes. Throughout his 30 year creation， there are no more than 10 pieces of diamond-shaped works， among which works from the high angle view are rarer. That makes the work exclusively important. The work “Composition with Square No.2” on sale includes the classical girl’s figure and the artist’s symbolic square format. It can be regarded as an excellent example of seeing the greatness in trivialness.
Graphic Games In the Fairy Tale
In Composition with Square No.2， four little girls stand on the corners of the canvas， featuring chubby cartoon figures typical under Liu’s brush. To further illustrate the children’s innocence， Liu takes another step to transform the figures into angles， which reveals his interest in fairy tale themes. The four girls are of similar appearance and facial expression， with varied movements to compose a game visually illusive. They hold arms around chest， hand gesture as a pointing gun， or spread arms to embrace. By creating poses in various ways， the artist uses body language to depict the mischievousness， meditation and joy beyond the formatted facial expressions. The right side girl doesn’t “follow the rules” to stand on the cross point of the symmetrical grids. The subtle uncoordinated change may arouse curiosity， as a metaphor to indicate the difference between the reality and fairy tales.
Implication of the Square Format
Since the early year study of industrial design， Liu Ye started to relate his art to Mondrian， whose simple， restrict， straight lines and balanced square composition have effected Liu’s creation and spiritual pursuance. In Composition of Squares No.2， the ordered and precise lines draw out the blue and white squared floor， the perfect division of small squares and the square format canvas reaches a perfect balance， which reflects the rational and calm expression of the artist. The square element is frequently seen in Liu’s works， and makes itself a classic icon by Liu. The early inspiration originates from the floor pattern of the first gallery that the artist worked with during his stay in German – Taube Gallery. In its exhibition space， Liu hold his first show in his career. The composition bears such importance for the artist， accompanied with the girl figures from fairytale. Each little square seems to be a step taken in a person’s life and the balanced world made from the square composition could only be realized in fairy tales.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,600,000 – 2,000,000
USD: 205,900 – 257,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --