Mixed media on paper

53 x 72.5 cm. 20 7/8 x 28 1/2 in.

Titled in Chinese， dated and numbered on bottom left； signed in Chinese and dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Japan

Ding Yi has been painting crossed grids since 1980s. He started out from the artistic concepts of minimalism, condensing repeated labor and unconscious psychological experience on the canvas. He developed a set of rich presentation for this simple theme with color, brush and materials, becoming an important figure in the development process of Chinese contemporary abstract art.
In the cultural background of 1980s, the exploration for pure visual language was still at a hypnopompic state, while the abstract concepts were still presented via specific approach. Ding Yi on the other hand made the decision to choose crossed grid as his abstract symbol in attempt to cut off the audience's routine thinking and resonation. Using a simple symbol as the crossed grid to purely present consciousness forces the audience to feel and imagine via a new horizon. Ding Yi believes that a marginal attempt is required to break away from the original model. He also practices this concept himself for years.Ding Yi worked in the design department of a toy company at his earlier time. These two-year experiences help him blend the design into painting, namely the combination between art and design. The inspiration could come from the textile or graphic design. Ding Yi has broken away from dependence on the practicability of design, conceptualize and visualize such technical symbol, thereby transforming a practical and technical “sign” into a concept of visual art.
The work Appearance of Crosses Series: 98-B13 presented in this sale reveals Ding Yi's creation concept and the sophisticated handmade skills. He framed reality into rigorously aligned spares, using different colors to represent different meanings and recording the change of time in an absolute rational way. The rigorous concept is highly infective and usually leads viewers into the charm of intensely placed crossed grid.

Price estimate:
HKD: 90,000 - 120,000
USD: 11,500 - 15,300

Auction Result:
HKD : 259,600