Oil on canvas

115 × 75 cm. 45 1/4 x 29 1/2 in.

Signed in English and dated on bottom left

LITERATURE
1993, Oil Painting on Chinese Nude, Art Book Co. Ltd, Taipei, p.93
1998, Nude Art of Masters, Liaoning Art Publishing House, Shenyang, p.13
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by an Asian collector from the artist

Painting from the Heart: the Spontaneous Power of Silence
During China’s “New Wave” art movement of 1985, Ding Yilin participated in the China Youth Painting Exhibition and was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Oil Painting. This helped him hone his skills as a portrait painter and, moreover, enabled him to develop his own unique artistic style. Nude paintings are a genre in which Ding Yilin became highly proficient during this period. He never excessively pursues the details of the subject, but instead relies on composition and depiction to express the subject’s inner spiritual power, thus creating a unique visual experience. In 1988, six of Ding Yilin’s nude paintings were included in the Chinese Nude Oils Exhibition hosted by the National Art Museum of China. The superb expressiveness and multifaceted exploratory quality of these works attracted widespread attention in the art community.
The work currently being auctioned, Meditation, was created in 1988 — the same year as the critically-acclaimed Chinese Nude Oils Exhibition. The work showcases the painter’s skillful technique and powerful brushwork. The female body and the brown calico fabric serve as complements to each other. The subject is depicted in a sitting position, with her body slightly tilted to one side. Her arms are almost in a parallel alignment, and her feet point outward in the same direction. The entire subject is inclined on a diagonal angle, creating a unique visual tension, and the painter intentionally uses dark hues to render the background in order to highlight the bright Caravaggio-like human figure in the foreground. The light source is positioned directly above the subject, illuminating her body from her shoulders to her knees, while the subject’s meditative bowed head keeps her face hidden in the shadows. Such a visual arrangement allows the subject’s body to undergo subtle changes between dark and bright hues, enabling the viewer to subconsciously feel the power of silence. Ding Yilin’s portraits reflect his profound artistic language and deep emotions. Through the subject’s contours and colors, he presents an entire spiritual world, endowing his work with independence and real value.v

Price estimate:
HKD: 150,000 - 200,000
USD: 19,200 - 25,600

Auction Result:
HKD: --