Oil on canvas

137 x 183 cm. 53 7/8 x 72 in.

Dated, titled and signed in English on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Collection of American historian Mr. Charles G. Martignette
May 2010, Texas Heritage Auction on the Estate of Charles Martignette, Lot 87354
Private Collection, Asia

Prospect of the Time: The Truest Rendering of Human Body
A Rare Large-Size Masterpiece by Hilo Chen

The pop art emerging in the 1960s rode on the frenzy of innovative visual content. Artists of the day thus drew from the pervasive nude-women ads. Born in Yilan, Hilo Chen settled in the United States in 1968 and established himself in the star-studded New York artist community with his photorealistic rendering of female nudity and culture of the time.

As early as the 1970s, Chen became the leading figure of the photorealist movement in New York. The title of the exhibiting artist of Louis K.Meisel Gallery earned him a solid place among his contemporaneous peers in New York. In recent years, his works have been managed by Each Modern Gallery in Taipei, and his items at exhibitions and art fairs were almost sold out in short time during the events. Among his works, the Beach is the most lauded series. He reproduced female bodies in great details in a boldly voyeuristic fashion. The figurative presentation closely tied to the then social context serves as a reminder of the vintage days and creates incredible visual appeal. His works were published on Art in America and American Art Collector, and collected by over 20 institutions, including the Guggenheim, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, San Jose Museum of Art in California, etc.

A Rare Beach Portrait of Precious Collection

Hilo Chen is renowned of his Beach series, consisting of only about 150 pieces by far. Despite the aging, the 78-year-old artist still holds on to creation as a daily practice, even at the trouble of wearing oxygen mask. This speaks volumes for the rarity of the series as it takes him as long as a year's time to finish a small size and several years for larger ones. Beach 116 was finished in 1989, the heyday of his career, featuring a classical nude lady in bikini. Such large size is rarely seen in the art market. It was previously kept by the famous Floridian historian and collector Charles G. Martignette. His interest in Chen's works can be explained by his avid collection of magazine illustrations and pin-ups since the 1970s. Mr. Martignette took great care of Chen's painting since collected and well kept it for nearly 20 years. Only until he passed away did this piece re-emerge in the art market at the special session in 2010 held by Heritage Auctions for Mr. Martignette. The transparent record of its ownership transfer suffices to illustrate its rarity.

A Photorealist Recap of the Vintage Open Days

The diagonal composition presents the lady's relaxed nude body in a natural way, championing the idea of body positivity and self-acceptance. The women is enjoying the sun bath with sun glasses and radio by her side. These two objects vividly reproduce the typical recreational life in the 1980s.

Chen used his camera-like figurative techniques to paint the whole setting in details, including the sand flow, the creased bath towel and even the sweat. Apart from brushstrokes, Chen also leveraged spray to deliver an evenly distributed colour effect. The lady's body exhibits a perfect interaction of light and shadow, which makes the painting pass for a real photo in great saturation and leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

Chen adopted a photorealist approach to create strong visual impact for the paintings. He candidly replicated the liberal social dynamics in the good old days, and the truest rendering of the image in the time.

Price estimate:
HKD: 400,000 – 600,000
USD: 51,600 – 77,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --