Oil on canvas

200 × 300 cm. 78 3/4 × 118 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese, dated, titled and sized on the reverse
PROVENANCE
6 Oct 2015, China Guardian Hong Kong Autumn Auctions, Lot 46
Acqrired direct by precent Asian collector from the above

Beyond the Ordinary, Store the Memory
Chen Yujun's Temporary Family

Born in Fujian, Chen Yujun graduated from the Comprehensive Painting Department of China Academy of Art in 1999, and was recruited to teach at the school with outstanding performance. Since 2010, he moved to Shanghai and became a professional artist. He is obsessed with comprehensive media in his creation. His works re-examine the emotional bond between the individual and his hometown in a modern context, and are closely connected with the immigration experience passed down from generation to generation. His works are collected by DSL Art Foundation in Paris, France, Long Museum in Shanghai, M+ Museum in Hong Kong, and White Rabbit Museum in Australia. The Temporary Family series created in 2010 is his most prestigious topic, and the Temporary Family No.12130311 presented this time is the representative of the series.

The Utopia of “Picture-in-Picture”
On this huge canvas of 2mx3m, the artist uses the cool turquoise blue as the background to create an alienated and calm “home” that contradicts with the “family warmth” in the traditional Chinese culture. A wooden table is placed on the stone-grey floor. The dust accumulated on the wooden table symbolizes the temporary nature of the place and implies the absence of “people”. It's intriguing that the abstract painting hanging on the upper left of the wall is also from Chen. The color blocks of blue, red, and green are overlapping, full of the rhythm of the lines. This pattern forms a contrast against the square table, up against down, left against right. The multidimensional space relationship creates an imaginative space. The “picture in picture” drives viewers' attention.

Hometown of Diaspora, Voice of the Times
Putian, where Chen grew up, is known as the “Hometown of Diaspora”. His creation concept of the Temporary Family series is originated from this city in Fujian. A large number of villagers from Chen's grandfather's generation migrated to Southeast Asia for a better life. When they left their hometown, the conflict between foreign cultures and their own traditional customs made them constantly change to adapt to the new environment. However, when they returned to their hometown in their final years, they had to face the various issues during the process of mutual adaptation of two cultures. The spiritual connotation expressed in the Temporary Family series is precisely the special identity transformation in this “leave and return” process, emphasizing the transformation of the motif: home in modern society.

Price estimate:
HKD: 200,000 – 400,000
USD: 25,800 – 51,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 354,000