Mixed media on canvas

100 × 100 cm. 39 3/8 × 39 3/8 in.

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Lotus Art Gallery, Kaohsiung with signature from the artist

Illuminate The Vast Of Brightness, Echo The Sound Of The Universe
Shen Chang-Ming's Quantum Solar Term Masterpiece

Born in 1956, the Taiwanese artist Shen Chang-Ming was admitted in 1973 into Tung Fang Design Institute, where he won the first place in the campus oil painting competition two years into his studies. In 1976, he was awarded the City Council President Prize presented by Taiwan Art Society. Starting from 1982, he has been teaching at his previous university while holding solo exhibitions in different places such as National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and Penghu County Culture Center. As a committed Buddhist, Shen always derives the philosophy from heart sutra, which affects his visual language of exploring the relationship between Yin and Yang, entity and emptiness. He created classic masterpieces that integrated aesthetics, science and Buddhism by taking sand as the basic element, which was a material believed to have endless potential in Buddism. The artwork named “Quantum 24 Solar Term Series--Waking Insects” is another jewel that involves traditional Chinese culture.

As a solar term of traditional Chinese, “Waking Insects” takes place in early spring. This refers to a phenomenon that animals and insects hide on soil for a long period without having food in winter but the thunder in spring wake them up from their hibernation. As such, excited insects indicate the arrival of spring farming. Take a close look at this artwork, green, blue, orange and yellow colour flows are splashed onto the purple background, which may let people think of Jackson Pollock's creation of American abstract expressionism. Look from far-away, there is a yellow “lightening” stretch from the right corner. In the bottom of the canvas, creatures are popping up after the lightening of “Waking Insects”, growing new branches and starting their lives. The picture demonstrates the mighty power that initiates the world. If one watches carefully, raised English letters of “The Waking of Insects” and Chinese character「驚蟄」can be seen hidden among the sands. By manipulating light and colour, the visitors can have a taste of the philosophy of eastern culture and the aesthetics of seal cutting through the multiple layers of this painting.

The artist created sculpted reliefs on canvas by using his iconic sand particles. Although sand particles are small, they are solid matter with extreme rigidity that resembles the endless energy in the universe. By combining the sand particles and colour drops, the artwork revealed the minimal fluctuation of quantum science and established the myriads of things. It also echos the inner meaning of “a refreshing world” indicated by “Waking Insects”.

Price estimate:
HKD: 50,000 – 80,000
USD: 6,400 – 10,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 108,560