Acrylic on canvas

53 × 45.5 cm. 20 7/8 × 17 7/8 in.

Signed in English and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
YIRI ARTS, Taipei
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by YIRI ARTS, Taipei

A World of Sensual Pleasures, an Ode to Nature
Utopia in Yuichi Hirako's imaginations

Yuichi Hirako was born in Okayama, Japan in 1982. After graduating from the Painting Department of Wimbledon School of Art in London in 2006, he returned to Tokyo and has since resided in his homeland. Hirako Yuichi was inspired by the garden landscaping designs in the local area of United Kingdom during his years of studies. There were meticulously renovated green spaces in parks, museums, art galleries, and residential balconies, which encourage his insights of the relationship between nature and people. He recognized that plants are artificially manufactured and manipulated to preserve the fittest while eliminating the weak. They are pruned and shaped into the aesthetics pursued by the people. Noticing such inequality between plants and people, he began to use plants and forests as recurring themes in his creation, representing the philosophy that all living beings should be equal, while expounding the delicate relationship between nature and the civilized society that is both conflicting and symbiotic.

In recent years, he has been widely invited to hold exhibitions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Singapore, Korea, and Shanghai. His works are positively received and highly sought after. This auction presents his Full Bloom 2 completed in 2015. The work brings together the classic creative lexicon of the artist's collection which is both outstanding and emotive.

Full Bloom 2 features a colourful forest as background. The artist integrates green trees, lakes, and autumn leaves in an abstract form. A little tree-man sits suspended in the centre with his hands clasping between his knees and shrugs shoulders as if engaging in contemplation. His face is covered by a bouquet of green leaves, which is connected to a black top hat through tree trunks――a product that symbolizes human civilization. The image of a tree and man hybrid manifests the imperative relationship between human and nature. The image shows the challenges of plants and people in their struggle of coexistence, which is contrasted with the two subject's reliance upon one another. The painting is Yuichi Hirako's subtle tribute to the Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte's masterpiece The Son of Man. Here, Yuichi Hirako transformed the apple on the head of the protagonist in The Son of Man into a bouquet of green leaves, implying the protagonist's yearning and attachment to nature and the land. The overarching theme of the painting conveys the concept that humans are part of nature. Humans breath in synchronization with flowers and trees, grass and leaves. Together, plants and people guard the rhythm of all things and beings, bringing to life the Utopia in Yuichi Hirako's imaginations.

Price estimate:
HKD: 80,000 - 150,000
USD: 10,200 - 19,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 216,000