Stainless steel, carbon, sculpture Edition: 9/12

63.5 × 58.2 × 24.5 cm. 25 × 22 7/8 × 9 5/8 in.

Signed in English and dated on the top of the base
EXHIBITED
9 Jan - 20 Feb 2021, Our Home - Artists Group Exhibition, Soka Art, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Soka Art, Taipei
Private Collection, Asia

Deconstruction and Rebuilding the Fantastical Horse
Hsi Shih-Pin's Fascinating Creations and Transformations

Born in 1977 in Taipei, Hsi Shih-Pin received an MFA degree in Plastic Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2007. Having a background in both architecture and art, Hsi is good at deconstructing and rebuilding everyday and mythological scenes and using stainless steel. His works often have mechanical and futuristic looks while carrying romantic sentiments, balancing rationality and sensibility. In 2011, Hsi was invited by Hermès to exhibit his Drama of Horse series, which helped him to gain considerable recognition. He collaborated with internationally prestigious brands including Louis Vuitton, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari thereafter. Hsi's works have been exhibited in the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, Today Art Museum, the Shanghai Art Museum, and Headlands Center for the Arts in the US, and are in the collections of the National Culture and Arts Foundation in Taiwan, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Ferrari, and the Peninsula Paris, among others.

In the autumn auction, Horse of Multiple Appearances deals with a classic theme for which the artist is most renowned. The base of the work is a hollow, rectangular stainless-steel box, which has a carved double-headed horse on the front and the back sides, in unity with the horse-shaped sculpture above it. The main sculpture is exquisitely executed. The horse's blood and bones are delineated by smooth and delicate silver, rose gold, and black pieces of carbon and steel. Hsi broke down and rebuilded the biological structure of a horse, presenting a sophisticated, intricate, and dream-like construction. Slightly lifting a forefoot, the horse's position gives a sense of swift motion, with lightning-shaped ornaments on its mane and tail. When sketching, stacking, and welding the metal parts, Hsi injected endless vitality into them, depicting the horse's powerful, lively muscles using a seemingly cold and sharp medium.

This work took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's horse sketches. In his daily study of these drawings, Hsi realised that the visual form of an exterior is created based on memories and imagination, and that ideas, in turn, depend on form. Hence, he based this work on the natural structure of a horse skeleton, but also added various elements to it, including canine fangs, rabbit ears, tiger spots, lionfish fins, and human braids. Horse of Multiple Appearances takes the form of a horse yet goes beyond it, imaginative and compelling, reminding one of the mythical creatures that was the mount of Jiang Ziya in the Investiture of the Gods.

Price estimate:
HKD: 60,000 - 80,000
USD: 7,600 - 10,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 102,000