Ink and colour on silk

Diameter 26 cm.10 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese with an artist seal on lower right.

LITERATURE Gallery 100，Taiwan，Subtle Ink：Associated Exhibition of Contemporary Ink Painting by Li Jin and Li Huayi，2012，Plates（unpaged）.

EXHIBITED Gallery 100，Taipei，Taiwan，Associate exhibition of contemporary ink painting by Li Jin and Li Huayi，22 Septermber - 21 October 2012.

Li Huayi b.1948

The presentation of Li Hua-Yi’s landscape painting is equipped with the legacy of Northern Song Dynasty and the comprehension of light and space from western visual art. The work appeals in ancient Song Dynasty with pursuit of modern aesthetics and confident grasp of tradition Chinese painting，representing his artistic style. LI insists in pursuing a beautiful and pure art in the contemporary art society，bringing Chinese classic painting styles into contemporary art to create a new landscape beyond time. He has profound and exceptional interpretation for the Southern and Northern Song Dynasty paintings：“The Northern Song paintings are strong at monumentality，while the Southern Song paintings have a strong sense of design，which is more familiar among the contemporary audience”.

“Towering Ancient Trees” is a painting combining the monumentality of landscape in Northern Song Dynasty with the small view angle of Southern Song Dynasty，which reflects the artist’ thoughts for art history and the transformation of contemporary ink painting. Li’s ink painting draws the visual attraction of landscape painting from Northern Song Dynasty，uses post-modernist viewpoints to break all structure and elements of Song Dynasty paintings and followed by re-combining the elements needed to restructure the ancient arts.

In“Towering Ancient Trees”，the artist breaks up the mountain，woods and bamboo，which he partially preserve and combines with the sophisticated “rendering” of Southern Song Dynasty，adding cloud and mist，leading to contemporary composition and spatial awareness. The solitary pine trees in contrast with the tall cliffs and mist create a specific fantasy that exhibit the impact resulted from expressionism and constructivism in oriental paintings. The most attractive part is the bush of red woods growing on the remarkable rocks. Li rarely uses red colors for landscape painting which perfectly balance the painting while highlighting the vivid vitality of the sophisticated painting.

Price estimate:
HKD：300,000 - 400,000
USD：38,700 - 51,600

Auction Result:
HKD : 613,600