Oil on paper

91.5×65.5 cm. 36×25 3/4 in

Titled in Chinese, signed in Chinese and English, artist’s seal on bottom right； artist’s seals on upper left and top center
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by original owner
Private Collection, Asia

Dazzling and enchanting, as if in a dream
Lui Liu passed the entrance exam and was enrolled at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1978, where he received rigorous training in oil painting. Artist Chen Danqing, an intimate friend of Liu, once commented on Liu’s creative style： “Obviously, none of his works is created half-heartedly or just for show, and none of the partial portraying is beyond his competence.”
Lui emigrated to Canada in 1990, which not only liberated him from the relatively unsettled situation in China, but also blessed him with a more untrammeled and liberal environment that broadened his cultural horizons. He was thus able to focus on artistic creation and develop a sui generis language of art that marks a coming of age in his career. Based on realism, his creative style blends harmoniously with multiple surrealist imagination, which won him the title of the forerunner of “magic realism” in the field of painting. Besides, he is the first person who won the unanimous approval of becoming a member of the Ontario Society of Artists over the past 125 years. Bravo, a North American art channel, even hailed him as one of the top ten Canadian artists. In 2004, he created Women Playing Mahjong, a work involving an extended metaphor for political rights and attracting extensive media coverage. Following Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Starry Night, it even became one of the top three most-viewed and forwarded works on the Internet. Of all Chinese painters, he is the most prolific one in terms of reflecting contemporary themes of the international society. Meanwhile, he has been paying attention to the content of nationalization. These characteristics make him one of a kind.
Created in 2001, Contemplation is Liu’s work for auction this time. Departing from his consistent depictions of magnificent scenes with multiple characters, this work features the single protagonist—a woman sitting at the center of the scene with her arms circling the knees. Her deep tan and blonde shiny hair radiate an exotic aura. Her swan-like neck, crossed arms, and curled-up legs bring a tranquil, fluid sense of beauty expressed in a poetic body language. The artist intentionally underplayed the woman’s eyes, showing instead her tightened lips and cute nose in a just discernible fashion. A contemplative and enchanting expression appears on her face as a result. The border of her long white skirt spreads out on the ground and vividly contrasts with the color of her skin, putting the viewers in a mesmeric trance as if they dreamed a dream.

Price estimate:
HKD: 150, 000 - 200, 000
USD: 19, 200 - 25, 600

Auction Result:
HKD: 177,000