Bronze Sculpture

190×89×48 cm. 74 3/4×35×18 7/8 in

Signed in English and dated on bottom right
Edition： 4/7

EXHIBITED
2 – 16 Sep 2007, Collectivism Guangci 2005-2007, Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai （another edition）
8 Apr – 9 May 2008, The Power, Aura Gallery, Hong Kong （another edition）
23 Sep – 11 Oct 2008, Rumination, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok （another edition）
25 – 30 May 2010, Angel with a Mission： Guangci, Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong （another edition）

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

Sacrificial Love
In 2007, Qu Guangci and his wife, Xiang Jing, who is also a sculptor, were tired of the Chinese system of fine arts institutes. They both resigned their positions as university instructors, left Shanghai, and went to Beijing together, and that year, Qu Guangci began creating his Q&A with Birds series of sculptures. The main character in this series is an overweight man or a plump bird with a human face perched on outstretched branches either alone or in a flock, which is very similar in appearance to flower-and-bird paintings of the Song Dynasty （960-1276 C.E.）. The Invincible Eastern Warrior is the first prototype of this series. In this piece, a small, fat, balding man props his head up with his hands on the highest branch of the tree, furrowing his brow while contemplating his worries. On another branch down below, there is a pair of small birds nestled together. Despite their humble status, they lead a happy life.
Dongfang Bubai （literally “Invincible Eastern Warrior”） is a tragic character in the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Chinese writer Jin Yong （Louis Cha）. The Invincible Eastern Warrior starts from humble beginnings and continues on an upward trajectory, ultimately achieving his goal of gaining hegemonic power over the land, but the person he admires the most is his enemy’s daughter, Ren Yingying, who dares to express, in front of others, her affection for the man whom she loves. The biggest failure of the Invincible Eastern Warrior’s life is with respect to love, but there is nothing detestable about people like him who dare to kindle the fire in their hearts. On the contrary, such courage is commendable. A tribute to Tsui Hark’s film The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Qu Guangci’s Invincible Eastern Warrior focuses on the expression of love and sacrifice, just like the pair of small songbirds in the painting Winter Plum Blossom and Mountain Birds by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Even in the frosty winter, the birds are still able to rely on each other as they await the arrival of spring together, just like what happened on the day Xiang Jing, after finishing her lessons and walking out from the school’s front gate, saw Qu Guangci sound asleep in his car, his face covered with newspapers. It was at this moment that tears began to flow from her eyes, and the following day, Xiang Jing resigned from her post as teacher and went to Beijing together with her husband, hers precisely the kind of sacrificial love that the artist had always sought to express.
I have always been thinking the thread of art. And those thoughts provide me variety of understandings in art. Those masters in modern arts, such as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso or Andy Warhol, why did all of their works seemed still so vibrant even after decades？ Today, the culture of Japanese video games and comics are most similar to them because they have strong influential power in world culture nowadays. Mickey Mouse, Doraemon and Hello Kitty…What makes them so different from other cartoons？ What are the common characteristics they have shared with each other？ The original idea of Mr. Dob is to finding out the answers to these questions. DOB indicates the English word doubt—and it gradually becomes more of my self-portrait today.
——Takashi Murakami

Price estimate:
HKD: 150, 000 - 250, 000
USD: 19, 200 - 32, 000

Auction Result:
HKD: 177,000