Oil on canvas

82×80 cm 32 1/4×31 1/2 in

Signed in Chinese and dated on lower right； signed in Chinese， titled and dated on reverse
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by present Asian ownerPainting rooted in mental analysis

“In the 1990s， I took yet one more step towards revealing a figure’s inner feelings. As a result I was able to effortless visualize an intense inner conflict， and my works were also endowed with a mentally cathartic quality， making me a pioneer of a new form of painting.”
—— Chao Ge on one of his paintings from the 1990s

In the entire history of Chinese contemporary art， Chao Ge was the first to paint objects based on how a study and an exploration of their inner feelings. Splendid Attire （1985） is a work that transforms the typically Realist convention of depicting the external features of people’s lifestyles into a wholly new style that focuses on tensions of people’s inner worlds. It was something that caused quite the stir within the Chinese art world and made him the trailblazer in merging of mental analysis into artistic practice. Chao Ge is steadfast in his belief in intrinsic human values and in the good， although he lived through the turbulent 1980s and 1990s； he uses sophisticated Realist techniques to create an art in which he endows his figures with a special kind of spirituality. His success in “mental analysis painting” has a unique value and significance， and it has been influential for other artists of his generation， as well as those who came later， such as Mao Yan and Xin Dongwang.
A clip of collective memory kept for twenty years
Woman at the Table， Chao Ge’s work featured in this auction， was one of his major artistic productions of the 1990s. Soon after its completion， the piece won the admiration of prestigious senior artist Ai Zhongxin， who acted as a go-between when Chao was introduced to the collector who eventually acquired the work. Now， this fall season， this work will be on open public display again for the first time in twenty years.
This is one of the very few portraits by the artist where a home interior was made the background setting； at the same time， it is a key to grasping the artist’s creative style during that period， illustrating the nature and progress of the Chao’s personal development. In this work， the artist took it upon himself to follow his intuition without hesitation and depict the ephemeral moment of his wife having dinner at a table， just as he saw it. As a result， the work glows with humanity. The background， the interior of a small dining room， is a typical Chinese family setting in the 90s； and yet， in this finely crafted representational expression， the artist captures his society’s volatile condition.
In 1984， Chao Ge met Li Wei， the woman who would later become his wife. He recorded his emotional experiences during the first stages of their relationship， when he was just falling in love， and in the early part of their marriage， by compiling painting after painting of his partner， and these became the artist’s most important portraits. From the early 1990s onward， however， his wife never made an appearance in his work - until this piece， Woman at the Table， in which he invested a great deal of personal emotion. This makes it a work of extremely special significance to the artist. Here， his wife serves as the iconic adult Chinese woman， suggesting that， in the prevailing turbulent social conditions， women had to face material privation， the grind of daily routines， and an uncertain future. And yet those same women appear to have the innate ability to protect themselves and their families， continuously radiating peace， fortitude， and tenacity.
In this art， the artist has made a concerted attempt to record the volatility of the society he observed， but yet he still yearned for a ceaseless spiritual drive to adhere to one’s own beliefs and never succumb to outside social influence.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
USD: 128,200 – 257,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --