Oil and mixed media on canvas

30 × 40 cm 11 6/8 × 15 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese and English，dated on middle left

LITERATURE:
1997, 8+8-1: Selected Paintings by 15 Contemporary Artists, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, p.45
EXHIBITED：
20 Jun – 12 Jul 1997，8+8-1：Selected Paintings by 15 Contemporary Artists，Schoeni Art Gallery，Hong Kong
1998，8+8-1：Selected Paintings by 15 Contemporary Artists，Connaught Brown Gallery，London

This work is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Schoeni Art Gallery，Hong KongCynicism in Reality by Liu Wei
Out of the great narrative of the85 New Wave and artistic exploration of the early 1990’s，a group of new contemporary artists emerged.Collective memories became their starting point before they returning to their own experience of simple lifestyles，and they questioned every aspect of reality and wantonly challenged the boundaries of art.From this，a unique and new artistic identity was born.
As an early representative for Cynical Realism，Liu Wei’s artistic talents gained him great exposure from early on in his career.After graduating from Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989，his series of works titled Revolutionary Family officially put him on the map in the art world.Together with Fang Lijun，another representative artist of the Cynical Realist genre，the duo rose to the forefront of pioneering art in the 1990’s.In 1992，they co-organized the “Fang Lijun and Liu Wei Oil Painting Exhibition，” which garnered great attention from artists and art critics around the world.Thereafter，by virtue of his bold artistic exploration and highly expressive artistic vocabulary，Liu Wei’s work was put on display at the Venice Biennale（1993，1995）and the Bienal de São Paulo（1994），causing buzz throughout the western art scene.With his idiographic style that blends international artistic vocabulary with Chinese implication and profundity，the artist creates a new revolutionary tide began sweeping in the art world.
Liu Wei’s You Like Me，Why Not series is an early representation of his expressionist style.The artist’s use of highly discernible visual language and emotional transmission has become an important cornerstone of his creative process，making these works some of his mostly highly acclaimed.In this series，Liu Wei’s use of artistic language involves exaggerating the protagonist of the pieces through forceful strokes.He tends to create an effect of infinite expansion within the limited space of the canvas，making it difficult to distinguish the primary focus from the background，as if it is engulfed in an explosion.He depicts the protagonist with a thick neck and large blurred face and rounded bean-like facial features，giving You Like Me，Why Not Series No.12 a very unusual artistic language that creates distance between the viewer and the figure who wears a molesting hippie-like smile.The original seriousness，profound discourse，and absurd humor of this series form a special kind of deformationist style，highlighting the questioning of and reflection on the self and the environment of the figure.The artist applies a row of nails around the border of the canvas，and this rarely-seen arrangement gives it a stronger air of absurd theatricality.This mechanical-like touch expresses a loss of reality and rebellion and allows this work to stand out among the other pieces in the series.
In the deeper context of the painting，Liu Wei uses a joking tone to capture real life moments.As a result，You Like Me，Why Not series has become an exposure into the mind of the artist.Liu said，“My painting follows along the path of my life；it is not bound by any formulated ways or the restraints of the outside world.I only listen to the voice from the bottom of my heart.” To this end，he boldly takes an anti-aesthetic strategy that offends viewers，but this approach is what allows viewers to gaze directly into the artist’s inner world，and read each stroke of the painting as a metaphoric representation of his complicated emotions.In the piece You Like Me，Why Not Series No.30，the artist takes a derisive approach to expressing a moment in an ordinary person’s life by using a language system that combines his early exaggerative style with his later imaginative abstract expressionism.In his creation process，Liu tackles his own social struggles head on，using rough brush strokes to portray a sense of self-salvation and boredom.In order to portray reality in a more ridiculous manner，he uses a distorted painting style to highlight the meaning within，thereby sharing his voice with the community in a unique and humorous way.
From an emotional standpoint，one can see how the flesh of the figure is blurred，as if to reproduce the natural decay and corruption caused over time.This expresses the ups and downs and constant changes of real life.The figure looks as if he is hiding in an unusual scenery，trying to listen to the strange sounds external of the canvas in his search for the original presence of life.This image amplifies the artist’s subtle voice into a commentary on the times as a whole.Also，Liu uses his passionate strokes to warm the cold hearts of the times，unravelling the hidden issues，truths，and falsities of the real world.

Price estimate:
HKD: 500,000 – 800,000
USD: 64,100 – 102,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 826,000