Ink on paper

120.2 × 49.6 cm. 47 3/8 x 19 1/2 in.

Inscribed, dated and signed in Chinese with one artist’s seal on upper right
EXHIBITED
24 Oct - 10 Nov 2013, Tai Xiangzhou: Celestial Tales, Li Yin Oriental Art, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Li Yin Oriental Art, Taipei
Private Collection, Asia

There Was Wood of Spectacle,
Epitomizing the Changes of Universe
Tai Xiangzhou was born in 1968 in a scholarly family in Ningxia. In 2012, he received a Ph.D. from the Department of Painting, Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University. His doctoral thesis “Celestial Tales - The Concept and Composition of Landscape Paintings” explores the cosmology of traditional Chinese landscape paintings, in which lies the root of his artworks, whether it is a painting of magnificent scenery, scholar’s rocks, and wood, or calligraphy work.
The work, Painting of Trunk, was completed in 2013, which was the following year of Tai’s completion of the thesis. His understanding of the structural aesthetics of meteorite and astrology was fully integrated into this painting. The depicted wood is a log from the Qing Dynasty with a flat cross-section and intricate interiors. Tai got this wood by chance and considered it a spectacle. Enshrining it at home, he viewed and sketched it every day. With extremely precise brushstrokes, Tai depicted every tiny line of the wood, and the texture of ink further sets off the fineness of the drawing. In the inscription,
Tai compared the wood to a falling star for its appearance resembles a meteorite. Behind an ordinary look, it contains the romantic charm of mountains and rocks. The shape of the swirling branches appears like a natural landscape painting, seemingly inclusive of the cosmos and the brilliance of thousands of stars. From a single piece of wood, Tai has perceived the grandeur of the universe. He comprehends the profound mystery of all things through traditional Chinese ink painting, into which he integrates the changes of the world, reflecting the ingenious creation of nature through one single piece of wood and rock.

Price estimate:
HKD: 120,000 - 180,000
USD: 15,400 - 23,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --