Oil on canvas

100 × 80 cm. 39 3/8 x 31 1/2 in.

Signed in Chinese on bottom right; titled on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

Usual Tenderness in Unusual Years
Being a representative of realism, Shen Hanwu graduated from Hubei Art University in 1989. With solid skills of realistic drawing and delicate observation, his works have won him awards in the National Art Exhibition, Contemporary Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition. Being well known abroad, he also held solo exhibitions in America for a couple times.
His works are characterized by the variety in themes and the details in the character’s outfits. These details make his work seem like they’re telling a story, a story about the memory of that familiar yet strange years.
Young Leader was painted in 2001. It’s an important piece of the series “Years – Memory of the Cultural Revolution” wherein the artist made the main character a Red Guard from that time. The girl in the painting wore a soldier suit with a Red Guard sleeve cover on her left arm while standing right next to the balcony. Her chubby face so strangely calm, staring at the other side, make her seem heroic. The heavy cement wall, aged railing and slogan sign have taken the viewer back into that age where criticism is on the trend. For his work’s environment and the figure, Shen Hanwu diminished the conflict between brightness and hues on purpose. With bright yet smooth colors and delicate yet quick strokes, he closed the distance between the viewer and the girl, showing the usual tenderness in those unusual years.

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

Auction Result:
HKD: --