White marble sculpture

75 × 45 × 35 cm. 29 1/2 x 17 3/4 x 6 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese on the backside
Edition: 2/6

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity with signature from the artist

Free Form
The Modern Aesthetics of Hsu Tung Lung’s Sculptures
Hsu Tung Lung graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University and in a creative career that has spanned more than half a century has achieved much in the field of sculpture. He has also immersed himself in related research, from the early importance he attached to the idea of molding shapes to his gradual exploration of abstract stylistic language. The work on auction, Padmapāni (2016), shows how Hsu is able to adeptly craft an immortal, with robes flapping in the wind, from hard and solid white marble. Moreover, his ability to transform the rigidity of the material into something soft and flowing, but also invisible and intangible, reflects the Chinese philosophy of tempering hardness with softness and his own understanding of “free form,” a testament to the diversity of Hsu’s sculpting aesthetic.
Hardness Tempered with Softness: the Philosophy of Jade
The traditional Chinese material of white marble is very hard, but to the eye can appear soft and smooth, a classic combination of hardness and softness. At the same time, these are exactly the qualities Hsu seeks to express through sculpture, making it the perfect medium for his art. Indeed, the way in which he is able to highlight the soft malleability of folds in clothing through the white marble transforms the material into soft flowing lines. Especially in his depiction of the clothing, Hsu creates the sensation of almost walking on air, transforming a static material into dynamic movement. In the Tang Dynasty, viewers marveled at Wu Daozi’s “Wu belt as wind” and the works of Hsu Tung Lung are imbued with a similar lyrical rhythm that “takes flight to the land of the immortals.”
Intangible over Tangible: Abstract Modernism of Jade Sculpture
Hsu Tung Lung’s family hometown is deeply imbued with temple culture and as such his art has been deeply influenced by the Guanyin images and temples he saw as a young boy. However, Hsu re-presents this in a way that embraces “formlessness” and in contrast to the pursuit of representational images in handicraft carving or sculpture, offers something new to folk culture - “the importance of the intangible over the tangible.” Traditionally, handicraft statues of Guanyin were very colorful and vivid, but with this work Hsu uses white marble as his medium, boldly embracing abstraction as a method of simply and freely crafting a figure. He also makes full use of the carved shadows to infuse the sculpture with three dimensions and kinetic energy. In this way, the shadow of the character changes with the light and shade, allowing the viewer to imagine different postures, a marked departure from the traditional expression of one-sided representation.
Adapting to Circumstance, Transcendent and Free
Traditional folk custom believes the Bodhisattva can change appearance and adopt different forms to help people in distress and relieve suffering on Earth. This work beautifully conveys the multiplicity of changes in form the image of the Guanyin with a lotus flower in her hand undergoes, without ever becoming a representation of something in the real world. The pureness of the white marble is also imbued with a sense of divinity and solemnity, highlighting the transcendent nature of the character depicted. Hsu Tung Lung named the work Padmapāni, a reference not only to the name of the Bodhisattva in Chinese (Guan Zizai) but also his own interpretation of “free and unrestrained” (Zizai), with Guan Zizai used to mean taking care of one’s inner needs and knowing oneself, because only when we are at one with ourselves can we be at one with all things. In this work, as long as the inside of the piece is constituted from hard solid marble, the depiction of soft, human-shaped clothing is steadfast and everything is as one.

Price estimate:
HKD: 130,000 - 230,000
USD: 16,700 - 29,500

Auction Result:
HKD: 271,400