Acrylic and oil pastel on paper

57.5 x 72 cm. x 2 22 5/8 x 28 3/8 in. x 2

Dated and signed in Chinese on bottom right of the right piece
PROVENANCE
Eslite Gallery, Taipei
Acquired by present Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Taipei Eslite Gallery and signed by the artist

A Memory of Ages, the Emotions of the Sincerest
Wang Yuping's Guozijian

As an important as well as representative artist of the Chinese New Expressionism in the 1980s and 1990s, Wang Yuping uses a sketching technique to record the secular life, while his avant-garde artistic languages penetrate the phenomenon of real life to unveil the fundamentals of reality. His expressionist style is mixed with a realistic sense, making Wang Yuping unique and different from other artists. Wang's distinctive artworks convey an introverted spirit that is able to strongly resonate with viewers.

Representation of Spring, Splendid View of Beijing

Beijing, the city where Wang Yuping was born, is one of the most representative motifs in his oeuvre. Since 2010, he starts the 4-year project, creating the serial works “Painting Beijing.”Day after day, he wandered at the streets, alleys, parks and relics in Beijing, recording the city that he felt similar and unfamiliar at the same time. The artworks in the “Painting Beijing” series are popular among collectors, and Guozijian is one of the representative pieces of the series.

In Guozijian, the diptych art piece completed in 2014, Wang Yuping extends the whole scene in two separate canvases in a creative way, presenting the view of Guozijian street in early spring. In the painting there are few citizens in the early morning. The view is dominated by smooth and fluid black brushstrokes crossing in the sky, delineating the intertwined branches awakening in the spring and the shadows they cast on the street. On the right and left of the canvas, plain objects such as banners, road signs and traffic signs represent the geometric forms of artificial productions, which leave the silhouette against the red walls. While being attentive to details, Wang Yuping always keeps the visual balance in his mind. The sunshine from the rising sun is implicitly shed from the left. Rather than drawing the focus on solemn setting of Guozijian, he depicts Beijing as a city fused with the modern and the traditional by introducing the daily life elements into the whole view. It is based on Wang Yuping's artistic philosophy, that representation is more important than opinions. By infusing the visual feeling experienced by individuals into landscapes, he shows viewers a vibrant representation of spring in Beijing.

The Illuminated View of Ordinary Life, the Best Dream Back to the Youth

With the horizontal composition of Guozijian, Wang Yuping vividly presents a broadened street view. From the bookstores and residential blocks in the foreground, Wang Yuping leads viewers steadily along the walls that extend to the end. There seats the gate of Guozijian, with the tiny shades of passers-by. Such detouring and continuous narrative is Wang Yuping's unique artistic language, reflecting his transcendental mind as an artist. It makes his artworks more connected to secular life, contrasting with the sharp and rebellious style in the early stage of his art life. In terms of the use of colors, Wang Yuping consistently paints with a simple color combination in flattened brushstrokes, such as the flat yet substantial blue sky and brownish walls. This technique captures the essence of the fresh, cool air in the early spring morning, while the awareness of time change indicated by the changes of shades and shadows is less significant. Thus, the whole view becomes striking and monumental. By using the freedom of colors to break the limitation of forms, Wang Yuping creates in the painting the view of a best moment that viewers could echo with.

Price estimate:
HKD: 190,000 – 250,000
USD: 24,500 – 32,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 330,400