Oil and acrylic on canvas

127 × 75.5 cm. 50 × 29 3/4 in.

Stamped with one artist's seal, and signed in English on middle left

LITERATURE
Jun 1995, Harper's Bazaar June Issue, No. 66, p. 155
Jun 1995, Crown Art Magazine June Issue, No. 496, Crown Art Center, Taipei, p. 46
1997, The Floating of Being: The Retrospective of Ku Fu-sheng 1959-1996, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, p. 103
2008, Fu-sheng Ku, Eslite Gallery, Taipei, p. 67
EXHIBITED
3 – 25 Jun 1995, Ku Fu-sheng, Crown Art Center, Taipei
1 Feb – 11 May 1997, The Floating of Being: The Retrospective of Ku Fu-sheng 1959-1996, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei
2 – 24 Aug 2008, Fu-sheng Ku, Eslite Gallery, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Crown Art Center, Taipei
Eslite Gallery, Taipei
Private Collection, Asia

Note: A label of Taipei Crown Art Center and an exhibition label of Taipei Fine Arts Museum are affixed on the reverse
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist issued by Eslite Gallery, Taipei

Free Mind Leads to Free Body
The Majestic Dream in Ku Fu-sheng's Art

“Ku Fu-sheng's world is always surreal, always breaking the limits of reason, allowing fantasy and dreams to run freely.”
——Pai Hsien-yung, Writer

People know Ku Fu-sheng as the mentor of the writer Sanmao, as the subject of Shiy De-Jinn's famous quote “his art is the true fruit of his hardworking”, and as the person “always with an innocent hear” in the eyes of Pai Hsien-yung. Ku graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Taiwan Normal University and is a member of the “May Painting Association”. Although born in the family of soldiers, he aspires to art, and explores the existential spirit of “people-centered”. He uses the body as an expression of emotion and the reference to reality, becoming a unique artist depicting portraits in a modernist style. In 1961, he won the honorary award of the 6th Sao Paulo Biennale and international fame for his work “Swelling”. Since then, encouraged by Shiy De-Jinn, Zao Wou-Ki, and others, he traveled to France and the United States. Ku successfully and successively held solo exhibitions overseas, active on the international art stage.
In 1974, he moved from New York to San Francisco, and then to Portland and Chicago in 1990. He experienced much and never stopped creating. In 1996, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum organized the “Human Variations: Ku Fu-sheng 60 Retrospective Exhibition” for him. It combed and presented the creation of him for over 40 years. At this auction, we present Young Lady In Red (Lot 70) and Fated To Meet (Lot 71), which were both shown in the exhibition, representing Ku's creation of the Portland period after 1990.

The Chant of Youth: the Magnificence and Passion of Life

In 1990, Ku left the bustling San Francisco and moved to Portland to concentrate on his artwork. During this period, the composition and brushwork were freely stretched. The beauty of youth and love is reflected through the depiction of people's love and desire, dream and reality. The subject of Young Lady In Red is rare in the oil painting creation. The painting features a girl in red and a golden retriever chow chow. The appearance of the dog alludes to the meaning of companionship, while the meticulous depiction of the young lady reflects the inner world of the character.

The work depicts a young girl with smart eyes and fashionable rebelliousness in brilliant red colors. The protagonist has self-confidence like that of a model, with a red skirt outlining a beautiful body curve. The raised eyebrows and the skateboarding posture show her endless vitality and dynamic life. The artist emphasizes the texture of the girls' clothes and her beautiful makeup with a brushwork full of tension. Through the bright red color, he presents the colorful life of the young lady who is in her best years, indicating his expectation and praise for the infinite possibilities of the future.

The Encounter of Love: A Romantic Poem of the Blue Ocean

Back to the 1960s, when he was a guest in New York, Ku was influenced by the American artist Robert Rauschenberg to experiment with collage. In the 1990s, this modern style was adopted by him again, such as Fated to Meet among the Portland period works finished in 1994. He comprehensively used floral collage, oil paint, and acrylic paint.
He specially selected a beach-like floral cloth as the base to bring in the romance and imagination of the Portland waterfront. The two protagonists in the painting echo each other in a distance, creating a floating dissociation. However, in a scene similar to the repetitive composition of pop art, it makes people feel comfortable in touching the depths of the soul. On the screen, the coconut trees, the striking waves, and the starry sky over the night sky, all follow the infinite connection of sky and sea, presenting the dual mapping of the dream and the real world. The characters presented in the collage are looming, just like the encounter between real life and love. Or it was in this surreal scene that Ku was able to put aside the anxiety of his real identity and social circumstances, express his will without worry, and show the journey of life through the image of the human body, thereby showing the eternal prosperity of life.

Price estimate:
HKD: 250,000 – 350,000
USD: 32,200 – 45,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --