Oil on canvas

80 × 99.5 cm. 31 1/2 × 39 1/8 in.

Signed in Pinyin and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
Mar 1992, Dragon: an Art Monthly 31st Issue, Dragon Magazine Editorials, Kaohsiung, p.33
2011, Chengdu Biennale: Representation of Realistic, Organization Committee of Chengdu Biennale & Museum of Contemporary Art Chengdu, Chengdu P.4
2014, The Joy of Collecting Art, Artist Magazine Publishing House, Taipei, p.160
2019, The Joy of Collecting Art, Sichuan Art Publishing House, Chengdu, p.171
EXHIBITED
7 – 29 Mar 1992, Romantic Realism – Artwork Exhibition of Aixuan, Dragon Art Museum, Kaohsiung
12 Aug – 12 Nov 2000, Treasure in Mountain – The Select Collection of Mountain Art Museum, Mountain Art Museum, Kaohsiung
15 – 21 May 2007, The First Exhibition of China academy of fine arts, China Art Research Institute, National Art Museum of China, China
4 Oct – 2 Nov 2008, Group Exhibition of New Realism Oil Paintings, Humble House, Taipei
24 Jul – 21 Aug 2011, Chengdu Biennale: Representation of Realistic, Century City International Exhibition Center Building No.2, Chengdu
25 Apr – 25 May 2014, The Joy of Collecting Art, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present important Asian collector from the artist

Poetic Eyes, Ideal Autumn
The Debut of a Renowned Painting in the 1980s by Ai Xuan, A Master of Chinese Realism

“I often think in my heart that there is a lonely place where I can entrust my life to it and find peace in the chaos. I found this feeling in Tibet.”
—— Ai Xuan

Painting Treasured for Thirty Years Firstly Appears at the Auction, The Greatest Artistic Achievement of Artist

In the late 1970s, Ai got inspiration from the rising trend of scar aesthetics, which believes that creation does not necessarily require the established theme of grand narration, but should be adapted to the catharsis of personal emotions. Since then, he initiated a unique Tibetan series, expressing self-emotions. For more than 40 years till the present, Ai has made the series his painting classics. At the same time, it is a link between the communist propaganda painting and the new-generation expressionism. Realistic expressionism brings cross-epoch contributions and essential meanings to the development of Chinese contemporary art in the mid to late 1980s.

Completed in 1989, Autumn Still Lingers is one of the important works that established the international reputation of the artist during that period. After the completion of the painting, it has been treasured by senior collectors of contemporary Chinese art, with a solid and prominent source. For over 30 years, it makes its first appearance at this auction, which is extremely rare.

Let the Scenery Speaks, Let the Lyrics Tell

In the painting, a child wrapped in a Tibetan robe sits alone in a wild swamp. Although the painting does not directly show the cold wind and snow in the Tibetan area, the whistling of the wind can still be heard because, under the sunset in autumn, the boy's immature cheeks and the half-exposed earlobes under the flying black hair are flushed. However, he seems not to be hindered by anything，but immersed in the dandelion in his hands, without fighting against the world. The boy in the center has a baby-like figure, which is tinier compared to the vastness of the surrounding grass, which arouses pities. By painting sceneries, he expresses his internal trauma caused by the turbulent life due to war and the Cultural Revolution in his childhood. Through rational order of pictures, personal iconic blue-gray tone, and realistic techniques, he outlines his real experience derived from life into implicit emotions that are unique to the generation he belongs to, as well as expressions of their reflections on humanity, soul, youth, and fate.

The Place Where the Soul is Stored, Autumn Still Lingers

The name of this work continues from the artist's famous work in 1986. It is also called Autumn Still Lingers collected by Robert Hefner, who is known as the first collector of Chinese contemporary oil paintings. This work was invited to join the Chinese Contemporary Oil Painting Exhibition held in the United States, which was the first collective appearance of Chinese contemporary oil painters overseas after the “Reform and Opening-Up”. The painting was greatly appreciated by the wife of the then US President Reagan. Two years later, Ai named his work Autumn Still Lingers again. He projected his artistic ideals of spring and white snow on this work where frozen soil of the snow-covered plateau is the basis for his artistic creation. No matter when, it is a place where Autumn Still Lingers.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,100,000 – 1,800,000
USD: 141,800 – 232,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,298,000