Acrylic on wooden box

A: 23 × 17.9 × 9 cm. 9 × 7 × 3 1/2 in. B: 23 × 14 × 7 cm. 9 × 5 1/4 × 2 3/4 in. C: 17.8 × 11.8 × 5 cm. 7 × 4 5/8 ×2 in.

Titled, signed in English and dated on the reverse(A&C); titled, signed in English and dated on the top(B)
PROVENANCE
JP Art Center, Kaohsiung
Acquired directly by present important Asian collector from the above

The Galaxy that Illuminates Human Civilization
Chang Teng-Yuan's Enthralling Fantasyland

In 2021, Chang Teng-Yuan, born in 1983, was selected as the 12th "Future Star" by Cans Asia Art News, a magazine which focuses on artists born after the 80s and 90s. Through his masterful artistic expression and whimsical imagination, he creates an environment filled with metaphors and ambiguities. In 2012, Chang Teng-Yuan created Parrotman, an artwork series in which he leads the viewer between mountain valleys and above seas, through the past and the present, and amongst dramatic apocalyptic landscapes with an archaeological spirit. In doing so, he reflects on contemporary culture and expresses his views on social phenomena. His works have been presented in London, New York, Cologne, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc, and have been well received and widely acclaimed. Human Being Catalogue No. 05, No. 08 and No. 22 (Lot 19) and The Birth of Parrot Venus (Lot 20) tell stories about human civilization from different and unique perspectives.

Present, Past, Future

Human Being Catalogue No. 05, 08, and 22 breaks the boundaries of traditional flat painting. Chang Tengyuan ingeniously uses three three-dimensional wooden boxes to extend the painting to the upper, lower, left and right sides of the canvas. He deliberately dons the protagonist in an "Off-White" top, a popular contemporary fashion brand, cleverly linking the past, the present, and the future, and successfully merging them into one. The protagonist is depicted from the front, back and side in the three paintings; one stands under the starry marine night sky, deliberately enlarged, representative of an extraterrestrial visitor landing on the surface of volcanic lava about to erupt; another carries an Off-White backpack that resembles a flight launcher, searching for a direction to travel in; the last one is stranded in a Xanadu of colorful rocks, commanding the audience's interpretation and imagination.

The Contemporary Epic that Illuminates Human Civilization

The Birth of Parrot Venus is the artist's largest and most important work to date in auction. The painting is set against the backdrop of a striking and enchanting valley, where flowers are set in full bloom, and the rolling mountain range in the distance is highlighted by the bright pink sky. Through the use of fantastical and vibrant colors, Chang invites the audience to walk into his mirage-like world. At the center of the painting is a parrot man dressed in a white working robe, with one hand on his chest and the other covering his lower body with a cascade of wavy orange hair.

Under the watchful gaze of the parrot people on both sides, the parrot man presents a graceful and subtle anthropomorphic posture. Based on the Renaissance masterpiece The Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli, the painting reinterprets the characters of Venus, the Goddess of spring, and the God of wind as parrots, imbuing the artwork with a sense of mischief and solemnity. This allows the parrot man to travel through not only time on earth, but also through renowned masterpieces, demonstrating the origin of life and beauty.

According to Chang Teng-Yuan , The Birth of Parrot Venus tells the tale of parrot people who find records on their own species in post-apocalyptic earth, and further come to understand the biological theories of "survival of the fittest" and "natural selection" in Darwin's theory of evolution, leading them to breed Venus the parrot-the most "perfect" species in the biological chain. The parrot person moves from established archaeology to more complex and diverse ideas on art history, biology and other anthropological concepts, revealing a gleaming galaxy of wisdom in human history, making this work a contemporary epic on evolutionary history.

Price estimate:
HKD: 15,000 - 25,000
USD: 1,900 - 3,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 33,600