Stainless steel sculpture Edition: 7/8

110 × 60 × 30 cm. 43 1/4 × 23 5/8 × 11 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese, dated and numbered on the backside of the right leg

LITERATURE (different edition)
2009, Interpreting Nonexistence: Sculptures by Zheng Lu, New Age Gallery, Beijing & Taichung, p.93 and 173
EXHIBITED (different edition)
12 Sep – 6 Oct 2009, Interpreting Nonexistence – Zheng Lu Solo Exhibition, New Age Gallery, Beijing

PROVENANCE
New Age Gallery, Taichung
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by New Age Gallery, Taichung

Graceful Goddess, Extraordinary Charm
The Goddess of Luo River by Zheng Lu

Zheng Lu stands out in the contemporary sculptor community with his experimentation of shaping stainless steel into Chinese characters and constant pursuit of alternative rendering formats. During his school days in Central Academy of Fine Art for postgraduate studies in 2007, he won the LVMH Young Artists Award that offered him a place at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts in Paris for further studies. After his homecoming in 2008, he soon shot to fame with his first attempt of character welding. He also held exhibitions at multiple establishments around the world, including Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem, Musée Maillol in Paris, Casa dei Carraresi in Italy, Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, National Museum of China in Beijing and Long Museum in Shanghai.

Rhyme and Poem, the Writing Spirit in Physical Beauty

“I like poetry because its inherent syllables, tones, and rhythms are very similar to plastic art. They are both simple expressions of deep emotions with diverse forms to present the social and personal spiritual world.”
——Zheng Lu

Zheng Lu's love for poetry stems from the growth environment of the scholarly home. In his creation, he often chooses the most popular sentences in poetry and odes, and engraves them on stainless steel, echoing the shape of the work. The concrete presentation of characters is particularly prominent in his creation with the human body as the model. The Goddess of Luo River completed in 2008, is a classic example and is shown in his important solo exhibition Interpretation of Emptiness in 2008.

Echoing the title, The Goddess of Luo River, Zheng selects the famous lines of Cao Zhi in his famous Ode to The Goddess of Luo River, “Her body soars lightly like a startled swan; Gracefully, like a dragon in flight. In splendor brighter than the autumn chrysanthemum; In bloom more flourishing than the pine in spring; Dim as the moon mantled in filmy clouds; Restless as snow swirled by the driving wind.” and engraved them in seal script onto the stainless steel. The fine welding connecting the characters forms the exquisite shape of the goddess of Luo River. Zheng blends the dual beauty of calligraphy and artistic modeling with the famous Ode to The Goddess of Luo River. The “text” in the sculpture not only becomes the carrier of poetry and injects the romance of classical literature, but also vividly portrays the goddess' slim figure. In the work, the goddess is slightly curled up, seeming to be in deep sleep. Her hands and legs interlace, and her body undulates like a landscape, which reminds viewers of the pure expressiveness and line beauty in Sleeping Muse by Constantin Brancusi. With the natural aesthetic characteristics of calligraphy and the rhetoric beauty of the prose, Zheng coats the goddess with the coexisting poetic beauty of the lines and the imagery of the text.

Streaming Light and Floating Shadow, the Ethereal Beauty of Rigidity and Softness

With this unique poetic rhythm, Zheng's hollow sculpture creates the endless change with light and shadow wandering in it, presenting an ethereal look with a combination of rigidity and softness. When the work is on display, it is specially designed to hang upright. When the light passes through the graceful body, the elongated and undulating figure is cast to one side. The goddess in sleep seems to be fixed in time, becoming the eternal classic of beauty. When you appreciate the work by reading the poetic lines, the light and shadow projected on the body would flow gently along with your movement. In the interweaving of poetic rhythm, metal texture, and soft body, it tells the beauty of life that is permanent in the heart!

Price estimate:
HKD: 300,000 - 400,000
USD: 38,500 - 51,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --