Mixed media on canvas

91 × 127 cm. 35 7/8 × 50 in.

Stamped with one artist's seal and signed in English on bottom left
PROVENANCE
Eslite Gallery, Taipei
Private Collection, Asia

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

A Pure and Brave Heart
Ku Fu-Sheng's Early Classics

Ku Fu-Sheng is a sensitive introvert who does not like to talk much, but faithfully conveys and records all the unspoken love, desire, yearning, and thoughts in life through paintings. Whilst he was studying in the Fine Arts Department of the National Taiwan Normal University, he organized the ‘May Painting Society' with Liu Kuo-Sung, Chuang Che, and more, which set off a revolutionary trend in the art world that broke through tradition. After graduating in 1958, he went to Paris to study painting and traveled all round the world. 3 years later, he won the honorary prize of the ‘São Paulo International Biennale' in Brazil with his piece Expansion. Through the years, he has traveled to New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and lived in Portland in 1990. In 1997, Ku Fu-Sheng held a large-scale retrospective exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and received a huge response from the public. Both Feeding in the Night (Lot 111) and Icy Waters (Lot 112) are presented in this autumn auction and as classic signs of their mature period.

Crocodile Tears

Painted in 1995, Feeding in the Night is named after crocodiles that eat during the night. The crocodile usually has its eyes closed, but it suddenly opens its eyes in the dark while eating and cries from its dry eyes. The British writer Shakespeare's Crocodile Tears described the crocodile's tears as ‘fake', but in fact, they were enjoying the ‘double-sided' behavior of food. In Greek mythology and classical literature, this water giant is considered both strong and feminine, acting a symbol of the two poles. The egg-born crocodile is also a hermaphrodite before hatching, which extends the meaning of homosexuality.

In the painting, a dark green crocodile emerges from the blue sea with its fangs bared, causing the swimming fish around to feel frightened and scramble to escape. Its golden eyes and black pupils look like torches. A naked man is kneeling beside it with his sturdy limbs full of strength, and his handsome face is expressionless. Although the crocodile's mouth is wide open, he is not afraid of the crocodile and is curious to see if its tears are real. The artist deliberately enlarges the human body to undermine the crocodile, so that the original ferocious creature no longer possesses absolute power and becomes the man's possession. The two seem to be speaking words of love, despite being aware of the danger and external obstacles, which symbolizes a metaphor for the forward movement of the heart. The picture displays a more dramatic tension against the background of the turbulent waves.

A Touch of Crystal Blue

In the 1990s, after his sixtieth birthday, Ku entered a period of maturity and self-adaptation and began to express his personal feelings more straightforwardly. Icy Waters was completed in 1999, and it depicts a man sitting on a stone chair while he is toasting and drinking water. The artist pushed his imagination to the extreme here, causing the ice water to be poured in like a waterfall, allowing a touch of crystal blue to infiltrate the heart. On the side, there is a man in a swimming cap walking down the river. Although at the first glance, it seems as if the two do not have any interactions, but they are enveloped in a glass full of intricate and secret thoughts. Everywhere in life is covered by the shadow of the other person---Hence, despite the water being ice-cold, the artist's passion for love cannot be quenched. The turbulent flow becomes a metaphor for Ku Fu-Sheng's lifelong yearning and persistence for homosexual love.

Price estimate:
HKD: 220,000 - 320,000
USD: 28,300 - 41,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --