Oil on canvas

100 × 80 cm. 39 3/8 × 31 1/2 in.

Signed in English and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2015, SIGN ME/Hybrid Portraits——This is Alixe Fu in Paris, Taipei, Beijing Exhibition, LYNA Art, Paris, p.147
EXHIBITED
6 – 28 Jun 2015, SIGN ME/Hybrid Portraits – This is Alixe Fu in Paris, Taipei, Beijing Exhibition, ARTDOOR Gallery, Taipei
3 – 12 Jul 2015, SIGN ME/Hybrid Portraits – This is Alixe Fu in Paris, Taipei, Beijing Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing
16 Nov – 16 Dec 2019, Bards – Alixe Fu's Postexpressionism Painting Exhibition, Amanda Wei Gallery, Hong Kong

PROVENANCE
Amanda Wei Gallery, Hong Kong
Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Amanda Wei Gallery, Hong Kong signed by the artist

The Joys and Sorrows of Life
Alixe Fu's Life Theatre

Since 1998, Alixe Fu has been creating a series of ‘vegetable people and animal people' to explore the ‘variables of man'. In this series, he goes against the traditional structures of heaven, earth, and man, with emphasis on the opposition and interaction between the body and soul. Created in 2004, his work Motley (Lot 113) acts as a symbol of the entire series.

Motley showcases the relationships of two different entities, resembling yin and yang or the red flames and blue sea, with the latter two represented by the two protagonists in the painting. The red character on the left is drawn with a deformed upper body paired with multiple faces, which display a variety of expressions. Some of which are laughing, others filled with melancholy, and few with calm outlooks. One by one, these emotions emerge from these faces. At the center of the red face, a blue piece stands out, as if the red character is wearing a mask. The blue presents a calm and indifferent front, despite being surrounded by the fiery red body. This contrast in colors represents the subtlety and complexity of human nature in contemporary society. On the other side, the blue body symbolizes rationality and is portrayed more abstractly. Its face is camouflaged within the background, concealing any expression or feeling. If one looks closely towards the lower half of its green and blue body, a dreamlike face can be seen, similar to that of a mime on stage.

Fu titled this piece as ‘Motley', which refers to a clown or being dramatic. In the painting, the two protagonists in their colorful attires each represent different emotional tensions, as if their emotions were enlarged onto life's stage. Under these colorful costumes, the most genuine feelings quietly ebb and flow through the artist's gentle nibs, capturing the bitterness and sweetness of life.

A Tribute to the Classics and Unique Style

From carefully observing Fu's works, the free association and the various ideas are like Kafka's infinite self-opening, reaching the state of ‘soul nakedness' and ‘body blending', which can be seen in his Geisha (Lot 114). A blue portrait with a nice face and smooth lines resting his cheek on one hand, showing a thoughtful and calm mental outlook, similar to Auguste Rodin's masterpiece ‘The Thinker'. The artist deliberately uses bright yellow, orange and blue to create bold and avant-garde color palettes. The protagonist twists the orchid fingers to show the two sides of yin and yang and how they coexist. The ‘contemplative' wise man is no longer just a vigorous and powerful male, but at the same time possesses the feminine qualities.

Price estimate:
HKD: 100,000 - 160,000
USD: 12,800 - 20,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 120,000