Acrylic on canvas

61 × 51 cm. 24 × 20 1/8 in.

Signed in pinyin and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2013, Dreams for Sale exhibition poster, Eslite Gallery, Taipei
2013, Benrei Huang, The Eslite Corp, Taipei, p.44 & 119
2017, Benrei Huang, China National Photographic Art Publishing, Beijing, p.103
EXHIBITED
25 Dec 2013 – 26 Jan 2014, Dreams for Sale, Eslite Gallery, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Eslite Gallery, Taipei
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

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

The Purest Sincerity from Little Things in Life
Huang Benrui's Rabbit Nini

Born in 1959 in Taiwan, Huang Benrei graduated from The Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University. In 1986, she went to the United States to study at The Department of Illustration at The School of Visual Arts in New York. Although she has been engaged in children's book compilation for more than 20 years, her artistic pursuit has grown increasingly so that she does not stick to illustration. In 2009, Huang began to devote herself to pure artistic expressions, and then a charming rabbit “Nini” was born. Up to now, Nini has been accompanying Huang Benrei for more than ten years, connecting her childhood, fantasy and memory when she was wandering in a foreign land and also bringing warmth and healing power to viewers. Her works have been exhibited in Eslite Gallery in Taipei, Gallery 456 in New York and other places, winning the love of both eastern and western audiences. The paintings Bunnies Don't Fly, Wind Makes Them (Lot 14), and Back Fire (Lot 16) are the important representative works of her solo exhibition Dreams for Sale in 2013. Together with the sculpture Nini (Lot 15), Nini breaks the restriction of media and shows the delicate feelings in life, accompanying us to wander in the universe and reach our hearts.

Go with the Wind and Settle Down

Bunnies Don't Fly, Wind Makes Them was selected as the poster image of Huang Benrei's solo exhibition Dreams for Sale, which shows its representative position among her oeuvre. White Ninis are as light as clouds in the painting, holding small yellow umbrellas like a meniscus. They fly in different directions, like dandelions in the wind, swaying left and right in the misty soft grey-blue cloud background. The depiction of them dramatically and humorously shows the involuntary movement of the body in the wind. This work also echos the artist's identity background of living abroad to some extent. It reflects her wandering experience in a relaxed and open-minded way: Ninis are like dandelion seeds that travel with the wind, opening their big black eyes to look around with naive expectation and relaxation. They are at ease in the vast world, showing positive power with a heart full of humour.

Breaking the Cage by Making Self-Dialogue

In Huang Benrei's oeuvre, “shadow” is an essential element. The shadow of Nini accompanies the protagonist, and they carry on dialogues or play games. Back Fire is a representative work of this topic. In the lower-left of the painting, Nini crosses its hands and turns its back while its shadow covers a large area of the wall behind. The graffiti on the wall is about a quarrel between Nini and a yellow duck behind Nini, who probably drew it with scattered crayons. A giant shadow with one arm akimbo is preaching to Nini. Although Nini is back to the wall, it can't help glancing back at the graffiti, like showing regret after a quarrel between friends, which echos to the topic. The grey shadow in the centre covers the story with a layer of hazy gauze, giving the viewer free imagination space. What's more, it adds a sense of humour like shadow play theatre. For Huang Benrei, her works seem relaxed and straightforward, but in fact, they are allusions to the philosophy of life. She once said: “Life is not black or white but in greyscale.” This kind of delicate thinking about life eventually became a kind of nutrient, feeding her creations, making them not only lovely images of warmth and beauty but also symbols of profound understanding of life.

Response to the Invitation: The Reappearance of Classic Nini

Huang Benrei's first auctioned work is the sculpture Nini presented by China Guardian Hong Kong in 2018. This time, we are delighted and honoured to bring the classic back to respond to our customers' trust. In this work Nini, Nini sits quietly with its hands put together. Its dark eyes look at the audience and reflect different faces, like a patient listener listening to our troubles or happiness, which makes one trust Nini from the heart. The shape of Nini is smooth and simple. At the same time, the colour of it is pure white, just like an innocent child or a hermit on the moon who will sincerely make dialogue with everyone. This incredible purity makes the human mind forget the world's noise and delivers warm and firm healing power.

Price estimate:
HKD: 55,000 – 85,000
USD: 7,000 – 10,800

Auction Result:
HKD: 156,000