Oil on canvas

130×130 cm. 51 1/8×51 1/8 in.

Titled, dated and signed in Chinese on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Soka Art, Taipei
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Infinite Sunset, Melodic Blues
The Rational and Emotional Worlds of Zhang Yingnan

Zhang Yingnan, a highly regarded post-80s artist, graduated from the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in 2005. After moving from Shaanxi to Beijing, the city's fast-paced life deeply influenced his work. He blends classicism's orderly beauty with a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere, offering thoughtful reflections on contemporary life that resonate with viewers. His work has been exhibited at venues like the Yuz Museum and the Aurora Museum in Shanghai, and at Art Basel multiple times. His pieces are held in collections at the White Rabbit Gallery in Australia, the Aurora Museum in Shanghai, and the Xiao Museum in Shandong. The featured piece, Sunset Blues, is a signature work that captivates with Zhang's distinctive style, inviting viewers to explore the beauty within.

Eternal Beauty in Memory

In Sunset Blues, Zhang Yingnan uses his signature symmetrical composition to invite the viewer into a seemingly ordinary interior space. The warm decor creates a cosy atmosphere. At the centre, a gentle breeze stirs, the sheer curtains glow. While the view outside the window is obscured, it leaves viewers with a sense of longing for the unseen.

An old-fashioned television sits in front of the window, showing a solitary figure by the sea, watching the sunset. Zhang skillfully uses a "painting within a painting" to capture the sunset's grandeur inside the small TV screen, creating a playful tension between "inside" and "outside," "large" and "small." The warm glow of the sunset seems to spill out of the TV, casting soft colours on the walls and adding a romantic touch to the room. This contrast between rationality and emotion intensifies, with the calm exterior of the painting hiding powerful undercurrents, like water and fire coexisting.

The figure on the television is seen from behind, with Zhang intentionally leaving their gender, age, and race ambiguous, inviting viewers to see themselves in the scene. Paired with the vintage TV, the painting stirs a sense of nostalgia, reminiscent of a blues melody's final, lingering notes, gently saying goodbye to the past.

Price estimate:
HKD 200,000 – 400,000
USD 25,600 – 51,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 336,000