Acrylic on canvas

116×75.6 cm. 45 5/8×29 3/4 in.

Titled in English, signed in Pinyin, and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

Exploring Symbols
The Abstract Landscape of Order and Impermanence in Ding Yi's Work

After graduating from the Shanghai Art and Design Academy in 1983, Ding Yi worked as a designer at Shanghai Toy Factory No. 12 while simultaneously beginning to create abstract paintings. He is currently a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts. Since 1988, Ding Yi has been continuously constructing paintings with rationally arranged crosses and intersecting symbols, naming his works Appearance of Crosses using the printing term that symbolizes precision. This series marked a transcendence beyond representational and expressionist painting, redefining the expression of contemporary Chinese art.

His works have been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, and the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. Over thirty major institutions worldwide, including the British Museum in London, the Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, and the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, have collected his works, solidifying his iconic status in the art world.

Abstraction and Symbols: A Deep Exploration of Formal Language

Appearance of Crosses 2008 is a quintessential work in Ding Yi's Appearance of Crosses series. The composition comprises densely arranged "+" and "X" symbols. Within the highly minimalistic black-and-white colour scheme, the artist methodically uses rulers to grid the canvas and draw symbols, embodying a force of order. These symbols are evenly distributed across the canvas, forming what appears to be an infinite grid system.

The abstraction in this work lies in its departure from any figurative forms or real-world themes; the symbols become the sole focus, guiding the viewer's attention toward the philosophical implications behind them. For example, the cross in Western contexts holds religious significance, while in design language, it functions as a "coordinate" symbol, referring to rules, rationality, and balance. The visual experience of these crisscrossing lines invites the viewer into a state that hovers between meditation and rational analysis.

Time, Order, and Impermanence

The Appearance of Crosses 2008 intricately expresses the artist's unique understanding of time and space, order and disorder, through the interplay of planes, textures, and the meticulous arrangement of horizontal and vertical lines. For Ding Yi, art is not just about formal innovation but also an extension of thought. The repeated use of black as the dominant colour intertwines crosses and their variant, the "X," on the canvas, symbolizing order and impermanence against the backdrop of endless time and space.

Ding Yi vividly conveys the dialectic between impermanence and order through the repetition and arrangement of symbols. The use of black represents an extreme calmness, hinting at boundless contemplation. In colour theory, black is considered the ultimate colour, alluding to the infinite and the limitless, with a powerful internal tension.

Through his use of colour and repetitive symbols, Ding Yi references the relationship between the individual and the collective, between order and chaos in modern society, creating a microcosm that mirrors the myriad aspects of contemporary life.

Price estimate:
HKD 550,000 – 850,000
USD 70,500 – 109,000

Auction Result:
HKD: 660,000