Mixed media

16×18×14 cm. 6 1/4×7 1/8×5 1/2 in.

LITERATURE
2012, A Brief History: Ni Youyu, China Academy of Art Press, Hangzhou, p. 182-183
EXHIBITED
1 Nov – 7 Dec 2014, Labor & Time, Chambers Fine Art, Beijing

PROVENANCE
Chambers Fine Art, Beijing
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

Note: This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Chambers Fine Art, Beijing and signed by the artist

The Measure of Humanity:
Ni Youyu - Seeking the True Self

Ni Youyu, born in Jiangxi in 1984, graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of Shanghai University's Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. He later became an independent artist through self-study of oil painting, working across various media including painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and video. Influenced by American surrealist artist Joseph Cornell, he is particularly interested in symbolic language in art. He often extracts elements from architecture and integrates them into his artistic expression, excelling at exploring the subtle relationships between time and space through multiple perspectives and changing forms, earning widespread acclaim. In 2014, he was awarded the Best Young Artist by the China Contemporary Art Award (CCAA). His work has been collected by institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Singapore Art Museum, and Hong Kong's M+ Museum. In 2022, his largest career exhibition Dome and Scale opened at Guangdong He Art Museum. In 2023, he was invited by the international brand Fendi to design a collaboration handbag, highlighting his influence in contemporary Chinese art.

Life's Enigma in the Acupuncture Box

The featured sculpture Acupuncture Box was completed in 2011. It was previously exhibited in the group exhibition Labor & Time at Chambers Fine Art Beijing, where it received acclaim from collectors and has been preserved in a collection since then. This early small sculpture marks Ni Youyu's debut at auction, showcasing his unique style. Inspired by Cornell's assemblage techniques, Ni narrates through a small wooden box inscribed with his birth year, five experimental test tubes, paintings, and cardboard, exploring the mysteries of the human body. The structure of the work evokes the architectural design of the Parthenon, with inverted test tubes symbolizing orderly arranged columns, metaphorically representing the crystallization of human wisdom and culture. Through a glass viewing window, one can see an embedded anatomical diagram of acupuncture points. The artist meticulously draws human anatomy and organs with black lines, connecting the main acupuncture points across the body. The viewer can see through the refraction of the glass, where images are magnified and reduced at different angles, creating intriguing visual effects. The focal point is a hand hidden in the central test tube, reaching upwards, contrasted with the cold needles in other tubes, symbolizing the pursuit of hope and ideals through the light entering from the top of the box. The back of the box displays muscle and skeletal structures, visually representing limbs in motion, perhaps as a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and its geometric mystery. Ni Youyu uses minimal colours and playful riddles to restore the essence of life's form, deftly extracting the essence of both Eastern and Western civilizations, guiding viewers to ponder the "true self," offering much to contemplate.

Price estimate:
HKD 40,000 – 60,000
USD 5,100 – 7,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 28,800