Oil on canvas

83×80 cm. 32 5/8×31 1/2 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom right; signed and titled in Chinese and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the artist

Spiritual Heights, Realistic Protection
Rare Portrait of Chao Ge's Wife, Full of the Flavour of Life

In the entire history of Chinese contemporary art, Chao Ge was the first to paint objects based on the study and exploration of their inner feelings. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and he has laid down good realistic skills in the academy. He believes that painting is not only limited to realism, but should convey the spiritual direction of one's own life, and more importantly, it should be able to project the social outlook of the time, reflecting the spiritual nature of the "people" of this era. His success in "mental analysis painting" has a unique value and significance, and it has been influential for other artists of his generation, as well as those who came later, such as Mao Yan and Xin Dongwang. Since 1999, he has participated in many biennial exhibitions at home and abroad. In 2000, he was awarded a Spanish National Scholarship to study at the Fine Art Royal Academy in Madrid. After returning home, he was invited to hold solo exhibitions at the National Art Museum of China, the Vittoriano Museum in Rome, and the China Oil Painting Institute in 2004, and his works have been honoured by the National Art Museum of China.

Memory of Time

The Woman at the Table was one of Chao Ge's major artistic productions of the 1990s. Soon after its completion, the piece won the admiration of senior artist Ai Zhongxin, who acted as a go-between when Chao was introduced to the collector who eventually acquired the work.

This is one of the very few portraits by the artist where a home interior was made the background setting. In this work, the artist depicts his wife Li Wei. The two met in 1984 when the artist was sketching in Hohhot. At that time, Li Wei attracted Chao Ge with her large eyes and character, and in 1987 he painted the girl as a model for his Eyes and Gemstone, and a few years later, the two became united. In Woman at the Table, she shows as a wife having dinner at a table. The background, the interior of a small dining room, is a typical Chinese family setting in the 90s; and yet, in this finely crafted representational expression, the artist captures his society's volatile condition. Amid this turbulence, the hostess of the dining room looks straight ahead with her arms spread horizontally and placed firmly on the table, with a dignified and determined appearance, forming a pyramid-shaped triangular composition that gives the entire painting a sense of stability.

Landscapes of the Soul: Feminine Radiance and Resilience

The artist has skilfully depicted the wife's signature full forehead, thick slanted eyebrows and other features, and used hard lines to portray the image of a young girl who has gone through the baptism of time. Her eyes, looking straight ahead, are different from the uneasiness and sensitivity of the previous Gemstone, which was either averted downwards or raised upwards. She exudes a calm, confident and resolute spirit. The hands holding the chopsticks and the bowl, seemingly ordinary actions, convey a kind of "protection" for ordinary life. Chao Ge paints his wife as a microcosm of Chinese women in the early 1990s, and through the capture of the character's image, he portrays the richness of her heart and spirit. In the fast-changing and turbulent times, in the relatively material-poor city, facing the triviality of life and the uncertainty of the future, her calm and resilient female splendour, demonstrates a touching power of determination that does not go with the flow.

Price estimate:
HKD 150,000 – 200,000
USD 19,200 – 25,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 420,000