Mixed media on canvas

169×230.3 cm. 66 1/2×90 5/8 in.

Signed in pinyin and dated on bottom right

LITERATURE
2011, GZ 1626, Vol. 19, Fung Choi Media Group, Guangzhou, p. 122
2011, Open Academic Consciousness: The Anthology of Oil Painting Department of Guangzhou Art Academy, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, Changsha, p. 197
2012, Wild Vision: Exhibition of Guangzhou's Young Contemporary Artists, 53 Art Museum, Guangzhou, p. 39
2012, The First "CAFAM ・ Future" Exhibition - Sub-Phenomena: Report on the State of Chinese Young Art, Guangxi Normal University Press, Guilin, p. 193
2013, Beyond the Framing of Object: A Physical Approach of the Narration of Apace, O2art Managing House, Beijing, p.32-35
2014, The First "CAFAM ・ Future" Exhibition - Sub-Phenomena: Report on the State of Chinese Young Art, China Youth Publishing Group, Beijing, p. 207
EXHIBITED
27 Feb – 27 Mar, 2011, Variant Absent: An Art Exhibition of Physiological Experiment, 53 Art Museum, Guangzhou
23 Jul – 31 Aug 2011, Experimental Painting Manual, Feizi Gallery, Shanghai
8 Aug – 6 Sep 2012, First CAFAM Future Exhibition : Sub-Phenomena : Report on the State of Chinese Young Art Nomination, Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Beijing
22 Jun – 28 Jul 2013, Beyond the Framing of Object: A Physical Approach of the Narration of Apace, O2art, Beijing

PROVENANCE
6 Apr 2015, Poly Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 269
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

The Visionary Play of "Conceptual Architect"
Huang Yishan's Autobiographical Manifesto

Huang Yishan, who earned his master's degree in oil painting from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2009, is celebrated as one of the most conceptually profound artists of China's post-80s generation. Through geometric fragmentation, dislocated perspectives, and mixed media, he transcends the boundaries between two- and three-dimensional space. His works often incorporate references to art historical masterpieces and Chinese literary allusions, reflecting his deep engagement with art history and literature. In 2018, he was invited to participate in the Guangzhou Triennial, followed by the Parallel Exhibition at Venice Biennale in 2019. His works are collected by institutions such as the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney, the Guangdong Museum of Art, the Yuz Foundation, and the Long Museum in Shanghai.

The Climactic Chapter of a Fantastical Narrative

Curator Cui Cancan describes Huang Yishan as a "storyteller," whose works interlock to weave "stories within stories." The piece presented in this auction, Studio with Red Paint, serves as the autobiographical climax of his Freud series created from 2010 to 2011.

In 2010, Huang created Lawn and Studio Filled with Paint. The former depicts a lawn using his signature parallel perspective, showcasing his meticulous attention to material texture. The latter is a "painting within a painting," which places Lawn within a studio whose walls are smeared with red paint, paying homage to the workspace of British portraitist Lucian Freud; while the blue terrazzo floor tiles are inspired by the restrooms at Huang's alma mater. By interweaving his own lived environment with that of the iconic painter, Huang casts himself as a figure standing in the doorway, poised to reflect upon the relationship between his own material-driven aesthetic and Freud's visceral expressionism. In the subsequent work Studio with Red Paint, the studio setting remains similar, yet the voluminous red pigment has been dramatically reduced, while the hesitant figure has transformed into the "the owner of the studio." Through this evolution, the artist charts the maturation of his creative subjectivity—from the art school graduate to the self-assured "conceptual architect."

A Playful Dance Between Reality and Illusion

Studio with Red Paint employs Huang's signature "craftsman-like" technique and "axonometric" perspective to depict a meticulously balanced, enclosed space. Every line, tile, door, window, and table is carefully arranged. Using specially mixed pigments, he creates the smooth, textured appearance of ceramic tiles, while transparent acrylic sheets on the table and window replicate the tactile quality of real objects. The artist's profound respect for materials renders the space and its elements with an almost "perfect realism." Yet, the surreal atmosphere imbues the scene with a sense of fiction, blurring the line between theatre and reality.

The square canvas, table, and windows are arranged at varying angles, evoking the abstract beauty of Bauhaus-style order. The red paint, fluid and random in form, introduces a vivid, almost disruptive element – as if "a set stain of purity, an exit from completeness." The seated man in the studio, his body aligned with the composition's balance, gazes intently at a work on the left wall, whose content is unknown to the viewer. This dramatic tension disrupts the meticulous spatial structure, creating a compelling narrative ambiguity.

Labyrinths of "Paintings Within Paintings"

Unlike Studio with Red Paint, which referenced Huang's earlier works, the piece hanging on the left wall here initially resembles a work by American colour field painting master Josef Albers. However, the grey and blue tones that mirror the external space, along with the lines perfectly parallel to the floor and walls, raise the question: Is this a flat painting or a window into an adjacent physical space? Huang challenges conventional visual experiences, turning the act of "viewing" into a fascinating and enigmatic puzzle.

"Freud" Exits, "Huang Yishan" Enters

Huang Yishan seeks to balance the rationality of creation with the innate humanity. While Studio Filled with Paint still grappled with Freud's presence, oscillating between reason and emotion; however, in Studio with Red Paint, Huang confidently asserts himself. His work is no longer a dialogue with the masters or a subject of reflection, but a grand visual spectacle crafted through spatial construction and material authenticity. As Huang states, "the entire work feels more like a projection of myself." Etched in the cyclical interplay of reality and surrealism, abstraction and figuration, he declared a personal manifesto that "Rationality is humanity."

Price estimate:
HKD 600,000 – 800,000
USD 76,900 – 102,600