Watercolour on paper

65×100 cm. 25 5/8×39 3/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
25 Jun 2008, Shanghai Dowmin Chinese Oil Painting and Sculptures Auction, Lot 33
2 Dec 2021, Poly Beijing Autumn Auction, Lot 2749
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the above

Composing the Anthem of the Age
Yin Zhaoyang's Memories of His Youth

Born in 1970, Yin Zhaoyang experienced the Cultural Revolution and the Reform and Opening-up of China, witnessing the fierce collisions of old and new thoughts in the course of social modernisation. His works often boldly present the rich and delicate emotions of the individuals surviving in the grand narrative of the era. He has held exhibitions at the Kunstmuseum Bern in Switzerland, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Iberia Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, the Shanghai Art Museum and the Beijing Art Museum, among many other major institutions in China and abroad.

Drifting Clouds in Rays of Colour, the Tiananmen Square They Watch Over

"Tiananmen Square" is one of Yin Zhaoyang's most popular themes. Currently, three of his top five auction records come from this series, including the Tiananmen Square Triptych, which was auctioned at 10.97 million RMB at China Guardian in 2010, making him the first Chinese artist born in the 1970s to have his works sold for more than 10 million RMB. The present lot, Tian An Men, is one of his rare large-scale watercolours, therefore holding special significance.

While Yin Zhaoyang's early Tiananmen-themed works mainly focused on the building, since 2007, the series began to feature dense crowds of people depicted in hazy patches of colour. With the small up close and the large farther behind, the visual contrast he creates between the building, which is the subject, and the people enhances the texture of his work. Tian An Men is painted with colourful and wet brushstrokes, which brings a dreamy and hallucinatory atmosphere to the picture. In the sky, the burgundy, crimson clouds dance like burning flames, while, under their vibrant hues, the Tiananmen building in the centre of the picture radiates with magnificence. The building's structure is vaguely depicted, with only the red walls and yellow tiles discernible. This precisely reveals Tiananmen's memorable impression on people's hearts. In the foreground, the artist uses simple strokes to outline a colourful crowd of people walking towards Tiananmen as if they are on a journey of pilgrimage. Under the golden sunlight, individual identity becomes concealed, yet their restless bodies mark the opening of a new chapter - the hesitation and confusion about the unknown future can also be seen as the result of anticipation and vitality.

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