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Lot Essay
In 1980, Chinese artist Chen Yifei went to New York to further his studies. At that time, the contemporary society of United States was in the midst of challenges to decipher the perception of "reality" and the pursuit of the cutting-edge art. This atypical environment provided Chen with an opportunity for critical thinking, which led to his analysis of the Western countries' realistic concept in the 80s. Furthermore, it allowed him to reassess the evolution of realistic art in China, which had been progressing for more than half a century. This development not only brought a fresh viewpoint on realistic art to Chen, but also helped advance Chinese realistic art to a next level, leading realistic oil paintings of China towards the world stage.
Chen Yifei broke through the half-century-old concept and style of realistic painting in China. From a contemporary point of view, he came to the realisation that visual art was simply a transformation from "reality" to "imaginary". With his new understanding of realistic art, Chen created the sentimental Waterside Villages series which brought an idealized sense of beauty to Chinese realistic painting. Chen also attempted to incorporate the traditional aesthetics and unique imaginary of Chinese art into his works.
Water Villages series started in 1982. Chen travelled to Europe in that summer, then to the waterside villages of Jiangnan in the autumn for inspiration for his artistic creations. Later, he returned to New York and dedicated his time to the early series of Waterside Villages.His work was then exhibited at Hammer Galleries in New York, Brooklyn Museum and New England Centre for Contemporary Arts in 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. In 1984, the style of Chen was reputed as "romantic realism" in New York Times and Art News. From then on, Water Villages series started to receive affirmative feedback in the States.
From the early stage of Water Village series, Morning Stroll (Lot 173) is acquired by the collector from the Hammer Galleries in New York in 1984 and has been in the family collection for almost thirty years. The painting is vertically separated into three sessions of the grass land, water canal and riverside houses with black roof tiles and white walls. The foggy water village is enshrouded in the slightly blue morning light that reflected from the water canal and the moist grassland. A quiet stroll in the morning brings forth a kind of presence that is sensuous and touching and symbolises harmony regardless of time and space. It echoes Chen's pursuit for eternal beauty and sincere emotions, and further expresses the "truthful" feeling which could not be sensed by hands but by heart.
Executed in 1990, Entering the Canal (Lot 171) was included in the catalogue Chen Yifei co-ordinated by Hammer Galleries and published by Huayi Publishing House. In this work, Chen Yifei painted the continuous ridges of the roofs in Jiangnan waterside villages with careful consideration. He blended classical and realistic oil painting techniques with the concept of abstraction in Western contemporary art, and thus took realistic paintings to a new level. Like the idea Paul Cezanne introduced in 1904, "to see nature as combinations of cylinder, sphere, and cone", the black tiles and white walls in Jiangnan waterside villages can be seen as geometric shapes of diamond, trapezoid, rectangle and triangle, with their great simplicity and expressiveness. At the same time, the layering blocks of colour are reminiscent of the minimalist aesthetics of constructivism in Western abstract art (Fig 1). The rippling water canal extends from foreground to background and creates a perfect balance with the houses outlined in straight lines on both sides.
Suzhou Landscape (Lot 172) was executed in late 1990s. Chen Yifei inherited the rules of "truthful depiction of natural light", which is advocated by Pre-Raphaelites in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Light becomes an artistic language that derives deep emotions from nature. With a refined grinding technique in thick colour, Chen depicted the misty light at breaking dawn, a humid, hazy and romantic atmosphere that is typical in Jiangnan. The artist attempted to capture the elusive light and changes in nature. This illusory scene in Chen's painting reminds us of the blurred imagery created by Gerhard Richter (Fig. 2), questioning paintings' ability to fully convey the essence and truth of an object. The river, smooth as the surface of a mirror, is devoid of any movement, not even disturbed by the resting boat. The peaceful scene emits a sense of tranquillity and otherworldliness. It is clear to all that Chen Yifei kept up with the times with a firm belief in realism. The fresh expressiveness he conveyed in traditional realistic paintings has greatly moved the contemporary viewers from different cultural backgrounds.
Chen Yifei broke through the half-century-old concept and style of realistic painting in China. From a contemporary point of view, he came to the realisation that visual art was simply a transformation from "reality" to "imaginary". With his new understanding of realistic art, Chen created the sentimental Waterside Villages series which brought an idealized sense of beauty to Chinese realistic painting. Chen also attempted to incorporate the traditional aesthetics and unique imaginary of Chinese art into his works.
Water Villages series started in 1982. Chen travelled to Europe in that summer, then to the waterside villages of Jiangnan in the autumn for inspiration for his artistic creations. Later, he returned to New York and dedicated his time to the early series of Waterside Villages.His work was then exhibited at Hammer Galleries in New York, Brooklyn Museum and New England Centre for Contemporary Arts in 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. In 1984, the style of Chen was reputed as "romantic realism" in New York Times and Art News. From then on, Water Villages series started to receive affirmative feedback in the States.
From the early stage of Water Village series, Morning Stroll (Lot 173) is acquired by the collector from the Hammer Galleries in New York in 1984 and has been in the family collection for almost thirty years. The painting is vertically separated into three sessions of the grass land, water canal and riverside houses with black roof tiles and white walls. The foggy water village is enshrouded in the slightly blue morning light that reflected from the water canal and the moist grassland. A quiet stroll in the morning brings forth a kind of presence that is sensuous and touching and symbolises harmony regardless of time and space. It echoes Chen's pursuit for eternal beauty and sincere emotions, and further expresses the "truthful" feeling which could not be sensed by hands but by heart.
Executed in 1990, Entering the Canal (Lot 171) was included in the catalogue Chen Yifei co-ordinated by Hammer Galleries and published by Huayi Publishing House. In this work, Chen Yifei painted the continuous ridges of the roofs in Jiangnan waterside villages with careful consideration. He blended classical and realistic oil painting techniques with the concept of abstraction in Western contemporary art, and thus took realistic paintings to a new level. Like the idea Paul Cezanne introduced in 1904, "to see nature as combinations of cylinder, sphere, and cone", the black tiles and white walls in Jiangnan waterside villages can be seen as geometric shapes of diamond, trapezoid, rectangle and triangle, with their great simplicity and expressiveness. At the same time, the layering blocks of colour are reminiscent of the minimalist aesthetics of constructivism in Western abstract art (Fig 1). The rippling water canal extends from foreground to background and creates a perfect balance with the houses outlined in straight lines on both sides.
Suzhou Landscape (Lot 172) was executed in late 1990s. Chen Yifei inherited the rules of "truthful depiction of natural light", which is advocated by Pre-Raphaelites in the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Light becomes an artistic language that derives deep emotions from nature. With a refined grinding technique in thick colour, Chen depicted the misty light at breaking dawn, a humid, hazy and romantic atmosphere that is typical in Jiangnan. The artist attempted to capture the elusive light and changes in nature. This illusory scene in Chen's painting reminds us of the blurred imagery created by Gerhard Richter (Fig. 2), questioning paintings' ability to fully convey the essence and truth of an object. The river, smooth as the surface of a mirror, is devoid of any movement, not even disturbed by the resting boat. The peaceful scene emits a sense of tranquillity and otherworldliness. It is clear to all that Chen Yifei kept up with the times with a firm belief in realism. The fresh expressiveness he conveyed in traditional realistic paintings has greatly moved the contemporary viewers from different cultural backgrounds.