Visionary Path

The name Ma Desheng is inseparably linked to the the Star Group of Artists, a key revolutionary art movement in the modernisation of Chinese art. In 1979, although the chaos of the Cultural Revolution had run its course, there had been no real reform in the arts. The creation of art was still very much governed by the stance and tastes of state authority, but the art world was poised on the edge of a golden opportunity for reform and advancement. Ma Desheng took the initiative and, with 23 other young artists, including Wang Keping and Huang Rui, initiated the Stars Exhibition to advocate freedom of expression and innovation in the creation of art. The first exhibition, held at the park railings outside the National Art Museum of China in September 1979, triggered the country's massive modern art movement.
The five works presented here in the Day Sale demonstrate Ma's diverse forms of creation and his unique Eastern aesthetic. In his painting of stones, Ma uses modern artistic language but displays his inheritance of the Chinese aesthetic tradition. Visionary Path (Lot 566) features four stones balanced against each other. On the outside they are smooth and flawless, recalling the shapes of Western sculptor Jean Arp, but on the inside Ma's brushstrokes are delivered with stormy, explosive force. Set against a calm, peaceful background, the contradiction between the outside and inside of the stones evokes the indomitable attitude towards life of the Chinese people during the turmoil of revolution. Ma's stones are metaphors for the human soul.