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Lot Essay
Liu Wei graduated from Central Academy of Art Print Department in 1989. Suppressive as the time was, it wondrously set free Liu Wei's artistic ingenuity.
Liu Wei's attention has always been fixated upon classical Chinese paintings intimated associated with ink paper. Upon fishing the systematic training in the academy, Liu displayed in his work Poetic Realm of Ancient-Flourishing Twig (Lot 642) a precise formal composition, an exquisite coloration. In producing the colour on silk, the artist paradoxically combines the meticulous painting technique and the lurid subject matter, and it is then pasted onto the gold foil with great precaution by the artist.
"Flourishing twig" once appeared in Mao Zedong's poem Song Of Divination: Extolment of Plum Flowers published in 1963, in which "Hundreds of meters down the icy cliff there are still plum flowers flourishing" extols the resilience of plum flower, for it still manages to blossom exuberantly despite the extremely harsh environment. That the artist titled this work in reference to the poem has implication; he is likely to profess his determination to pursue excellence in paintings regardless of the pressure.
In this painting, Liu Wei purposefully makes the literal meaning the subject, and self-mockingly signs "liu wei" (which also translates into "running tail" in Chinese). This purposeful use of mispronounced name echoes the plain transformation of the subject matter, evincing the budding cynical propensity of the artist. From then on the pursuit of innovation while respecting the tradition has been constantly present in his works.
Liu Wei's attention has always been fixated upon classical Chinese paintings intimated associated with ink paper. Upon fishing the systematic training in the academy, Liu displayed in his work Poetic Realm of Ancient-Flourishing Twig (Lot 642) a precise formal composition, an exquisite coloration. In producing the colour on silk, the artist paradoxically combines the meticulous painting technique and the lurid subject matter, and it is then pasted onto the gold foil with great precaution by the artist.
"Flourishing twig" once appeared in Mao Zedong's poem Song Of Divination: Extolment of Plum Flowers published in 1963, in which "Hundreds of meters down the icy cliff there are still plum flowers flourishing" extols the resilience of plum flower, for it still manages to blossom exuberantly despite the extremely harsh environment. That the artist titled this work in reference to the poem has implication; he is likely to profess his determination to pursue excellence in paintings regardless of the pressure.
In this painting, Liu Wei purposefully makes the literal meaning the subject, and self-mockingly signs "liu wei" (which also translates into "running tail" in Chinese). This purposeful use of mispronounced name echoes the plain transformation of the subject matter, evincing the budding cynical propensity of the artist. From then on the pursuit of innovation while respecting the tradition has been constantly present in his works.