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Lot Essay
“You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is of no use- why do you not plant it in a tract where there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild? There you might saunter idly by its side, or in the enjoyment of untroubled ease sleep beneath it. Neither bill nor axe would shorten its existence; there would be nothing to injure it. What is there in its uselessness to cause you distress?” – Zhuangzi, Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease
Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, finished circa 1940, is one of Yun Gee's most distinctive and representative works. The painting depicts a corner in Brooklyn's Botanic Garden under full moon, during the beginning of springtime when a light dusting of snow still covered the garden, reflecting the resplendent moonlight. In the foreground, an extraordinary tree seems to contort in the form of a dancing woman, with twist-and-turning roots supporting a crown that evokes the impression of a dancer's arm stretching towards the right, and reminding one of Zhuangzi's "tree of no use". Afar, a couple exits from a pavilion on the top of a hill, slowly descending the steps while engaged in conversation, finishing a scene that is warm and refreshing.
Yun Gee was a student of Eastern philosophy, and also a lover of gardens as subjects of his landscapes. Residing in New York, the artist experienced remarkable upheaval and pressure in an art market that was slowed to a standstill because of the war, coinciding with a global economic downturn as well as anti-Chinese legislation. Nevertheless, his ambitions were undaunted, and his pamphlet on Diamondism in the 1940s clearly communicates his search for a unified form of modern art after his experience with schools and styles in China, Paris, and New York. He took concrete features of physical objects and turned them into figurative visual expressions according to his abstract understanding of those forms, in the process revealing the artist's spirit and philosophy. Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden is based on reality, yet it also belies a metaphorical subconscious: that the usefulness of the useless is the greatest – as winter gives way to spring, shoots of green have already sprouted on the branches. The painting's narrative elements and cavalier perspective not only draws from the essence of traditional Chinese paintings, they also uncloak the artist's search for his own modernist style.
Yun Gee entered the ranks of the world's best artists early in his life, and Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a product of his most creative period, and a great example of his signature style. It is rare that such a compositionally complete, nuanced, and large-format work is finally coming to the auction lot after a decade-long wait, and we look forward to it with great excitement.
Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, finished circa 1940, is one of Yun Gee's most distinctive and representative works. The painting depicts a corner in Brooklyn's Botanic Garden under full moon, during the beginning of springtime when a light dusting of snow still covered the garden, reflecting the resplendent moonlight. In the foreground, an extraordinary tree seems to contort in the form of a dancing woman, with twist-and-turning roots supporting a crown that evokes the impression of a dancer's arm stretching towards the right, and reminding one of Zhuangzi's "tree of no use". Afar, a couple exits from a pavilion on the top of a hill, slowly descending the steps while engaged in conversation, finishing a scene that is warm and refreshing.
Yun Gee was a student of Eastern philosophy, and also a lover of gardens as subjects of his landscapes. Residing in New York, the artist experienced remarkable upheaval and pressure in an art market that was slowed to a standstill because of the war, coinciding with a global economic downturn as well as anti-Chinese legislation. Nevertheless, his ambitions were undaunted, and his pamphlet on Diamondism in the 1940s clearly communicates his search for a unified form of modern art after his experience with schools and styles in China, Paris, and New York. He took concrete features of physical objects and turned them into figurative visual expressions according to his abstract understanding of those forms, in the process revealing the artist's spirit and philosophy. Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden is based on reality, yet it also belies a metaphorical subconscious: that the usefulness of the useless is the greatest – as winter gives way to spring, shoots of green have already sprouted on the branches. The painting's narrative elements and cavalier perspective not only draws from the essence of traditional Chinese paintings, they also uncloak the artist's search for his own modernist style.
Yun Gee entered the ranks of the world's best artists early in his life, and Spring in Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a product of his most creative period, and a great example of his signature style. It is rare that such a compositionally complete, nuanced, and large-format work is finally coming to the auction lot after a decade-long wait, and we look forward to it with great excitement.