ZHONG CHENG

Zhong Cheng 2024 Autumn Auction「Modern And Contemporary Art」

  • Zhong Cheng 2019 Spring Auction「Morden And Contemporary Art」
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    ZHOU CHUNYA(b.1955)

    Peach Bronze

    2013

    Acrylic, Bronze, 5/8
    150x120x90cm

    Dated 2013, signed Zhou Chunya in Chinese and English, numbered 5/8

    Estimate TWD 13,000,000-15,000,000
    USD 421,000-485,800
    HKD 0-0

    Hammer Price TWD 14,400,000
    USD 458,599
    HKD 3,618,090

With a certificate of authenticity from gallery

Provenance：

Illustrated：

Exhibition："Impression of Peach Blossom - The Bronze Artwork by Zhou Chunya," Aurora Museum, Shanghai China, May 5th - 31th, 2015 (different edition exhibited) "Language of Flowers," Asia University Museum of Modern Art, Taichung Taiwan, October 6th, 2018 - April 7th, 2019

Exposition：

“An artist does not have a consistent way of creating, any expressive material can be used as medium. The key is to contemplate what the subject is. To a painter, sculpture is a new experiment, from colors relations to the construction of the three-dimensional form, everything is a challenge. So I never dare call myself a sculptor.” ---Zhou Chunya

Although Zhou Chunya’s “Peach Blossom” series begun in 2005, the flower already appeared in his painting in 1997, “But at the time the peach blossoms only served as a form of embellishment. The gentle and eye-catching flowers were placed next to the aggressive German shepherds. The combination creates a dynamic visual effect and psychological contrast. I was very intrigued.” Peach Bronze was created in 2013-2014, continuing Zhou Chunya’s exploration in the decade-long series. The artist skillfully executed the grand and prevailing sculpture by hand to demonstrate the splendid and mesmerizing qualities of the peach blossom. Zhou Chunya’s demeanor of “gentle but violent” tendency creates a new form of expression that blurs the state of “painting” and “sculpture,” moreover, the two genre of expression formulates a brilliant union. 

Zhou Chunya refused to polished the surface of the Peach Bronze sculpture, instead he left behind raw hand texture as his way of preserving nature’s authentic shape. During the process of molding, it seems as if the movements in his brushstrokes are suddenly turned still, he conveyed the volatility of the raw branches by imitating nature’s course. The immensity of oil paint formed thick bold lines that ran across the sculpture spontaneously like flowing water. With the expert control of large brushstrokes, Zhou Chunya’s work resonance in the figurative charm of traditional Chinese art.

The artist portrayed the vibrant, splendid peach blossoms with weight and solidity through the density of his texture. The lifelike branches are partially intertwined while other section are loosely arranged. The work’s vigorous vitality is exemplified in the upward-expanding composition of the tree. In between “presentation of form” and “figurative charm” Zhou Chunya found the perfect balance. Art critic Chi Lan said, “He will not singularly modify the work into a polished and vibrantly attractive piece, instead many fragments of the work purposely announced anti-aestheticism. The existence of the subject embodied a tense and rebellious vocabulary, arriving at the intersection of attractiveness and unpleasantness, the seemingly meticulous creation unexpectedly presents a sense of ease and freedom.”

Zhou Chunya is renowned for demonstrating the best control of colors among Chinese Contemporary art scene. Although he once said, oil painting is his favorite form of artistic expression, however sculpture helped him achieve a more liberating manifestation outside the restriction of the canvas. Within the sculpture’s simple structure of composition, volume, and form, there are no concrete narrative and burdens, alternatively it is a concise and liberated artistic expression that is even more expressive in conveying the work true essence. By following his passion and intuition, Zhou Chunya embraced the free and wild manner of the western abstract expressionist, but also recalling the classical aestheticism of the East. His artwork represents the artistic vocabulary of a new 
generation. Peach Bronze’s unpretentious and natural state explores the indispensable presence of lust and instinct; the work also represents the artist’s profound understanding of the world and the crystallization of his artistic journey. 

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