Liu Wei

signed in Pinyin and Chinese, dated 1993.10, framed

Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
Private Collection, Asia

Brazil, São Paulo, São Paulo Biennial, 1994, p. 66

This work is generally in good condition. There are some minor wear and handling marks around the edges. A small protrusion is found near the top left corner. Having examined the work under ultraviolet light, there appears to be a patch of restoration on the figure's left thigh, measuring ca. 6 cm.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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Bare Conscience
Liu Wei

“A true artist should find beauty in the familiar things of his everyday life. Only this is lasting beauty.”

Surveying Liu Wei’s oeuvre, one would agree that it is difficult to categorise the artist’s works into one single artistic style. From the immensely iconic Revolutionary Family series in the early 1990s that gave rise to the Cynical Realism movement, to his increasingly abstract landscape paintings in the millennium period, the artist is well known for his relentless pursuits of breaking away from the limitations of painting. On one occasion, the artist has stated, “Once a group of works is finished, I will never do the same again.”¹ Thus, the extreme details and peculiar compositions created for each series are essentially aesthetical crystallisations of the artist’s particular state of mind, making his works to be few in numbers and heavily sought after even today. Among them, Bathing Beauty No. 1 (Lot 46) from 1993 certainly epitomises the heights of Liu’s early career, representing one of his initial forays onto the international stage with its first appearance at the special Chinese contemporary art section, “Wakefulness and the Weightless Present”, curated by Chang Tsong-zung at the 22nd São Paulo Biennial in 1994. The work, featuring a tantalising portrait of a Chinese woman in lingerie, is the first of only two works ever created by Liu for the Bathing Beauty series, making it one of the very few earliest works that brilliantly testified Liu’s genuine artistic genius to the international audience. For many, the themes of the seductive woman and water have also been recognised as a bold move away from the previous Revolutionary Family series. Indeed, it was with the gradual abandonment of the politically implicated motifs in this series that truly allowed the artist to freely explore the conditions of the inner self, and the essence of the painterly surface that ultimately formed the crucial framework of his
renowned artistic practice.

While many scholars have emphasised the importance of the 1993 Venice Biennale in opening the doorway for contemporary Chinese artists into the Western sphere, it was the São Paulo Biennial in 1994 that had truly established a direct cultural exchange between the participating artists including Liu Wei, and distinguished curators from abroad. For them, in comparison with the Venice Biennale, the setting of the exhibition was not only larger, but a greater focus was placed on each of the individual artists. Without a doubt, the showcase of the Bathing Beauty series along with the Swimmers series by Liu proved to be a sensational break for many scholars and curators, including Achille Bonito Oliva, organiser of the previous Venice Biennale. During a round table discussion with notable art critic Li Xianting, who was not able to visit the Biennial, Liu has specifically mentioned, “There were many people whom I didn’t know. [Achille Bonito] Oliva was especially ecstatic and actively proposed future exhibition plans with us.”²

In many ways, the Bathing Beauty series is seen as a crucial bridge between the Revolutionary Family series and his later abstract series. While the aesthetics of this work still retain the delicacy from the Revolutionary Family series as seen in the brushwork of the hair, the main protagonist in the composition has switched from the solemn father figure or intimate family members to an anonymous woman. At the same time, compared to the explicitly illustrated Swimmers series and You Like Pork? from 1995, Bathing Beauty No. 1 skillfully balances a theme on the verge of seduction and vulgarism. As seen in the lot on offer, an ordinary, rather fleshy Chinese woman in black and strapless lingerie is seen sitting in front of an ocean with her legs wide open. Behind her are four smiling naked men swimming on their backs and staring over their right shoulders, with the utmost left figure especially resembling the contours of Mao Zedong. To heighten the visual impact of the piece, fully bloomed red flowers are placed near the private area of the woman, with a piece of paper featuring the headshot of a PLA solder resting right under her left thigh. The swimming Mao figure which evokes the image of Mao Zedong swimming across the Yangtze River in 1966, along with the photograph of the soldier, remain as some of the last lingering traces from his early Cynical Realism period, while the flower image would continue into his later increasingly pictorial You Like Me? series, signaling the beginning of a new path for the artist. Unlike artists who were painting one similar painting after another for mass appeal, Liu Wei remained focused with the exploration on his work, ultimately contributing to the candidly natural and humanistic motif of beauty, lust, and desire in Bathing Beauty No. 1.

It is important to note that the seemingly enticing composition of the work does not portray a mere personal fantasy, but rather also delves into the consciousness of oneself within a national collective. In the exhibition booklet, curator Chang has commented, “even the voyeuristic lust which seizes Liu’s bathing beauties results merely in masturbation, wide-eyed and un-dreaming,”³ connoting a sense of disconnection between the viewer and the characters in the work. Indeed, various paradoxical visual elements in the work have strengthened the notion of “wakefulness” that had come to characterise the mentality of the Chinese art world after the flourishing year of 1993. While the hovering of the woman’s body, lace pattern of the lingerie, and silky pantyhose attempt to seduce the viewer for a closer view, the rough and almost improvised brushwork on the face and dripping of the paint on the body once again remind one of the painterly attributes in the oil painting.

Liu Wei has constantly commented on the importance of the artist’s spiritual state in creating an artwork. “You must have feeling in order to paint. You need to be truly alive in your heart and soul to keep your creativity and passion afresh, and ultimately making your painting eternally living.”⁴ This certainly holds true for Bathing Beauty No. 1, where the artist, instead of looking outward towards the material world, searches deep within himself for the utmost bare conditions of life. It is with the creation of Bathing Beauty No. 1 where the artist continued on with his spiritual and artistic journey, producing some of the most important works within the world of contemporary Chinese art. Considering the title of the lot on offer, Liu Wei has described a parallel in his artistic practice, “A true artist should find beauty in the familiar things of his everyday life. Only this is lasting beauty.”⁵

1 Liu Wei: Talented Painter, Nan Fang Media, 2007
2 Fang Lijun, Culture And Art Publishing House, 2010, p. 45
3 Chang Tsong-zung, Wakefulness and the Weightless Present, Chinese Contemporary
Art at São Paulo, Hanart TZ Gallery, p. 40
4 Liu Wei, Red Bridge Gallery, p. 7
5 Refer to 4