拍品描述：
款识：Chen Yifei （右下）
In 1980, the Chinese painter Chen Yifei relocated to New York, becoming one of the pioneers among his generation venturing onto the global art scene. In New York, represented by Hammer Galleries, Chen leveraged his transcultural identity, experimenting widely with both Euro-American conventions and his inherent Chinese sensibilities. From the 1980s onwards, he diligently developed a singular style of ‘Romantic Realism’ foregrounding a dreamlike visuality atop his early Realist practice, rediscovering themes of his Eastern origins to evoke an aesthetic resonant across multiple cultural boundaries.
Phillips Hong Kong is pleased to present Chen Yifei’s masterpieces at its auction for the first time, featuring two of his oil paintings from the 1980s—Sun Shower (Suzhou) and Courtyard Entrance. Between 1980 and 1984, Chen Yifei attended Hunter College, New York. In a distant foreign land and in a clash of cultures, Chen’s thematic and stylistic preoccupations were shifting towards new forms of manifestation, moving from grand historical themes to tranquil everyday vignettes. Created in 1984, Sun Shower (Suzhou) and Courtyard Entrance were acquired from Hammer Galleries in 1984 and featured later in Chen’s solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., 4 – 23 June 1985. Featuring the artist’s signature theme of water villages in Suzhou and life in Jiangnan, they stand as two epitomes of this important phase in Chen’s professional life.
Sun Shower (Suzhou) exemplifies Chen Yifei’s unique poetic rendition of Jiangnan, a place he recreated imbued with nostalgia. At the centre of the composition is a bold arch of a bridge that spans across the painterly surface. Beneath it, a broad expanse of water in green tones flows quietly, while a small corner of a white wall and rooftops extend beyond into the background. In the upper part of the composition, two women silently pass over the bridge’s arch, holding umbrellas in their hands. This tranquil scene embodies Chen’s pictorial manifestation of the well-known saying about the region—‘small bridges, flowing water, lived-in houses’. Choosing Suzhou in a sun shower as the site—a scene of sun-drenched light drizzles, Chen foregrounds the physical environment and landscape as the means to embody profound humanistic sentiment and concern. Specifically, the motif of the arched bridge has become iconic and synonymous with Chen’s Water Villages series. In 1985, when gallery owner Armand Hammer visited China, he presented to the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping Hometown Memories - Double Bridge, which is also a work featuring two bridges in Zhouzhuang, Suzhou (Shide Bridge and Yong’an Bridge). The painting also exhibits Chen’s meticulous visual treatment of this subject matter. The seemingly rough and obscured depiction captures the looming atmosphere, here made all the more atmospheric with a sense of mistiness that speaks to the particular locality of Jiangnan. Crystalising this time and space, the work conveys implicitly—in a Chinese way—a sense of nostalgia, deeply hidden in every detail of the piece.
Courtyard Entrance testifies to Chen’s mastery in crafting captivating spatial depth, infusing a romantic undertone into realism. In the foreground, a wooden plank bridge invites the viewer into a deep, narrow alley, where a dog stands guard, seemingly alert to the arrival of visitors. Behind the dog, at the centre of the composition, lush greenery constantly hints at further serendipities awaiting beyond the shabby demeanour of the building. This approach reflects an interest echoing of the idea of ‘obstructive scenery’ commonly employed in the design of literati gardens in Suzhou, in which artisans would place rocks or other structures at the entrance to obstruct views behind, as a way of stimulating imagination and longing. Similarly, Courtyard Entrance presents a balanced composition that draws the viewer to contemplate beyond the immediate represented reality. In the middle of the hazy air coloured in black, white and grey, Chen romantically preserves only a tantalising tint of verdant green.
来源:
纽约，哈默画廊
现藏者于1984年购自上述来源
油彩 画布
创作年代:
约1980年代作，此作品已获陈逸飞遗产管理委员会确认，并将附由陈逸飞遗产管理委员会所核发之保证书。