ƒ Wang Guangyi (né en 1957) Lot n° 63

ƒ Wang Guangyi (né en 1957) Great Criticism Series : Warhol, 2003 Acrylique sur toile Acrylic on canvas 200 X 300 CM - 78 3/4 x 118 1/8 in. PROVENANCE Acquis directement auprès de l’artiste par le propriétaire actuel 'Differences of environment and cultural background result in artists coming to completely different views of the world. My view is that artistic expression arises from the uniting of an artist with the macro-concept of a nation. The term global mainstream is basically pure invention."(Wang Guangyi, quoted in Mahjong : Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Bernard Fibicher & Matthias Frehner, éditions Hatje Cantz, 2005) Great Criticism series : Warhol is Wang Guangyi’s ironic tribute to Andy Warhol, who have impacted Wang’s production significantly. Known as a leader of the New Art Movement that started in China after 1989, and one of the central figures of the Political Pop Movement, Wang’s work is very distinctive. His combination of the propaganda aesthetic of the Cultural Revolution with commercial Western luxury brands shows the contradictions he embodies, and his iconic paintings from the Great Criticism series are a perfect instance of this convergence. Warhol’s influence is obvious in the use of the striking American Pop imagery which shows how well Wang masters this lexicon. This clash of propaganda and American Pop kitsch highlights the conflict between China’s political past and mercantile present, as well as paying homage to the themes of art’s commodification and mass production that Warhol pioneered. Three decades before Great Criticism series : Warhol (2003), US President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 was the genesis of the Warhol’s iconic Mao paintings. The circle is complete here with Warhol’s name painted alongside luxury brand names in Wang’s iconic series. If many have referred to Wang as a Chinese Andy Warhol, the tribute to the master he admires is twofold and full of humor by illustrating 'Warhol" as pop art within pop art.