Lot 426: Ling Jian , b. 1963 Palace Servant oil on canvas

signed in Chinese and pinyin and dated 2007 on the reverse oil on canvas

measurements note diameter, 190cm.; 74 3/4 in.

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTION
Born in 1968 in Shandong province, Ling Jian studied fine arts at the Central Academy in Beijing. After completing his degree in 1982 he left China for an atelier in Berlin where he has continued to work and live. Yet never far from his homeland, his work has been dominated by an exploration of Chinese political and social life in one of its most historic moments. As Fan Dian notes, "as a Chinese artist living in Germany, he is influenced by both Eastern and Western cultures. He deals not only with his own cultural tradition, but also with aesthetics of a cross-cultural nature." Known for his bold portraits of Chinese women - large in size and usually limited to his subjects' visage, his art has captured both the best and worst in the social legacy left by China's communist leaders. In his latest series of works, it is the image of the Communist Sister that has come under his scrutiny. These paintings depict, in a provocative and tempestuous style, the idealized and fictionalized Chinese Communist Sister. Creating a composition simple in construction but technically brilliant, Ling Jian poses questions about the depth behind superficiality and the reality behind appearance. Palace Servant (Lot 426) is one of the rare circular paintings created by Ling Jian. This canvas made in 2007 epitomises the artist's unique ability in conveying emotions through his rendering of the eyes. Underneath Ling Jian's exploration of the body's identity lies the wider social context within which he situates his art. He, like many of his contemporaries, seeks reconciliation between the China of the past and the China of the present - and does so through examining its role and its effect in the life of women, and rarely of men, as represented by the sensational Palace Servant.