Lot 83: Wang Du (b. 1956) Il y a des jambes qui en disent long 1999 resin, fibreglass and acrylic paint 275 by 112 by 42.5 cm. 108 1/4 by 44 1/8 by 16 3/4 in.

Il y a des jambes qui en disent long
1999

resin, fibreglass and acrylic paint

275 by 112 by 42.5 cm.
108 1/4 by 44 1/8 by 16 3/4 in.

Provenance
Art & Public, Geneva
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2000

"I want to be a media, because each individual is a world!"

The artist, interviewed in ParisArt.com, 9th July 2004

Wang Du's desire to be 'a media' recalls Andy Warhol's much quoted statement 'The reason that I am painting this way is that I want to be a machine'; and in its reuse of everyday imagery Wang Du's art also reminds us of many of the ideas seen in the work of the king of Pop Art. Wang Du, however, works largely in three dimensions, creating monumental sculptures representing a variety of subjects ranging from crushed up balls of paper to the scantily clad, highly sexualised female figures we see in the current lot. Originating in the Hubei Province of China and with an education which included both Chinese and Western techniques, the artist spent time in prison for speaking out against corruption in his home country. A subsequent move to Paris in 1990 has found the artist exhibiting widely in Europe and the United States, with his reputation now firmly established on a global level. His work often examines concepts of gender, and while the sculpture we see here displays many of the clichés of modern femininity, Wang also creates their opposite in representation of muscled, overtly-macho males.