LOT DETAILS

Materials:

oil on canvas

Measurements:

34.02 in. (86.40 cm.) (height) by 85.98 in. (218.40 cm.) (width)

Markings:

signed and dated 1992; signed and dated 1992 on the reverse

Literature:

Muli Tang was born in Shanghai in 1947. He was the son of a prominent film director,and began painting as a child,a gifted product of the Children's Palace system. While he hoped to study physics at university,the cultural revolution intervened and Tang was "sent down" to work as a labourer on a dairy farm. In the little spare time allotted to him,Tang turned to painting to escape the monotony of his assignment. Tang's talent was discovered,however,and he was eventually freed from his labour duties in order to paint billboards at various dairy farms. In 1981,Tang won a scholarship from the Chinese government to study abroad and attended the Royal College of Art in London.  From 1985-1989,he was artist in residence at Cornell University in Ithaca,New York. Tang subsequently settled in Montreal,the subject of this impressive painting,the format of which is reminiscent of Tang's billboard painting days - a harmonious merging of both the past and present life of the artist. Tang died in 2011.  

Provenance:

Charles Bronfman's Claridge Collection,Montreal