LOT DETAILS

Materials:

Acrylic on canvas

Measurements:

36.02 in. (91.50 cm.) (height) by 28.74 in. (73.00 cm.) (width)

Markings:

Signed in English on edge of the top, signed in Chinese and dated on edge of the bottom

Provenance:

EXHIBITION7 July – 30 Aug 2017, Traversing—a Wonderland of Real Painting, Lotus Art Gallery, KaohsiungPROVENANCEPrivate collection, AsiaTsang Shufen, born in 1982 and a graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts at the National Kaohsiung Normal University, is a highly visible new-generation artist engaged in traditional oil painting. She uses hyper-realistic depiction techniques and creates relief-like textures on canvas to metamorphose her works into the third dimension. In 2016, one of Tsang’s works won a Kaohsiung Excellent Work Award. This comes in addition to the jury prize she was awarded by Murakami’s GEISAI Festival in 2011. Tsang’s works have gained significant recognition within the art world, with some of her pieces being displayed as part of the collections of the National Taiwan and Kaohsiung museums of fine art.The works Simulacrum Image N0.7 （lot 766）, Simulacrum-Forged Luxury Case N0.1 （lot 765）and Simulacrum Image No. 7, up for the current auction are two of Tsang’s most important works. In Simulacrum Image No. 7 （2013）, the artist depicts a partial enlargement of a royal-blue door, its rich detail allowing the viewers to immerse themselves into the image. She uses a highly sophisticated hyper-realistic imaging technique to represent the rusty bolt with its metallic and physical appearance in an amazingly vivid and life-like way. The surface of the door has been visibly weathered by extended exposure to the elements, and the faded patches are signs imprinted by time. On the bottom left there is a piece of fabric stuck to the wood, looked as if a fallen silk ribbon which has clung to the surface. This is not only a mark of the artist’s superiorv painting skills； it also demonstrates a touch of poetic beauty and wide-ranging dynamics of the composition. In Tseng’s artistic creations, everyday moments are transformed into visual poems and eye-catching feasts.In Simulacrum-Forged Luxury Case N0.1, the artist takes further steps to challenge the division between the two- and three-dimensional space. By using the flat surface of the canvas, Tsang produces a suitcase which appears as if it can be easily picked up and carried off. The life-like texture of the leather is actually the product of an elaborate manipulation of paint and color, and she was able to use this to pull off a practical joke on the well-known luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, while also conveying her personal ideas on the modern phenomenon of high-end consumption. The concept of Simulacra, therefore, encourages the viewers to explore the boundaries between reality and illusion, and even to survey life itself.