Liu Dan (b. 1953), The rock remembers, 2003. Estimate80,000 — 100,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
ink on paper, framed, signed, marked with one seal of the artist, 15 1/2 by 14 in., 39.4 by 35.6 cm.
Notes: Whether of stones, poppy flowers, or classically-inspired landscapes, Liu Dan's works embody an exceptional beauty, one balanced between sold, calculated composition and elegant, free-hand gestures. In his paintings of rocks, which are based on actual stones accurately rendered, Liu is inspired by the works of Northern Song dynasty masters and his goal is the “objective representation of the subject matter” that somehow goes beyond a ‘true’ representation of reality, to a quintessential form, isolated on the picture plane.
Liu’s treatment of the subject is elegant, spiritual and constructive, capturing the minutest details of its surface, to the point that the stone itself almost seems like a landscape. He describes rocks as the ‘stem cells’ of landscape, a starting place with infinite possibilities for development, as well as the basis for Chinese people's understanding of space and time. When he portrays particular rocks he adheres to the form before him. By contrast, his landscape paintings seem to unfold organically in an almost inevitable progression that resonates with the artist's ‘stem cell’ concept. As we examine his rock or landscape paintings, seeking to grasp the details of the vast cosmos within, we find them elusive: the gentle touch of the brush is so reserved that not only does it resist revealing the artist's hand, it also stops short of precisely delimiting the rocky form.
Sotheby's. Monochrome, New York, 15 sept. 2015