Shi Xinning - Contemporary Art Evening Sale London Tuesday, October 12, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Wedel Fine Art, London

  • Exhibited

    London, The Saatchi Gallery, The Revolution Continues: New Art from China, 8 October, 2008 - 18 January, 2009
     

  • Literature

    The Revolution Continues: New Art from China: exh. cat., Saatchi  Gallery, London, 2008, pp. 58–60 (illustrated).

  • Catalogue Essay

    Painted as if enlarged from historical and political massmedia photography, Shi Xinning’s Royal Coach is seemingly a documentation of the curious moment of exchange between Mao Zedong and the Queen Mother. What becomes apparent upon closer inspection is that the painting portrays an imaginary event. By humorously pairing Mao and the Queen Mother together on the royal coach, the scene unfolds as part documentation, part
    fantasy. As in other works in his oeuvre – many of which depict Mao in unlikely situations with icons of the West – Shi revels in humour and irony. The manipulated image in Royal Coach not only questions the truth of the photographic image often taken for granted, it also serves as a witty commentary on the ubiquity of Mao’s image in modern China. By infusing the totems and taboos of Social Realist art into his work, Shi’s art is ultimately a satirical parody of China’s political past and legacy.
     

38

Royal Coach

2006
Oil on canvas.
210 x 317 cm (82 5/8 x 124 3/4 in).
Signed, titled, inscribed and dated ‘Royal coach Shi Xinning 2006 Beijing’ on the reverse; initialed and dated 'SXN 2006' lower right.

Estimate
£50,000 - 70,000 

Sold for £61,250

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

13 October 2010
London