Craig Mattoli
06-16-2012, 11:06 PM
China has been famous for its sculpture for several thousand years, but there was a rebirth of sculpture, in the early 1900’s, with the general rebirth in art. As that first generation of modern Chinese sculptors, who studied and worked abroad, returned, they imparted their knowledge to a second generation, some of whom are represented in our current collection.
We began our art business, inside China, almost a decade ago, so, we have a view of Chinese art that is much different from those of Western galleries, who import and sell the latest crazes in kitschy, commercial contemporary art to the West. Indeed, we see much more depth, in the local art, and we see a great deal that is undiscovered and undervalued. As specialists in valuation and market inefficiencies, in many markets, over the past thirty years, we also have a great deal of experience in spotting value, long before the masses catch on. Recently, one of the things that we have been concentrating on is sculpture, because we believe that it is one of the most undervalued segments of all, and we have been putting together an impressive collection, in terms of mastery, subject matter and meaningfulness. It’s enough to make even some museum directors envious.
Actually, there are already signs that the market is beginning to awaken. Just before we finished preparing this commentary, another appeared in a prominent Chinese collector magazine, making the same conclusion, and at the end of last year, a sculpture by one of our artists, Pan He, the Rodin of China, sold for several million dollars at auction, in China. More importantly, although the price was almost ten times recent relative prices of his works, in the market, the buyer told us that he expects to make 10 times his money, even at the price he paid. More interesting, still, is that it was sold at a “Red” auction, although the original piece was made as a direct challenge to Mao, in 1956. While we are continuing to comb through the market, we have, so far, focused on works by Pan He, who is now in his eighties, Cao Chong En, who is in his seventies, and two younger sculptors, Xu Hong Fei and Pan Fen, Pan He’s youngest son, both of whom are in their forties.
Pan He was born in the 1920’s, and he traveled to Europe as a youth. Inspired by the art of Rodin and Michelangelo, he decided to be an artist at a very young age; he even still has many watercolor paintings that he did while traveling in Europe as a teenager. After beginning his career as an artist, in Hong Kong, a failed love affair with a financier’s daughter led him to reject capitalism and move back to the mainland to join the anti-capitalist cause and to make art for the people.
His talent was recognized by Mao Zedong, in the early 1950’s, when Mao chose one of his works, “When I Grow Up,” as the sculpture symbol of the new PRC. However, by the mid-1950’s, the bloom was off the rose, as Pan began to see Mao and the PRC for what they really were. Not one to shy away from confrontation, he made the sculpture, “Tough Times,” as a commentary on the truth about the “liberation” of Hainan. He was dumfounded to learn that of 40,000 communist troops who murdered their way to Hainan, the few dozen, who, in the end, survived, were still committed to the cause. And he sent the sculpture along with a letter about the truth he had learned to Mao.
Even with bad blood between them, Mao asked Pan to do a sculpture of him for his hometown, in the 1960’s. Pan made a sculpture, but he portrayed, not the leader of the PRC, but the young idealistic Mao, who was leaving Hunan as a youth to join the revolution in Guangdong, as that was the only Mao that he respected. It was simply another, more subtle form of dissent. In fact, Pan tells us that one of the things he loves about art is that it can have one meaning to one person, and another to another. In that regard, many of his works have double meanings.
Having been one of the two sculptors who convinced the Chinese government to invest more money in public sculpture, in the 1980’s, he was chosen to create over 100 important sculptures, around China, including the symbol sculptures of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Dongguan. He has created some of the most recognizable sculptures in China.
Looking back over his career, although he chose communism over capitalism, he has proven to be quite the capitalist. Although he is not unknown in the West, having come to international attention with his bust of Einstein in the late 1970’s, after Mao died and Deng Xiaoping came to power, his work remains relatively undiscovered by the West.
Cao Chong En, about ten years younger than Pan He, is another of the second generation of sculptors who have been creating art throughout the history of the PRC. Unlike some of those popular contemporary artists who mock the Mao era, now, thirty-some years later, artists who actually lived through the period dealt with reality and dissidence in different ways. Thus, while Pan He showed his dissent by making sculptures, like Tough Times and Young Mao, you will not find any sculptures of Mao by Cao Chong En. For him, the true heroes of modern China were Sun Yat Sen, of whom he has made a tribute series of sculptures depicting important events in Sun’s life, and of Deng Xiaoping, who opened up China and allowed its people to prosper. He also has done many works for Buddhist and Taoist temples, another way of snubbing the system.
Cao first came to the attention of the West, in the 1980’s, when he made a sculpture of Juan Antonio Samaranch, then-president of the International Olympic Committee. That sculpture is now in the Swiss Olympic Museum. More recently, he was chosen to make sculptures of Bruce Lee for the Walk of the Stars, on the waterfront of Hong Kong, and for Lee’s hometown, Shunde, just south of Guangzhou. In fact, he spends so much time making larger sculptures for people and places, that he rarely makes smaller versions, and they are, therefore, even more rare and more valuable. Even when he does make smaller sculpture, he often makes only one or two, not even the standard nine copies that Rodin made of most of his.
One of the third generation of modern Chinese sculptors, Xu Hong Fei, a former student of Cao Chong En, has found his own niche in contemporary sculpture. Instead of making things, like ash Buddhas or painted fiberglass monsters, Xu, like some classical Renaissance artists, has focused his sculpture on voluptuous women, putting them in a modern context and making them graceful and light as air. To Xu there is nothing more interesting, beautiful or fun than big women. Instead of trying to pluck the heartstrings of the West or gain favor with political kitsch, Xu’s work is filled with energy, joy and delight.
If you have ever visited Guangzhou, you are sure to have seen his work, which is displayed in public places, from Shamian Island, in the west, to Zhujiang Newtown, in the east. Although he is still relatively undiscovered outside of Canton, he has done solo exhibitions, in other countries, from Europe to Hong Kong.
As the son of Pan He, Pan Fen has grown up with some obvious advantages and disadvantages. Certainly, he learned sculpture from one of the best possible teachers, but, he also has to live in his teacher’s shadow. To be sure, he has benefited from both his father’s tutelage and his critiques. In the end, he has done sculpture in modern styles, completely unlike the classical style of his father, and he has done others, building on his father’s work, combining human and nature in a tight bond. And while we are the only gallery where you might find his work, you might also see it in sculpture parks and private collections, across the U.S. Indeed, the relationship to the father will forever add to the cachet of his work.
As an art form, sculpture has so much diversity for enjoyment and display. So, to take a look into the art of these great Guangdong sculptors and rethink your view of the Chinese art market, and what it really has to offer, in artistry, in originality, and in value. Local collectors are already beginning to recognize its value, yet, prices of the works of these artists still enjoy the extra benefits of an undervalued Yuan. You can buy into this undervalued segment of the market at prices ranging from thousands to millions before the rest of the West discovers it and internationalizes its prices.
Especially, given the prices recently paid in the international markets for works by the first generation of Chinese artists, it won’t be long before the second generation and others come to the market’s attention. Indeed, the art markets saw a concentration on twentieth century art, last year, and many experts believe that the trend will continue.
In the end, you can buy art by contemporary artists mocking the Cultural Revolution, now, or you can buy art that expressed dissent, during the time when it was actually dangerous to do so. You can go buy a sculpture of a donkey humping a skyscraper by Zhang Huan or a giant spider by Chen Shaomin, if you want to buy less expensive sculpture from gimmicky contemporary artists, who have been promoted by Western galleries, or you might consider sculpture by some truly exceptional Chinese sculptors, whose work has already stood the test of time, yet remains undervalued. We have been diligently doing our homework, and, now, we are sharing it and the opportunities that it presents, with you.
We began our art business, inside China, almost a decade ago, so, we have a view of Chinese art that is much different from those of Western galleries, who import and sell the latest crazes in kitschy, commercial contemporary art to the West. Indeed, we see much more depth, in the local art, and we see a great deal that is undiscovered and undervalued. As specialists in valuation and market inefficiencies, in many markets, over the past thirty years, we also have a great deal of experience in spotting value, long before the masses catch on. Recently, one of the things that we have been concentrating on is sculpture, because we believe that it is one of the most undervalued segments of all, and we have been putting together an impressive collection, in terms of mastery, subject matter and meaningfulness. It’s enough to make even some museum directors envious.
Actually, there are already signs that the market is beginning to awaken. Just before we finished preparing this commentary, another appeared in a prominent Chinese collector magazine, making the same conclusion, and at the end of last year, a sculpture by one of our artists, Pan He, the Rodin of China, sold for several million dollars at auction, in China. More importantly, although the price was almost ten times recent relative prices of his works, in the market, the buyer told us that he expects to make 10 times his money, even at the price he paid. More interesting, still, is that it was sold at a “Red” auction, although the original piece was made as a direct challenge to Mao, in 1956. While we are continuing to comb through the market, we have, so far, focused on works by Pan He, who is now in his eighties, Cao Chong En, who is in his seventies, and two younger sculptors, Xu Hong Fei and Pan Fen, Pan He’s youngest son, both of whom are in their forties.
Pan He was born in the 1920’s, and he traveled to Europe as a youth. Inspired by the art of Rodin and Michelangelo, he decided to be an artist at a very young age; he even still has many watercolor paintings that he did while traveling in Europe as a teenager. After beginning his career as an artist, in Hong Kong, a failed love affair with a financier’s daughter led him to reject capitalism and move back to the mainland to join the anti-capitalist cause and to make art for the people.
His talent was recognized by Mao Zedong, in the early 1950’s, when Mao chose one of his works, “When I Grow Up,” as the sculpture symbol of the new PRC. However, by the mid-1950’s, the bloom was off the rose, as Pan began to see Mao and the PRC for what they really were. Not one to shy away from confrontation, he made the sculpture, “Tough Times,” as a commentary on the truth about the “liberation” of Hainan. He was dumfounded to learn that of 40,000 communist troops who murdered their way to Hainan, the few dozen, who, in the end, survived, were still committed to the cause. And he sent the sculpture along with a letter about the truth he had learned to Mao.
Even with bad blood between them, Mao asked Pan to do a sculpture of him for his hometown, in the 1960’s. Pan made a sculpture, but he portrayed, not the leader of the PRC, but the young idealistic Mao, who was leaving Hunan as a youth to join the revolution in Guangdong, as that was the only Mao that he respected. It was simply another, more subtle form of dissent. In fact, Pan tells us that one of the things he loves about art is that it can have one meaning to one person, and another to another. In that regard, many of his works have double meanings.
Having been one of the two sculptors who convinced the Chinese government to invest more money in public sculpture, in the 1980’s, he was chosen to create over 100 important sculptures, around China, including the symbol sculptures of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Dongguan. He has created some of the most recognizable sculptures in China.
Looking back over his career, although he chose communism over capitalism, he has proven to be quite the capitalist. Although he is not unknown in the West, having come to international attention with his bust of Einstein in the late 1970’s, after Mao died and Deng Xiaoping came to power, his work remains relatively undiscovered by the West.
Cao Chong En, about ten years younger than Pan He, is another of the second generation of sculptors who have been creating art throughout the history of the PRC. Unlike some of those popular contemporary artists who mock the Mao era, now, thirty-some years later, artists who actually lived through the period dealt with reality and dissidence in different ways. Thus, while Pan He showed his dissent by making sculptures, like Tough Times and Young Mao, you will not find any sculptures of Mao by Cao Chong En. For him, the true heroes of modern China were Sun Yat Sen, of whom he has made a tribute series of sculptures depicting important events in Sun’s life, and of Deng Xiaoping, who opened up China and allowed its people to prosper. He also has done many works for Buddhist and Taoist temples, another way of snubbing the system.
Cao first came to the attention of the West, in the 1980’s, when he made a sculpture of Juan Antonio Samaranch, then-president of the International Olympic Committee. That sculpture is now in the Swiss Olympic Museum. More recently, he was chosen to make sculptures of Bruce Lee for the Walk of the Stars, on the waterfront of Hong Kong, and for Lee’s hometown, Shunde, just south of Guangzhou. In fact, he spends so much time making larger sculptures for people and places, that he rarely makes smaller versions, and they are, therefore, even more rare and more valuable. Even when he does make smaller sculpture, he often makes only one or two, not even the standard nine copies that Rodin made of most of his.
One of the third generation of modern Chinese sculptors, Xu Hong Fei, a former student of Cao Chong En, has found his own niche in contemporary sculpture. Instead of making things, like ash Buddhas or painted fiberglass monsters, Xu, like some classical Renaissance artists, has focused his sculpture on voluptuous women, putting them in a modern context and making them graceful and light as air. To Xu there is nothing more interesting, beautiful or fun than big women. Instead of trying to pluck the heartstrings of the West or gain favor with political kitsch, Xu’s work is filled with energy, joy and delight.
If you have ever visited Guangzhou, you are sure to have seen his work, which is displayed in public places, from Shamian Island, in the west, to Zhujiang Newtown, in the east. Although he is still relatively undiscovered outside of Canton, he has done solo exhibitions, in other countries, from Europe to Hong Kong.
As the son of Pan He, Pan Fen has grown up with some obvious advantages and disadvantages. Certainly, he learned sculpture from one of the best possible teachers, but, he also has to live in his teacher’s shadow. To be sure, he has benefited from both his father’s tutelage and his critiques. In the end, he has done sculpture in modern styles, completely unlike the classical style of his father, and he has done others, building on his father’s work, combining human and nature in a tight bond. And while we are the only gallery where you might find his work, you might also see it in sculpture parks and private collections, across the U.S. Indeed, the relationship to the father will forever add to the cachet of his work.
As an art form, sculpture has so much diversity for enjoyment and display. So, to take a look into the art of these great Guangdong sculptors and rethink your view of the Chinese art market, and what it really has to offer, in artistry, in originality, and in value. Local collectors are already beginning to recognize its value, yet, prices of the works of these artists still enjoy the extra benefits of an undervalued Yuan. You can buy into this undervalued segment of the market at prices ranging from thousands to millions before the rest of the West discovers it and internationalizes its prices.
Especially, given the prices recently paid in the international markets for works by the first generation of Chinese artists, it won’t be long before the second generation and others come to the market’s attention. Indeed, the art markets saw a concentration on twentieth century art, last year, and many experts believe that the trend will continue.
In the end, you can buy art by contemporary artists mocking the Cultural Revolution, now, or you can buy art that expressed dissent, during the time when it was actually dangerous to do so. You can go buy a sculpture of a donkey humping a skyscraper by Zhang Huan or a giant spider by Chen Shaomin, if you want to buy less expensive sculpture from gimmicky contemporary artists, who have been promoted by Western galleries, or you might consider sculpture by some truly exceptional Chinese sculptors, whose work has already stood the test of time, yet remains undervalued. We have been diligently doing our homework, and, now, we are sharing it and the opportunities that it presents, with you.