ILLUSTRATED:

Liu Wei, Red Bridge Gallery, Shanghai, 2006, color illustrated, p. 200

Liu Wei is known as a cynical realist and "talented and spiritual painter" in contemporary China. His work involves themes of human figures, landscapes, flowers, and plants, among other things. His individual brushwork style creates a distinctive element in his art, delivering strikingly profound and sharp messages to the modern society. Beauty, strength and sarcasm can be found in his seemingly chaotic and complex pieces.

The lot "Flowers" which appears to be soft and subtle at first glance, is in fact strong and wild. The essence of flowers and plants are often present in traditional Chinese paintings, though the artists' placement of flowers outside the environment reveals influence by Cezanne and Basquiat. Sarcasm is seen through the placement of the signature as well as in the title of the piece, both in the center of the painting. The seemingly random elements created by the artist come together in an unusually organic and harmonious way. The subtle decisions made by the artist demonstrate his uninhibited spirit, his yearning for harmony in the natural world, as well as his creativity in transforming traditional concepts.