PROVENANCE:
Sale of Christie's, Hong Kong, May 28, 2006, lot 409

Ji Dachun has attracted the public’s attention through his distinctive and vibrant style, and he is one of the most widely recognized artists in China. His works cover various styles with an artistic flair that is both shrewd and humorous. Ji often incorporates elements from Surrealism and traditional Chinese painting styles, as a for m of cutting caricature of current affairs in China. Ji is an artist who is unique and individualistic, composed and humorous, as well as highly selfjudgmental. His works resist attempts to be categorized and refuse to be defined with simple brutality. The objective is to instigate continuous introspection. After he graduated from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in the 90’s, Ji’s works began to appear at various exhibitions. In his earlier works, he often placed historical figures, cartoon characters, children’s toys and everyday objects against a bright white background, creating bizarre visual misperceptions through humorous settings and scenes of slightly fantastical reverie. Mysterious, eccentric comic or cartoon characters also take a major role in his creations; their purpose is to transmit an unspoken message of the astute and grotesque. The visual imageries are like replicas of single cellular units, but imbued with a sense of liveliness and vitality. They appear seemingly familiar but at the same time, distant and indifferent.

In terms of his techniques, Ji Dachun’s style is not wholly traditional; he uses acrylic on canvas as a replacement for ink on paper. Using the specific depth, transparency, and coverage of acrylic paints, he has discovered many possibilities through his paintings. Using the white backgrounds and centrally-placed characters or objects depicted in his works, the artist is always able to convey an impassive wittiness. From the perspective of form, Ji’s works seldom display any transparency, such as the space for imagination that traditional Chinese paintings impart to the viewer. Formlessness and lack of definition are not an issue of form to the artist; they are instead subtle life experiences. Renowned art critic Li Xianting once of fered his opinion on Ji Dachun: “Dachun’s paintings do not really appear or portray themselves as children’s paintings, but as an overall perception of society and a visual mode, the paintings depict a childlike sense of humor. They have broken free of the tethers of certain social utilitarian and falsely ideological themes; instead the world is perceived and depicted through a childlike mentality. I see it as a type of mindset, as well as the unique visual mode that is cr eated under this mindset.”

“Orange Clock” is imbued with classic Ji-esque humor. The painting depicts four historical figures in long robes, with walking sticks raised in their hands. The actions of the four figures are neatly synchronized, but each bears a different facial expression: some are stubborn and determined, some thoughtful, while another is pensive with closed eyes. The background is Ji’s customary white canvas. These timetravelling characters and the blank background combine to create a weird sense of visual confusion. In the words of the artist himself: “Paintings in which every detail is complete, paintings in which there is no more room for explanation, make me extremely unsatisfied. The empty areas left bank in the painting provide the viewers with a space that allows them to use their imagination. ” The works of Ji Dachun ar e always able to bring surprises and imagination.