Reviews: Auction

Spring art sales

The mainland's largest art auctioneer's spring sales are expected to attract record prices this week. A preview of the art to be sold at the China Guardian auction is being held tomorrow and the auction will begin on May 12 and 13 at the Kerry Center Hotel in Beijing.

To go under the hammer will be more than 4,000 pieces of Chinese art, including ancient, modern and contemporary paintings and calligraphies, oil paintings, sculptures, photographic works and also ceramics and rare books.

A major highlight is a super-sized oil painting by best-selling artist Chen Yifei, titled Ode to the Yellow River (pictured). Created in the early 1970s at the order of Yao Wenyuan, one of the "Gang of Four" that led the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), the painting on China's revolutionary wars was the most important work of the artist and also one of the masterpieces of "revolutionary art".

A smaller-sized oil painting, titled Sky, is also expected to fetch a record price. The picture about a little girl looking up to the sky is regarded by art critics as one of the best works that vanguard artist Zeng Fanzhi ever made. Wang Shanshan

(China Daily 05/08/2007 page20)