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Lot Essay
During the year 1985 and 1986, Ai Xuan's works began to appear in international exhibitions and were collected by famous museums. Proclaimed by the international art circle, his works in this period represented the achievement of his early creation. Young Girl Facing Wall (Lot 1132) depicts a girl staring at the rock wall. The tall, thick and solid wall takes up half of the painting, emphasizing the girl's petite figure. Elements of the painting are rather simple. Ai Xuan takes advantage of the comparison within composition to show the irresistible power of nature. Led by the curves stretching on top of the rock, our sight extends across the girl to the horizon. All we can perceive is solitude and silence. The girl is standing alone between heaven and earth, breaking away from the world. Though Ai Xuan's depiction is realistic and delicate, he's not trying to emphasize the grandeur and vastness of the Tibetan Plateau. Rather than to reproduce a realistic scene, the artist attempts to represent "the condition of human and its relationship with nature". Thus, Young Girl Facing Wall resembles a fable in which Ai Xuan's exploration of life and quest of the significance of survival serve as implications underneath the simple but profound narration.
Though both are figure profiles, Sharing a Secret, created in 1992, presents a close shot differing from that of Young Girl Facing Wall, which conveys the sense of alienation between the figures and audiences. In Sharing a Secret (Lot 1131), a white horse bends its head tamely. A child raises her hand as if she wants to touch the horse. Here Ai Xuan deviates from the solitude and loneliness in his past paintings, subtly catching the distance and intimacy between them through composition, which represents the moment of telling and listening. Tibetans have been good at herding since ancient times. As indispensable loyal partners to the people, horses are held in vital positions in the Tibetan life and culture. Tibetans have special attachment towards horses and regard them as spiritual animals. The background of Sharing a Secret is only consisted of endless white snow in wilderness and sky. With reduction of depicting natural environment, the painting focuses on the interdependence between human and animal. The child is weak yet arousing sympathy. Ai Xuan chooses the horse, an animal closely related to Tibetan life, for this painting, to show the intimacy between human and horse which seems to be able to withstand the irresistible power of nature.
Though both are figure profiles, Sharing a Secret, created in 1992, presents a close shot differing from that of Young Girl Facing Wall, which conveys the sense of alienation between the figures and audiences. In Sharing a Secret (Lot 1131), a white horse bends its head tamely. A child raises her hand as if she wants to touch the horse. Here Ai Xuan deviates from the solitude and loneliness in his past paintings, subtly catching the distance and intimacy between them through composition, which represents the moment of telling and listening. Tibetans have been good at herding since ancient times. As indispensable loyal partners to the people, horses are held in vital positions in the Tibetan life and culture. Tibetans have special attachment towards horses and regard them as spiritual animals. The background of Sharing a Secret is only consisted of endless white snow in wilderness and sky. With reduction of depicting natural environment, the painting focuses on the interdependence between human and animal. The child is weak yet arousing sympathy. Ai Xuan chooses the horse, an animal closely related to Tibetan life, for this painting, to show the intimacy between human and horse which seems to be able to withstand the irresistible power of nature.