Yue Minjun (1962) - Smile-ism No. 11
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Current bid
€ 200
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by Florent Fressier
Specialises in works on paper and (New) School of Paris artists. Former gallery owner.
Estimate € 4,000 - € 4,500
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 Bidder 4564 | €200 | |
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Description from the seller
Technique: Silkscreen
Support: fine art paper
Numérotation: 22/45
Signature: Hand-signed
Dimensions: 110x90 cm
Condition: Excellent condition
Authentification: Sold with certificate of authenticity. Printed by Hankuk Art Chain Co., Ltd., Gwangju City, Korea and published by Art Issue Editions, New York.
Yue Minjun is one of those artists who, at the turn of the 1990s, managed to capture like a seismograph the psychic state of a China tipping brutally from ideological communism to authoritarian capitalism, and it is precisely this historical position, almost geological, that explains both the strength of his language and the violence of his price fluctuations. Born in 1962 in Heilongjiang, educated in a country still marked by the Cultural Revolution, he reaches artistic maturity at the exact moment when China opens to the global market, that moment of collective disorientation where old narratives collapse but no new meaning has yet replaced them, and it is there that his famous laugh appears, this repeated grimace to infinity, gaping mouth, clenched teeth, squinted eyes, which has often been taken for jubilation whereas it is, on the contrary, a mask, a defense laugh, a survival grimace, almost a social convulsion.
Visually, Yue Minjun is immediately recognizable, and it is a strength as much as a trap: his repeated self-portraits, these pink or red figures, often identical, laugh at the void, at empty landscapes, at absurd décors or quotes from Western art history, from Delacroix to Goya, as if the contemporary Chinese subject is projected into a world museum he does not yet understand. This obsessive repetition is a way of saying that the individual has become merchandise, a clone, a sign, in a world where political power and the market overlay. This is exactly what made Yue Minjun so powerful in the years 1995–2006: he plastically embodied the schizophrenia of an entire society.
What remains deeply true about Yue Minjun, and explains why he will not disappear, is that his laugh has become one of the most exact images of modern Chinese reality: a laugh that does not signify joy, but the impossibility of crying, a laugh as a social mask in a world where the individual is caught between propaganda, market, and loss of bearings.
Seller's Story
Galerie Dobkine is a contemporary signature in the secondary art market.
Located with two spaces in the heart of the historic district of Paris, we offer a selective range of works by French and international artists, chosen for the relevance of their approach and the strength of their market value. The gallery advocates a cross-disciplinary vision of taste, blending aesthetic rigor, market intelligence, and curatorial intuition.
Through a detailed understanding of the challenges of the secondary market, we support seasoned collectors, enlightened amateurs, or young buyers in building their collections, combining rigor, attentive listening, and a sense of advice.
Each of our works is carefully selected and meticulously verified to guarantee quality and authenticity.
Selling is above all a commitment; it is the promise of a work of art that lives up to your expectations.
More than sales, we want to build a trusting relationship with our clients.
We consider that satisfying you is the only way to continue existing.
Translated by Google TranslateTechnique: Silkscreen
Support: fine art paper
Numérotation: 22/45
Signature: Hand-signed
Dimensions: 110x90 cm
Condition: Excellent condition
Authentification: Sold with certificate of authenticity. Printed by Hankuk Art Chain Co., Ltd., Gwangju City, Korea and published by Art Issue Editions, New York.
Yue Minjun is one of those artists who, at the turn of the 1990s, managed to capture like a seismograph the psychic state of a China tipping brutally from ideological communism to authoritarian capitalism, and it is precisely this historical position, almost geological, that explains both the strength of his language and the violence of his price fluctuations. Born in 1962 in Heilongjiang, educated in a country still marked by the Cultural Revolution, he reaches artistic maturity at the exact moment when China opens to the global market, that moment of collective disorientation where old narratives collapse but no new meaning has yet replaced them, and it is there that his famous laugh appears, this repeated grimace to infinity, gaping mouth, clenched teeth, squinted eyes, which has often been taken for jubilation whereas it is, on the contrary, a mask, a defense laugh, a survival grimace, almost a social convulsion.
Visually, Yue Minjun is immediately recognizable, and it is a strength as much as a trap: his repeated self-portraits, these pink or red figures, often identical, laugh at the void, at empty landscapes, at absurd décors or quotes from Western art history, from Delacroix to Goya, as if the contemporary Chinese subject is projected into a world museum he does not yet understand. This obsessive repetition is a way of saying that the individual has become merchandise, a clone, a sign, in a world where political power and the market overlay. This is exactly what made Yue Minjun so powerful in the years 1995–2006: he plastically embodied the schizophrenia of an entire society.
What remains deeply true about Yue Minjun, and explains why he will not disappear, is that his laugh has become one of the most exact images of modern Chinese reality: a laugh that does not signify joy, but the impossibility of crying, a laugh as a social mask in a world where the individual is caught between propaganda, market, and loss of bearings.
Seller's Story
Galerie Dobkine is a contemporary signature in the secondary art market.
Located with two spaces in the heart of the historic district of Paris, we offer a selective range of works by French and international artists, chosen for the relevance of their approach and the strength of their market value. The gallery advocates a cross-disciplinary vision of taste, blending aesthetic rigor, market intelligence, and curatorial intuition.
Through a detailed understanding of the challenges of the secondary market, we support seasoned collectors, enlightened amateurs, or young buyers in building their collections, combining rigor, attentive listening, and a sense of advice.
Each of our works is carefully selected and meticulously verified to guarantee quality and authenticity.
Selling is above all a commitment; it is the promise of a work of art that lives up to your expectations.
More than sales, we want to build a trusting relationship with our clients.
We consider that satisfying you is the only way to continue existing.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Artist
Yue Minjun (1962)
Sold by
Gallery
Edition
Limited edition
Edition number
22/45
Title of artwork
Smile-ism No. 11
Technique
Silkscreen
Signature
Hand signed
Country of origin
United States
Year
2006
Condition
Excellent condition
Height
110 cm
Width
90 cm
Style
Social Realism
Period
2000-2010
Sold with frame
No
Sold by
