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Lot Essay
Art exists in relation to a wide range of natural, social and cultural factors. Often these contradict each other, and a fundamental tenet underlying all Eastern culture is that we accept these contradictions and seek harmony and coexistence within them. Clearly this Eastern way of thinking demands that we seek a new methodology of art.
-- Cai Guo-Qiang
One of the few artists capable of harmonizing Eastern and Western aesthetics, Cai Guo-Qiang expands the boundaries of contemporary art in both his traditional works and his outdoor projects. Cai's works frequently involve the use of fireworks which, ever since their invention in ancient China, have possessed powerful symbolic meaning.
Two Lions is one of the large-scale works Cai Guo-Qiang completed in August of 2005 for his solo exhibition at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. The original concept behind Two Lions, however, derives from the "How is Your Feng Shui" project Cai prepared for the Whitney Biennial exhibition in New York in 2000. That project borrowed the powerful "feng shui" ideas originating in Chinese folk beliefs and applied them to a study of modern lifestyles and environments.
In Two Lions, Cai's feng shui ideas are communicated through these impressive creatures that hold such strong symbolic meaning for the West. In his own published account of his creative process, Cai explains his symbolic use of the lion: "In 2000, I decided to use 99 lions for my 'Feng Shui' project at the Whitney Biennial, because the lion communicates such a feeling of supernatural power and represents so many things in western culture. My projects bring into play many aspects of my observations on self, tradition, and society, and for me the lion is an abstraction that arises from the traditional foundations of the West."
-- Cai Guo-Qiang
One of the few artists capable of harmonizing Eastern and Western aesthetics, Cai Guo-Qiang expands the boundaries of contemporary art in both his traditional works and his outdoor projects. Cai's works frequently involve the use of fireworks which, ever since their invention in ancient China, have possessed powerful symbolic meaning.
Two Lions is one of the large-scale works Cai Guo-Qiang completed in August of 2005 for his solo exhibition at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. The original concept behind Two Lions, however, derives from the "How is Your Feng Shui" project Cai prepared for the Whitney Biennial exhibition in New York in 2000. That project borrowed the powerful "feng shui" ideas originating in Chinese folk beliefs and applied them to a study of modern lifestyles and environments.
In Two Lions, Cai's feng shui ideas are communicated through these impressive creatures that hold such strong symbolic meaning for the West. In his own published account of his creative process, Cai explains his symbolic use of the lion: "In 2000, I decided to use 99 lions for my 'Feng Shui' project at the Whitney Biennial, because the lion communicates such a feeling of supernatural power and represents so many things in western culture. My projects bring into play many aspects of my observations on self, tradition, and society, and for me the lion is an abstraction that arises from the traditional foundations of the West."