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Lot Essay
Yuyu Yang (1926-1997), a famous Asian sculptor, studied Architecture in Tokyo School of Fine Arts (later known as Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1943 and was strongly influenced by Asakura Fumnio, Father of Modern Sculpture in Japan, and Yoshida Isoya, Japanese architect who specialized in wooden design. Yang's works include a great deal of varieties, such as comics, block prints and relief in the early years and also sculptures, X-Ray Art, landscape and architectural works which have been awarded many times already.
Yang started working as the art editor at Harvest magazine in 1951 and at the same time devoted himself in art creation. He has received lots of important accomplishments in the eleven-years of editorial work, such as the Tai Yang Award from Tai-Yang Art Exhibition in 1953 and also been invited to the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 1956. Yang began making his appearance to the international art community in the 50s and Unite Efforts (1952) (Lot 1218), which has been published in Youth (March, 1960) and The Young Companion (June, 1960), is a significant piece in this period. Unite Efforts, also known as Stirring Cement or Labor, is a large scale relief on a copper board with fourteen laborers divided into different works, including carrying, shoveling, unloading and stirring cement, so as to surface the road. Yang intended to express different "actions" of the laborers instead of the "gestures" by positioning the characters and creating the distance of spaces on the flat copper board. Viewers could enjoy the relief as they walk along the work which is like a series of pictures in all kinds of postures. The theme of Tai Chi by Ju Ming is deeply inspired by the moving works of Yang.
In 1963, Yang went to Rome in Italy to explore the modern art and started to boldly adopt stainless steel as the material of his work. He thought that stainless steel was true in nature and solid in texture, which is close to the sophistication of era of technology and also reveals the limpid and pure verve of the china of Song Dynasty. The polished stainless steel creates the mirror like effect, converting the complicated environment of the surrounding areas into the illusional reflecting images. The work and the environment form the representation of unity instead of the presentation of eye-catching existence which is totally the living ideas of gentleness and sincerity in Chinese cultures. Fire of Life (Lot 1219) is originally the design of the top view from the China Court of Beirut International Park in Lebanon in the Middle East and the first piece to adopt laser cutting technique in 1981. The original piece, also known as Phoenix, has been displayed in the 4th Exhibition of International Society for Laser Surgery in 1981 which is a breakthrough of Yang's pursuit. The laser cutting technique overcomes the limitation of sculptures and produces more exquisite details. Fire of Life illustrates the arrogance of phoenix after the fire by choosing copper coated stainless steel to reshape the image of phoenix with free flowing feathers in the mirror-like effect of golden-yellow color, praising the life and giving the endless moral encouragement.
Yang started working as the art editor at Harvest magazine in 1951 and at the same time devoted himself in art creation. He has received lots of important accomplishments in the eleven-years of editorial work, such as the Tai Yang Award from Tai-Yang Art Exhibition in 1953 and also been invited to the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 1956. Yang began making his appearance to the international art community in the 50s and Unite Efforts (1952) (Lot 1218), which has been published in Youth (March, 1960) and The Young Companion (June, 1960), is a significant piece in this period. Unite Efforts, also known as Stirring Cement or Labor, is a large scale relief on a copper board with fourteen laborers divided into different works, including carrying, shoveling, unloading and stirring cement, so as to surface the road. Yang intended to express different "actions" of the laborers instead of the "gestures" by positioning the characters and creating the distance of spaces on the flat copper board. Viewers could enjoy the relief as they walk along the work which is like a series of pictures in all kinds of postures. The theme of Tai Chi by Ju Ming is deeply inspired by the moving works of Yang.
In 1963, Yang went to Rome in Italy to explore the modern art and started to boldly adopt stainless steel as the material of his work. He thought that stainless steel was true in nature and solid in texture, which is close to the sophistication of era of technology and also reveals the limpid and pure verve of the china of Song Dynasty. The polished stainless steel creates the mirror like effect, converting the complicated environment of the surrounding areas into the illusional reflecting images. The work and the environment form the representation of unity instead of the presentation of eye-catching existence which is totally the living ideas of gentleness and sincerity in Chinese cultures. Fire of Life (Lot 1219) is originally the design of the top view from the China Court of Beirut International Park in Lebanon in the Middle East and the first piece to adopt laser cutting technique in 1981. The original piece, also known as Phoenix, has been displayed in the 4th Exhibition of International Society for Laser Surgery in 1981 which is a breakthrough of Yang's pursuit. The laser cutting technique overcomes the limitation of sculptures and produces more exquisite details. Fire of Life illustrates the arrogance of phoenix after the fire by choosing copper coated stainless steel to reshape the image of phoenix with free flowing feathers in the mirror-like effect of golden-yellow color, praising the life and giving the endless moral encouragement.