446 - Guangci Qu* (born 1969 in Shanghai)

Guangci Qu* (born 1969 in Shanghai) Flying Mao, 2007 glazed ceramic 14 x 26 x 12 cm dated 2007, monogrammed GC numbered 30/21 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 200 - 400 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 200 Qu Guangci was born in Shanghai in 1969. After graduating from the high school affiliated with the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1989, he studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1994 and his master’s degree in 1997. He subsequently worked as a researcher; from 1999 to 2007, he taught at the College of Fine Arts at Shanghai Normal University, where he headed the sculpture workshop and managed the "Invisible Gallery." At the age of 25, he became the youngest artist to win the top prize at the National Fine Arts Exhibition. In 2007, Qu founded the X+Q Sculpture Studio in Beijing together with his wife, the sculptor Xiang Jing; the design brand X+Q Art followed in 2010. While Xiang Jing focuses on themes of the body, gender, and individual existence, Qu combines figurative sculpture with humor, collectivity, and social observation. His fusion of autonomous sculpture, editions, design, and popular imagery is a deliberate element of his artistic concept. In addition to the "Little Fatty" figures, Qu has created series such as Collectivism and Northernmost Country. His figures—mostly cast in bronze and painted—exaggerate body shapes and postures, situating his work within the context of Chinese contemporary art since the 1990s. Yue Minjun and Fang Lijun serve as points of comparison for ironic figuration; Zeng Fanzhi, for psychologically charged depictions of the body; and Wang Guangyi, for the combination of political iconography and pop aesthetics. Zhan Wang, Sui Jianguo, Zhang Huan, and Cai Guo-Qiang represent other key positions in Chinese contemporary art. Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, and KAWS offer international points of comparison regarding the intersection of art, pop culture, editions, and design. Qu lives and works in Beijing. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.