Xu Bing
Tao Hua Yuan: A Lost Village Utopia
Beyond Limits: Sotheby’s at Chatsworth, 2014 Sotheby’s announced that one of the largest and most impressive installations to date by Xu Bing will feature among the highlights of the ninth annual Beyond Limits monumental sculpture exhibition at Chatsworth.]]>
Source: Sotheby’s
The unveiling of this outstanding work coincides with the opening of this year’sexhibition both in and around the Seahorse fountain, a circular pond on the historicSouth lawn in the Chatsworth Garden – a location usually off limits to the public. While the Seahorse fountainundergoes restoration, Sotheby’s is privileged to have been offered the opportunity to transform thiscentrepiece of the South lawn, which sits directly below the south façade of the house, to install “Tao Hua Yuan:A Lost Village Utopia”. This multi-media work by acclaimed artist Xu Bing incorporates both natural and manmadeelements in the form of natural rock formations, ceramics, exotic plants in addition to mist effects.
The dream-like landscape of Tao Hua Yuan: A Lost Village Utopia was inspired by the classic Chinese fable “TaoHua Yuan” (“Peach Blossom Spring”) written by the scholar Tao Qian in AD421, about a chance discovery of anethereal utopia where people live in harmony with nature. To reproduce Tao Qian’s utopia, Xu Bing has createdhundreds of ceramic objects and collected mountain rocks from five different regions in China to reflect the specific characteristics of their regional identities. The full extent of the sculpture, arranged concentrically around the pond, coincides with the opening of this year’s “BeyondLimits”. This three-dimensional installation has been designed to bring Chinese ink painting to life. As the visitorswalk around the elements of the installation, the mountains, trees, figures, houses and reflections on the poolcoalesce into new tableaux vivant, enabling the viewer to experience Chinese ink painting in a three-dimensionalsensory experience.
Over the last eight years, Sotheby’s “Beyond Limits” at Chatsworth has firmly established itself as one of the mostprestigious selling exhibitions of modern and contemporary outdoor sculpture and a key event in the art worldcalendar. Beyond Limits 2014 will showcase spectacular monumental sculptures from around the world,including works by established modern masters such as Aristide Maillol, Eduardo Chillida, Baltasar Lobo andGiacomo Manzù in addition to highly sought-after contemporary artists such as Marc Quinn, Christopher Le Brunand Michal Rovner, will be on view in the Chatsworth Garden.
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