BEIJING.- In September 2012, Sotheby’s became the first international fine art auction house licensed to conduct business in China. On 8 September 2013, Sotheby’s (Beijing) Auction Co. Ltd will hold a charity auction titled Ai You Reborn in Beijing, offering 13 lots estimated at RMB ¥8.8 – 11.2 million / US$1.4 – 1.8 million* in total. The auction will take place at 7pm on Sunday, 8 September 2013 at Summit Wing Ballroom, 3/F, China World Summit Wing Beijing, with a preview on 7 and 8 September coinciding with the Beijing Preview of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Autumn 2013 Sale Series. A part of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the “Ai You Reborn” project under Ai You Foundation, which has been established to provide medical aid and nursing to orphans.

Properties on offer will focus on Chinese ink paintings, paying tribute to the tradition whilst supporting and encouraging continuous innovation in the field. Exceptional works by such acclaimed artists as Fan Zeng, Ren Zhong, Feng Yuan, Xue Liang, Li Jin, He Jiaying, Cui Ruzhuo, Zheng Baizhong and Yang Tianyi will be featured.

WEN Guihua, President of Sotheby’s (Beijing) Auction Co. Ltd, remarks: “Ai You Reborn is a charity auction coorganised by Sotheby’s (Beijing) Auction Co. Ltd and Ai You Foundation. We hope to give our love and care to children and extend our dedication to truthfulness through this auction. At the same time, we wish to demonstrate one of Sotheby’s core values: to be actively engaged with wider society. This is especially important to us since entering China.

Sotheby’s is privileged to be part of this fundraising auction and we would like to thank the artists and collectors for their generous support. The Ai You Foundation was founded to provide medical assistance to children in need, and this meaningful event is a wonderful opportunity to show our concern and support to the community. We very much look forward to your participation to make this event a great success.”

WANG Bing, Chairman of the Board, Ai You Foundation, says: “Since our establishment in 2004, Ai You Foundation has been focusing on providing medical aid to orphans and poor children, and we are committed to becoming the best foundation in the world to help children with medical services. Over these years, Ai You Foundation has grown fast as a result of the strenuous efforts to strengthen our core business with a low-profile and practical attitude and be transparent in our operations. I wish to express my gratitude for the tremendous trust and support of various parties in the society and we are especially thankful to Sotheby’s for organising the charity auction and generously offering to donate part of the proceeds to Ai You Foundation. We believe more and more people will understand Ai You’s values and practices in the future and we hope more people will join us in offering medical services to children and bringing them a better future.”

SALE HIGHLIGHTS

REN Zhong’s Seven Sages, 2013. Ink and colour on silk, mounted, 82 x 225 cm. Est. RMB¥2.8 – 3.8 million / US$361,000-426,000. Signed Ren Zhong, titled, dated gui si (2013), midsummer, and with two seals of the artist. Exhibition and Literature: Beijing, the National Art Museum of China, “Eternal Journey of Joy” Renzhong Chinese. Painting Exhibition, 2013, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, pp. 64-65. Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Ren Zhong, born in 1967, is an ink painter and collector. Already in his youth he won several national and international awards at art exhibitions. His works were selected into the First European Exhibition of Chinese Art and First International Exhibition of Fan Paintings and Calligraphies, the latter organised by the Ministry of Culture. In recent years, he has mounted multiple solo exhibitions in important museums in China. His works are in many museums and private collections.

FENG Yuan’s The Hunt, 2013. Ink and colour on paper, mounted, 70 x 136 cm. Est. RMB ¥2.2– 2.6 million /US$361,000 – 426,000. Signed Feng Yuan, dated gui si (2013), the fourth lunar month, and with four seals of the artist. Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Feng Yuan, a renowned painter and art educator, was born in Shanghai in 1952. He graduated from the China Academy of Art in 1980 and then became an instructor there. In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Department of Arts of the Ministry of Culture. In 2004, he became Director of the National Art Museum of China. In 2005, he became a member of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, secretary of the Secretariat, Deputy Chairman of the China Artists Association, and Honorary Dean of the Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua University. He is currently the Vice President of Central Research Institute of Culture and History. His works have been included in many important art exhibitions in China and have been awarded numerously. They are widely collected by museums and collectors in China and abroad.

XUE Liang’s Moonset And The Raven’s Cry, 2000. Ink and colour on paper, mounted, 95 x 119 cm. Est. RMB ¥1.5 – 2 million / US$246,000 – 328,000. Signed Xue Liang, titled, dated 2000, summer, and with five seals of the artist. Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Xue Liang, a renowned painter, was born in Jingjiang, Jiangsu in 1956. He graduated from the Art Department of the Nanjing Academy of Art in 1982. He is currently a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (NCCPCC), a Standing Member of the Jiangsu Provincial Political Consultative Conference, Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Painting Institute, Director of the Fu Baoshi Memorial, and a doctoral student adviser at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. Xue’s works have been exhibited and awarded in multiple national exhibitions and are in many major museums.

CUI Ruzhuo’s Snowy Mountains, 2002. Ink and colour on paper, mounted, 82 x 49.2 cm. Est. RMB ¥600,000 – 800,000 / US$98,500 – 131,000. Signed Ruzhuo, dated ren wu (2002), spring, and with two seals of the artist. Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Cui Ruzhuo, a renowned painter, collector, and connoisseur, was born in Beijing in 1944. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in art by Dewey College in New York in 1984. A former instructor at the Central Academy of Craft and Design, Cui is currently a doctoral student adviser at the Chinese National Academy of Arts and Honorary President of the Worldwide Chinese Calligraphers, Artists, and Collectors Association. Many of his works have won awards in international exhibitions and been sent as state gifts to foreign leaders. They have been widely collected by many museums, universities, and private collectors.

LI Jin’s Food Matters, 2012. Ink and colour on paper, mounted, 53.3 x 116.3 cm. Est. RMB ¥200,000 – 300,000 / US$32,800 – 49,100. Signed Li Jin, with two seals of the artist Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Li Jin, a contemporary painter, was born in Tianjin in 1958. He graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1983, and is currently an associate professor in the same department. In 1996, he participated in the Berlin Museum’s New Ink Art exhibition and the Capital Museum’s First Invitational Exhibition of Chinese Painting. In 2000, he participated in the Grand Exhibition of New Chinese Painting at the Liu Haisu Museum of Art in Shanghai and the Jiangsu Museum of Art. He has been invited to many solo and group exhibitions, both in China and abroad. His works have been collected by many museums and private collectors.

Zheng Baizhong’s Lush Mountains, 2012. Ink and colour on paper, mounted, 148 x 50 cm. RMB ¥230,000 - 300,000 / US$37,700 - 49,100. Signed Kuan Weng, Zheng Baizhong, titled, and with three seals of the artist. Literature: The Dictionary of Modern Chinese Ink Master: Zheng Baizhong Mountains in Green, Shanghai, Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, January 2013, inside front cover. Provenance: Directly from the artist, Private collection, China.

Zheng Baizhong, a painter working in the United States, was born in Fuzhou in 1945. A member of the China Artists Association and China Calligraphers Association, Professor of Xiamen University, he is also Professor and Director of the Traditional Chinese Painting Institute at Fujian Minjiang Institute. He won the Taiwan Golden Brush Award in 1989, the Japan Art Academy Award in 1993, and U.S. Congressional Awards in art and education in 2001. Zheng has mounted many solo exhibitions, and his works are in the collections of various museums and institutions of higher education in China and abroad.