CAI GUO-QIANG (Chinese, B. 1957)

Using gunpowder as medium, Cai Guo-qiang created the experimental work Day and Night: Lily (Lot 152). The burn marks of the gunpowder on the paper documented the passage of time, as well as painting the flower-like imagery of fireworks on the surface. Through the unpredictable nature of gunpowder, the artist is introducing the force of nature in this work. This practice highlights his unique aesthetics and cosmology.

"I want the explosion of my artwork to merge into the motion of the universe. It is a motion that has perpetuated since the Big Bang. In terms of both time and space, explosions generate chaos, and as the universe approaches us, eternal is born. […] life and art have to transcend their limitations. They have to infinitely develop themselves." - Cai Guo-qiang