LI YUAN-CHIA (China, 1929-Taiwan, 1994) Lot n° 12

LI YUAN-CHIA (China, 1929-Taiwan, 1994) Untitled, 1960. Mixed media on canvas. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements: 52 x 32 cm; 53 x 33 cm (frame). Born in Guangxi, Li Yuan-Chia moved to Taiwan in 1949. Later, in 1951, he entered Taipei Normal School and began studying art, where he met Hsiao Chin, Ho Kan and other mainland students. Dissatisfaction toward conservative art education led Li to study with Li Zhongsheng (1912-84), and he founded the Tou Fon Group with other artists. In 1962, Li moved to Italy and settled in England in 1965 until his death in 1994. Li is not only a painter, but also a poet, photographer, multimedia artist, curator and research archivist. In 1962, Li received the patronage of the famous Italian furniture designer Dino Gavina (1922-2007), who invited him to Bologna for artistic creation. Gavina even helped Li to obtain a residency document in Italy. Lots 495 to 502 are works collected by Dino Gavina in the 1960s. Apart from two works painted in 1959-1960 that belong to the Taiwan period, the rest of the works are created in Bologna. A publication entitled "Dino Gavina Ultrazionale Ultramobile" documents Li's works and his life in Italy, as well as Gavina's friendship with Lucio Fontana, Alberto Giacometti and Marcel Duchamp. Dino Gavina's furniture company was active in the 1950s-60s and collaborated with famous designers such as Mario Bellini and the Castiglioni brothers.