Lot 117
CHIEN-WEI CHANG (TAIWANESE 1971-)
TWO CONTAINERS FOR SPIRITS BOWLS, 2005
Auction: MODERN MADE Part II | 01 November 2024 | Lots 80 to 444
Description
each stamped maker's mark and hallmarked for London 2005, silver and yellow metal;
Dimensions
7cm high (2 ¾in high), 253 grams and 7cm high, 9cm wide (2 ¾in high, 3 ½in wide), 143 grams (2)
Provenance
Acquired directly from the maker at one-man exhibition at Pennybank Chambers, Clerkenwell, February 2006;
Property of a Private Aficionado.
Footnote
The Containers for Spirits series explores ancient forms and functions, and interprets them with a contemporary sensibility. The objects start life as a traditional vessel form in silver, which Chien-Wei embellishes by using combinations of richly coloured textures, adding gold, and making an indentation in each container.
The indentation is important. Finger-shaped, it invites the user to experiment with how their fingers fit the hole, and therefore explore different ways of holding the vessel. Alongside this playful interaction, the Containers for Spirits also make reference to popular pastimes in ancient and contemporary life - the drinking of alcoholic spirits. The title for the series also plays with meaning: do the spirits refer to alcohol, existential entities, or Chien-Wei's sense of his own spirit as an artist?