Famous Chinese artist to feature in Australian Red Hill auction

At the end of a picturesque country lane in Red Hill South, a colourful antique and collectables auction will take place from 12pm Sunday April 28 courtesy of Gibson’s Auctions.

37 Ocean View Avenue, Red Hill south is a magnificent property and the perfect setting for a sale that features a fine selection of antique French and English furniture, art, lighting, garden statuary, sculpture, decorative arts and collectables that include jewellery and fashion clothing and accessories.

One of the major highlights on display in the grounds is Monumental Sculpture (lot 201) by Chinese artist Wenqin Chen with a catalogue estimate of $60,000-$80,000.

Born in 1979 in Fujian, since the turn of the century Chen has used Chinese calligraphy, sculpture and installation to explore the relationship between the diversity of life and art.

Well known for many major public works, Chen studied art and design at Fuzhou University from 1995-1999 before attending Tsinghua University in Beijing and going abroad to attain his Master of Arts at Southampton University in Britain.

Since 2007, Chen has been teaching at Xiamen University and bases his Chinese culture academic pursuits on an understanding of the western world with a focus on European modern art.

The garden statuary features several popular auction items including 19^th century French zinc chateau finials, stone bench, stone figure of the goddess Diana, neoclassical stone pedestal urns and a 19^th century French stone lion.

Another outdoor item which should attract plenty of attention, particularly from hobby farmers, is a BTB654R-S Boton BTB654 ROPS tractor complete with shuttle shift and four-in-one bucket (lot 227).

Fashions and jewellery also should prove popular with auction goers with women’s shoes by designers such as Barbara Bui, Moschino, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga on offer – along with Prada handbag, sandals and shoes and designer clothing.

Among the collectables is a 19^th century Japanese bronze figure of a scholar and duck (lot 28) and a large pair of Japanese Meiji period (1868-1912) red and black lacquer decorated vases (lot 29).

Equally impressive is a pair of late 19^th century French polychrome carved wooden maidens (lot 38) and an 18^th century Italian walnut serpentine fronted commode (lot 40).

Unusual is lot 41 – Alexandre Ouline’s bronze bust of Jean Mermoz (1901-1936), a famous French pioneer aviator who became an early airmail pilot and tragically disappeared at sea on December 7, 1936 while trying to deliver mail.

Other attractions include a Charles II tortoiseshell mirror (lot 65), two art works by Graeme Townsend entitled Feral Heart (lot 70) and Fox (lot 77) and a French Quimper dinner and fish service (lot 73).