Sculpture "Friends for ever" (2015), bronze
Sculpture "Friends for ever" (2015), bronze
Quick info
limited, 99 copies | numbered | signed | bronze | patinated | polished | size 40 x 36 x 14.5 cm (h/w/d) | weight 10 kg
Detailed description
Sculpture "Friends for ever" (2015), bronze
Sculpture in bronze, partly patinated and polished. Cast by hand using the Lost-Wax-Process. Limited edition 99 copies, numbered and signed. Size sculpture 40 x 36 x 14.5 cm (h/w/d), size pedestal 4 x 20 x 39 cm (h/w/d). Weight 10 kg.
About Zhang Hui
The Chinese artist Zhang Hui places elementary human experiences and emotions such as friendship, trust, farewell or affection at the centre of her sculptural work. She symbolically illustrates these in small scenes with one or more figures. Zhang Hui works with a very soft and reduced formal language and colours her bronze sculptures with only a few muted colours.
For her figures, which often have childlike features, she pays particular attention to the design of the faces. She limits herself here to a few features such as the mouth and the eyes, which she again makes appear somewhat surreal, almost like figures from a fairy tale.
Zhang Hui studied painting and sculpture in Tianjin. Since 2007, she has been showing her works regularly in solo and group exhibitions, especially in Asia, e.g. in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. It's the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of his sculpture. It is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out. The liquid wax is poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, whereby the wax flows out (lost mould).
Now we finally have the negative form, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken off and the sculpture is revealed.
Now the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist himself or, to his specifications, by a specialist. Thus, each casting becomes an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used which, however, does not achieve the results of a more complex lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
Term for an art object (sculpture, installation), which is produced in multiple copies in a limited and numbered edition according to the artist‘s will.
Artist's multiples have been called the most accessible and affordable art on the market.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures from wood, ivory or stone are made directly from the block of material, in bronze casting a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.