China

Picasso Facing Tiantan

#06012     168 X 118 cm     oc     2006

Chen writes: “To me, one of the most attractive paintings in the MOMA, NYC is Pierre Bonnard’ s Grande salle? manger sur le jardin (Dining Room on the Garden). When I started to create ‘The Temple of Heaven Series,’ this painting harbored in my memory, as I often felt that the delicate yet rich brilliance of the Temple’s composition and coloring, was very much resonant with Bonnard’ s taste. With that in mind, I planted the auspicious Temple of Heaven outside Bonnard’ s garden and invited Picasso to sit in the dining room. His presence integrates the West with the East-the East emphasized by a Jade Buddha and a Chinese porcelain. The top shape of the Tiantan looks like a crown for an emperor – which would fit well for Picasso, the king of western art in the 20th century!”