Creative Culture / Using a Sports Car as the Canvas, Racing on the Road of Art
Artist: Lee Sun-Don

As Taiwanese media continuously reports news regarding sports car such as....Audi opening its world's first sports car exhibition center in Taipei, the Taiwanese actor Jimmy Lin's friend who crashed his ten-million dollars sports car ..., watch out, as the art world will have another shocking news- artist Lee Sun-Don’s using a supercar with a ten-million price tag as a canvas! Lee's work "Great Treasure Gate" will be painted on the hood of this hand built automobile.

General manager of X-Power Gallery, Meiting Liu said “The car belongs to the manufacturer, not Professor Lee. It is a world-renowned automobile company inviting Professor Lee for this crossover collaboration, a combination of sports car and contemporary art. Details of this cross partnership have not yet been released to the public, and the name of the manufacture is still not being disclosed.” Lee Sun-Don is a represented artist of X-Power Gallery.

An insider source has revealed that this will be the world's first hand-built ten-million dollar coupe car. Currently, this sports car has not been imported or sold in the Taiwan market. Its main collectors are clients from the Middle East, who purchase these driving machines, but rarely to be used on the open road, rather are collected for special occasions.

So the story is that the CEO of this luxury car company, while in X-Power Gallery in Beverly Hills, was very impressed by Professor Lee Sun-Don's work. From there, the two began their cooperation. Informed sources say that Professor Lee then flew to the United States, just to paint the sports car. This will be the first Taiwanese contemporary artist who will integrate a sports car and contemporary art.


Integration of East and West The Vibrant Colors of Great Treasure Gate

Lee Sun-Don has created 148 series up to date. "Great Treasure Gate" was selected as the design of the sports car because the CEO of the automobile manufacturer was deeply moved by the beauty of the series. "Great Treasure Gate 2014" is the latest creation by Professor Lee. The auspicious lion door knocker is the essential centerpiece to the series. Some paintings have a single door knocker while other paintings have multiple ornaments, thus the series name “Treasure Gate”.

Fafa Chu of X-Power Gallery explains that the auspicious lion door knockers in the paintings were used by wealthy and prestigious families in Beijing, China during the Qing Dynasty. They are now considered antiques, having the power of blessing, the benefit of warding off evil. The fusion of West and East is characterized by pouring western oil paint material onto eastern objects, the auspicious lion door knocker. The century old antiques are coated with modern colors to unfold a contemporary spirit.

Lee Sun-Don’s sentiment is that, "Perhaps the energy of the Treasure Gate is too powerful, that the process spontaneously becomes so sacred and pious that not even a slightest smile could emerge during the creation." Fafa Chu also noted that the creation of Great Treasure Gate was quite difficult. In the beginning stages, the work cannot be placed upright, to allow the paint to dry and counter the force of gravity. It can only be set flat on the ground. In order to paint totems on such a large scale of painting, “the body has to remain in a constant curvature position”.

Despite these challenges, the success of "Great Treasure Gate 2014" is determined in an instant. Although the elements of varying colors, color combinations, structure and layering arrangements can be planned, the final results of the flow of color is still governed by the forces of gravity. Air humidity, temperature, the ratio of pigment and drying agent deployment, are major factors in the final outcome of the artwork.


Astounding Visual Effect, on Display at the TWTC

The "Great Treasure Gate" designed sports car is currently being built by hand. However, people may soon have the opportunity to see this work of art on display at Art Revolution Taipei (A.R.T.) with the original "Great Treasure Gate 2014" painting in mid-April, at TWTC Exhibition Hall 3.

Selected pieces of the Great Treasure Gate series are currently exhibiting in X-Power Gallery Taipei. “The moment I laid my eyes on the Great Treasure Gate 2014, I had a kind of stunned feeling," a viewer said, “…The lion is the king of all beasts and the large blocks of flowing color pigments, make the work even more magnificent. Then, as you look more deeply, it transforms into a musical sensation, where the viewer experiences the rhythm of the colliding pigment and totem leaping.”

This is not the first instance that Lee Sun-Don’s work has appeared on products manufactured by elite companies. In 2012, ODDO Kitchen 40th anniversary launched a limited edition kitchen collection, integrating Professor Lee's painting "SS Series/Harmony"
Title: SS Series / Harmony
Year: 2009
Medium: Lacquer on Stainless Steel
Size: 80x234cm (100F)
 into the visual design of the kitchen. Crossover collaboration is nothing new to Professor Lee and painting a sports car is not a challenge to him. He has had the chance to play with an antique steam locomotive as an installation artwork which was exhibited at A.R.T. in 2011.

Lee Sun-Don graduated in Mathematics from Soochow University. Although he does not hold a Ph.D. or has received any formal art training in college, Lee has been given distinguished professor titles from several universities. He serves as a visiting professor at seven National Institute of Arts of RAA, Russian Academy of Arts. In addition, holds visiting professor titles at three prestigious institutions in China including the Foreign Art Department of Peking University, Academy of Art in Harbin University of Science and Technology, the Fine Arts Department of Xiamen University where students enjoy listening to his lectures on the latest concepts in contemporary art.


 
 
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