9th Wave Benefit Auction: The Bund Without Us No. 2

Cai Guo-Qiang. The Bund Without Us No. 2. 2014. Gunpowder on paper. 306 x 202 cm. Donated to ACC.

This work was created on the occasion of Cai Guo-Qiang’s 2014 solo exhibit, Cai Guo-Qiang: The Ninth Wave, at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. The Bund Without Us No. 2 is part of a series made for the exhibition’s tour de force, a colossal drawing that re-imagines the Bund taken over by nature. The artist has freely incorporated subject matter from Shanghai School paintings of late 19th century China; for instance, Wu Changshuo’s mandarin ducks swimming next to lotus, as seen above. With these references, Cai conjures the spirit in the literati paintings of the era, when people lived more in harmony with nature than now, amidst our zeitgeist of high technology.

Proceeds from the auction of The Bund Without Us No. 2 will benefit the Asian Cultural Council for the continuation of the ACC Cai Fellowship, which allows two Chinese artists each year to participate in individually tailored six-month fellowship programs in the United States. In addition to customized programming, Cai Fellows have special access to Cai and his New York studio.