XU ZHEN®️
XU ZHEN®
Eternity - Standing Bodhisattva, Statue of Nike of Paionios, 2017-2022
Bronze, steel, paint
118 1/8 x 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. (with plinth)
300 x 100 x 100 cm. (with plinth)
Edition 2/3
JCG13451
Installation view, XU ZHEN® at Platform, The Armory Show, James Cohan, 2023. Photo by Silvia Ros.
Installation view, XU ZHEN® at Platform, The Armory Show, James Cohan, 2023. Photo by Silvia Ros.
Installation view, XU ZHEN® at Platform, The Armory Show, James Cohan, 2023. Photo by Silvia Ros.
Installation view, XU ZHEN® at Platform, The Armory Show, James Cohan, 2023. Photo by Silvia Ros.
Xu Zhen®’s Eternity sculptures fuse facsimiles of Hellenistic and Buddhist statuary into three-dimensional exquisite corpses, which become hybrids of transcontinental histories. Eternity - Standing Bodhisattva, Statue of Nike of Paionios combines one of the most famous statues of Western antiquity with a Buddhist devotional sculpture, creating a visually arresting composite.
The work references Nike of Paionios (425-420 BC) –the most recognizable Classic depiction of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike–which has been fused with a standing bodhisattva, a being who has postponed its own passage to nirvana in order to guide others to salvation. The result is a deftly composed work that carries the archaeological weight of history, and yet is a sly statement about global similarities and differences. Eternity allows the sacred and the profane to exist in the same space.
The Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth holds the first edition of Eternity - Standing Bodhisattva, Statue of Nike of Paionios in their permanent collection.