MoCA Asia 2008-9 Winter Commission: Courting Maria

Courting Maria
Courting Maria by Chinese contemporary artist Lee Shi-min is a large-format (oil on canvas; 137.2 by 182.9 cm; 54 by 72 inches) painting that incorporates dynamic multi-directional tennis ball imprints of Chinese characters for Maria Sharapova imposed on a representation of a singles tennis court. The work employs the three primary Chinese symbolic colors red, green and yellow, and was realized to honor the subject’s great athletic and sporting achievements at such an early age.

Lee Shi-min on Sharapova
“Maria is an iconic symbol in the world of sports who combines the beauty of Aphrodite with an elegant amazon stature: the result is a most successful present-day hunter-warrior versatile on grass, clay and hard terrain.”

Lee Shi-min
Chinese contemporary artist
(Hong Kong, November 2008)