Ding Shilun
Value#22
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
3/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
8/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
9/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
4/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
3/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
- Liquidity
- Score
- 3
- Assessment
- Limited but emerging liquidity. Only 3 documented auction appearances to date (2023-2025), but rapid institutional acquisition and strong gallery support suggest growing secondary market. First generation of collectors beginning to establish market
- Collector Base
- Early stage but includes prominent Dallas collectors (Rachofsky, Nasher), institutional acquisitions, and international collectors accessing through Bernheim
- Comparables
- Positioning
- Very early career but accelerated trajectory. Comparable to emerging figuration market segment but with unusual institutional validation for career stage
- Peer Artists
- Hernan Bas (similar mythological figurative work, now $1M+ range), Salman Toor (RCA graduate, figurative narrative), Tschabalala Self (emerging figurative painter with institutional support)
- Primary Market
- Gallery
- Bernheim Gallery (London and Zurich)
- Work Sizes
- Large-scale oil on linen paintings: 190-380cm width, 180-230cm height typical
- Pricing Note
- Primary market pricing not publicly disclosed. Contact Bernheim Gallery for current availability and pricing. Based on auction results, expect primary market paintings in £20,000-£50,000+ range depending on scale and significance
- Production Pace
- Limited - large works take 1-2 months each, suggesting annual output of 6-12 major paintings
- Representation Status
- Primary representation
- Auction History
- Auction Record
- Title
- The adoption of the maiden
- Sale Date
- March 6, 2025
- Amount USD
- $147,389
- Estimate GBP
- £20,000 - £30,000
- Sold for GBP
- £114,300
- Auction House
- Phillips London
- Performance vs Estimate
- Exceeded high estimate by 281%
- Market Trajectory
- Trend
- Rapidly ascending
- Indicators
- Record auction price achieved March 2025
- Major museum solo exhibition at ICA Miami Dec 2024-Mar 2025
- Hauser & Wirth London exhibition Aug-Sep 2025 (championing artists beyond their roster)
- Works acquired by Nancy Nasher, Howard Rachofsky Collection, and multiple Tier 1 museums
- Gallery representation by Bernheim (Zurich/London) with solo exhibitions 2022-2024
- Total Auction Lots
- 3+ documented sales
- Price Range Realized
- Period
- 2023-2025
- Low USD
- 56721
- High USD
- 147389
- Recent Auction Activity
- Strong performance at Phillips London March 2025 evening sale, with work significantly exceeding estimates alongside Basquiat and Picasso lots
Institutional Presence
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
Miami, USADallas Museum of Art
Dallas, USAHigh Museum of Art
Atlanta, USARose Art Museum
Waltham, Massachusetts, USAAlbertina Museum
Vienna, AustriaGuangdong Museum
Guangzhou, ChinaArt Gallery of Western Australia
Perth, AustraliaNerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Overland Park, Kansas, USAMuseu Inima De Paula
Belo Horizonte, BrazilHirshhorn Museum
Washington DC, USA- Exhibitions
- Group Exhibitions Selected
Title Dates Venue Location Type Interior Motives August 22 - September 20, 2025 Hauser & Wirth London, UK Major gallery group exhibition A Room Hung With Thoughts: British Painting Now 2025 Green Family Art Foundation Dallas, USA Survey exhibition Toward the Celestial: ICA Miami's Collection at 10 Years 2024 ICA Miami Miami, USA Collection exhibition Art Basel Miami December 2022 Bernheim booth Miami, USA Art fair presentation
- Museum Collections
- Private Collections
Location Significance Collection Collector Profile Dallas, USA One of America's most important private contemporary art collections The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection of Contemporary Art Nancy Nasher (Nasher Sculpture Center founder family), major institutional donor Dallas, USA Howard Rachofsky's collection of ~800 contemporary works, focuses on post-war identity and global minimalism The Rachofsky Collection Leading contemporary art collector, major DMA benefactor London, UK Major international contemporary art collection, also hosted solo exhibition (Invites series) 2023 Zabludowicz Collection Anita and Poju Zabludowicz, prominent UK collectors London, UK Contemporary art foundation Asymmetry Art Foundation Institutional collection Unknown Private collection mentioned in critical coverage Yan Du Collection Unknown collector - Institutional Validation Notes
- Exceptional institutional support for career stage: solo exhibitions at ICA Miami and Guangdong Museum, acquisitions by Dallas Museum of Art, High Museum, Albertina Museum. Collected by Nancy Nasher and Howard Rachofsky. Zabludowicz Collection solo show. This level of Tier 1 museum validation is highly unusual for 27-year-old artist only 3 years post-graduate degree
Career & Biography
- Career
- Age
- 27
- Working Method
- Works 11am-11pm, seven days a week. Large canvases take 1-2 months to complete. Applies numerous thin layers of diluted oil paint to mimic traditional Chinese gongbi watercolor technique. Often begins by painting an eye, building composition intuitively 'piece by piece like a puzzle game'
- Identity
- Current Locations
- Lives and works between London and Guangzhou
- Family Background
- Father is a traditional landscape painter, mother ran local art school in Guangzhou
- Artistic Context
- Key Influences
- Francisco Goya (artistic hero), Gustav Klimt, Kai Althoff, Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Chinese legends 'In Search of the Supernatural' (220-589 AD), Nuo opera, Japanese manga, Harry Potter, Ratatouille, fashion designers Alexander McQueen and John Galliano
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Style
- Figurative narrative painting with mythological and surrealist elements
- Influences
- Art Historical
- Francisco Goya (especially Los Caprichos prints) - stated artistic heroGustav Klimt - pictorial referencesKai Althoff - pictorial referencesZhang Daqian - ethereal landscape influenceQi Baishi - traditional Chinese painting elementsTraditional Chinese gongbi painting technique
- Literary Cultural
- 'In Search of the Supernatural' (220-589 AD Chinese legends)Nuo opera and Nuoism folk religionChinese folklore and mythologyJapanese manga and contemporary comicsHarry Potter (Voldemort's wand references)Ratatouille (fairy imagery)Alexander McQueen and John Galliano (fashion camp aesthetics)
- Themes and Subjects
- Movements and Periods
- Signature Characteristics
- Large-scale detailed pictorial works (190-380cm width typical)
- Thin layers of diluted oil paint mimicking traditional Chinese gongbi watercolor technique
- Figures with spiky, twisted coiffures
- Supernatural beings, monsters, folkloric creatures mixed with contemporary references
- Intricate detail and multifarious textures
- Combination of co-existing perspectives questioning real vs surreal
- Self-portraits/avatars as 'projections and embodiments of inner self'
- Domestic spaces transformed into surreal mythological landscapes
- Techniques and Mediums
- Primarily oil on linen, also watercolor and ink on paper Applies numerous thin layers of diluted oil paint to achieve translucent, watercolor-like effect reminiscent of traditional Chinese painting. Works intuitively, often beginning with an eye and building composition 'piece by piece.' Large works take 1-2 months. Uses physical models and props in studio (Victorian furniture, manga books, shadow puppets, fashion books)
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Status
- Early stage - primarily gallery and museum texts rather than academic scholarship
- Documentation
- Contemporary Art Library includes documentation of 4 projects from 2022 onward
- Catalogue Texts
- ICA Miami exhibition catalogue (2024), Bernheim exhibition catalogues
- Overall Assessment
- Highly positive reception from contemporary art press. Critics note technical sophistication, unique cross-cultural synthesis, and distinctive visual mythology
- Key Critical Themes
- Synthesis of Chinese folklore and Western pop cultureTechnical mastery adapting traditional gongbi technique to oil paintingPersonal mythology and psychological depthAbsurdity of contemporary lifeCross-cultural identity and navigation between London and GuangzhouComparison to Goya's reflection of historical reality
- Critical Positioning
- Positioned as emerging voice in contemporary figuration, bringing unique Chinese-British perspective. Critics note unusual maturity and sophistication for age/career stage
- Publications and Media
- Major Publications
Title Date Author Publication Type Artist Ding Shilun Makes His Own Mythology February 5, 2024 Alex Needham W Magazine Feature interview Ding Shilun Paints Life's Absurdities at Bernheim Gallery February 8, 2024 Simon Fisher Ocula Exhibition review — February 12, 2024 Daniel Penny Observer Review Summer Exhibition in London: Koak, Cece Philips and Ding Shilun at Hauser & Wirth London July 2025 — FAD Magazine Exhibition preview — 2025 — ArtDaily — — 2024-2025 — WHITEWALL — Artists explore the surreal nature of the home at Hauser & Wirth August 22, 2025 Emily Steer Wallpaper* Exhibition review Interior Motives: Koak, Ding Shilun and Cece Philips @ Hauser & Wirth 2025 — Juxtapoz Magazine Exhibition coverage
Gallery & Representation
- Fair Presence
- Fair
- Art Basel Miami Beach
- Year
- 2022
- Gallery
- Bernheim
- Presentation
- Duo show with Eli Ping
- Representation
- Gallery Ecosystem
- Bernheim maintains strong relationships with major institutions (ICA Miami, Zabludowicz Collection) and collaborates with mega-galleries (Hauser & Wirth). Artist positioned within network of emerging figuration market
- Upcoming Exhibitions
Title Dates Venue Type Under the Talking Tree March 1 - August 3, 2025 Kunsthal n Group exhibition Interior Motives August 22 - September 20, 2025 Hauser & Wirth London Group exhibition - Secondary Market Presence
- Status
- Beginning to appear at evening sales at major auction houses (Phillips March 2025)
- Auction Houses
- Phillips London
- Gallery Support
- Strong primary market support from Bernheim, collaboration with Hauser & Wirth for 2025 exhibition suggests broader gallery ecosystem engagement
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