painting that illustrates how the inclusiveness of the New Year connects us all. For the first time, in 2023 Hennessy ushers in the Lunar New Year by honouring not just a single, symbolic animal, but the entire Zodiac in all its diversity.
“I think, to push the painting to be what I wanted it to be, I needed a much more eternal painting. I’ve never painted the Chinese Zodiac before; this is the first opportunity that allowed me to do so. So that’s it. Instead of doing one year, I did twelve animals to represent twelve years,” Yan Pei-Ming says.” This painting can live independently; it doesn’t represent a specific year. It’s a painting that can be shown at any time, place, or country. If you don’t know the Chinese Zodiac, it’s an autonomous painting, and a painting must be able to exist autonomously, independently,” he continues. ”
The allegory is one of togetherness in diversity: across generations, geography, and families — and despite differences — sharing culture is what connects us all. ”
“The Great Race”, a vibrant composition inspired partly by an epic saga from Hollywood’s golden era, shows the zodiac bestiary galloping in unison, evoking a message of freedom, inclusion, and interconnectedness. For the first time in his remarkable career, Yan Pei-Ming ventures into a new palette: cognac’s amber, orange, russet and burgundy tones take pride of place in a composition that nods to the many eaux-de-vie and hues present in the Hennessy cognac. The artist’s signature broad, sweeping brushstrokes impart a sense of universality, immediacy, and adventure. “To provoke myself, I decided to paint in colour. It’s very different from what I usually do. This is something new, and it’s a real adventure,”
