Artwork Description

Title: Nail Removal Mountain – Flying Nail
Artist: Jinsong Shi
Date: Undated
Medium: Stainless steel
Dimensions: 30 × 30 cm (approximately 11.81 × 11.81 in)

1. Artwork Identification
Nail Removal Mountain – Flying Nail is a stainless steel sculpture by Jinsong Shi, measuring 30 × 30 cm. Compact yet conceptually potent, the work forms part of the artist’s acclaimed Nail Removal Mountain series. The Title: evokes both physical detachment and psychological release, with the motif of a "flying nail" suggesting motion, liberation, or rupture—key themes within Shi's practice.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Shi’s sculptural language draws from minimalism and conceptual art, integrating sharp formal clarity with metaphorical resonance. In Flying Nail, the industrial precision of stainless steel contrasts with the poetic gesture of flight, transforming a seemingly mundane object into a symbol of tension and transcendence. His work often reflects the visual language of deconstruction, recontextualizing everyday hardware into meditative forms.

3. Historical Context
Emerging from China’s dynamic post-2000 contemporary art scene, Jinsong Shi has consistently engaged with themes of modern urbanization, displacement, and material culture. The Nail Removal Mountain series responds to the practice of marking condemned or vacated buildings with spray-painted nails—an image that resonates with loss, change, and resilience in China's rapidly evolving cities. Flying Nail reimagines this iconography into sculptural form, capturing both the weight and the release of social transformation.

4. Provenance and Authenticity
Shi’s work has been exhibited at major galleries and biennials in China and abroad, with strong market recognition and critical acclaim. Nail Removal Mountain – Flying Nail belongs to an identifiable series and is supported by provenance and documentation consistent with established gallery and institutional standards of authenticity.

5. Condition and Conservation
The sculpture is in excellent condition. Stainless steel ensures both durability and visual clarity, though gentle handling is advised to preserve the polished finish. For long-term care, display in a clean environment away from corrosive agents, and use non-abrasive methods if cleaning is required.

6. Artistic Significance
Nail Removal Mountain – Flying Nail by Jinsong Shi distills complex narratives of dislocation and transformation into a minimalist sculptural form. Through its interplay of material, symbolism, and scale, the work asserts itself as both an object of quiet contemplation and a commentary on contemporary cultural flux.