Philosophy and Zen Realm - Viewing Ancient and Modern Chinese and Foreign Oil Paintings by Luk Yan Shing
Luk Yan Shing was born in Hong Kong in the 1950s. In order to pursue the exploration and expectation of beauty in his heart, he went to Paris, the capital of art, to study in his youth. He first studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in the province of Brest in western France, and then became famous in the top halls, and is well-known in the world’s four major art academies One of them was studying at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Paris. The first generation of world-renowned Chinese artists studying in France, such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Wu Guanzhong, and many Western master artists, have all received excellent learning and training here.
Through mutual learning and exchanges, Luk Yan Shing has a broader vision of art, and he has also met Chinese artists from different regions to build dreams together. The more than ten years of studying and living in France have brought about a leap forward in Luk Yan Shing artistic achievements, and also broadened his world view of culture.
During his stay in France, he was invited by the City Hall of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France in 1983 to hold a joint exhibition of Chinese artists in Paris, and exhibited oil paintings together with master Chinese artists such as Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun. This is an important achievement of Luk Yan Shing . . During his stay in France, he also went to Belgium to participate in exhibitions many times, creating a future artistic appearance and a more complete self-style.
After returning to Hong Kong, Luk Yan Shing must face the challenges of life, but he still chooses to engage in art design-related work, supplemented by painting creation and teaching. In the past 10 years, he has continuously invested in his expertise and sponsored public welfare activities. In recent years, I felt more deeply, and developed a new series of works after 2015. The works use a large number of quiet and strange “green” tones, such as gem emeralds, emerald greens, and dream-like greens, which are expressed on canvas and wood carvings. Brilliant and impressive.
In 2019, the new oil painting “Bamboo Zen” was published at the Taiwan Rattan Art Gallery, which was well received! He has an obsessive fanatical love for green. Stopping before the painting, you can get a glimpse of the scene belonging to the Chinese culture and the cultural connotation and elegant atmosphere of the millennium from the westernized style of painting, and you can feel the smell brought by the nature of heaven and earth, such as in the middle of the painting, Zen Peace of mind.
Reading the composition of Luk Yan Shing paintings, one can feel the soft and harmonious brushstrokes of European classical painting. The proportions and lines of the composition are very sharp, as strong and cold as the form of architectural expression. The combination of the two forms the basis and unique vocabulary of Luk Yan Shing paintings.
Appreciate the new works in 2020 and then publish “Philosophy and Zen Realm”. In order to make it easier to understand, I call it “The (Painting) Words in the Heart”, which is also the exhibition title of the 2021 Luk Yan Shing Oil Painting Solo Exhibition at Teng Art Gallery. In the vernacular, the two are intrinsically interlinked. Philosophy is derived from learning the standard of truth. Zen is the highest spiritual index of human nature and spirit pursued in our world. After all, this cannot be truly expressed in words.
The thought of the level is expressed through the picture. Entering the middle of Luk Yan Shing paintings, there are forest paths, black tiles and white walls, broken bamboo curtains and wooden roofs, slates, ponds, etc. The texture and brushstrokes in the works are particularly particular. The landscape is still an object, and the viewer seems to be able to penetrate the painting environment woven by Luk Yan Shing, and feel the artistic conception in the painting.
