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Lot Essay
Born and raised in Taiwan, Wu Lan-Chiann received her BFA-with highest honors-from the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. She holds an MA from New York University’s Fine Art Department. While part of her studies included oil painting, she also learned in a more traditional fashion from the painters Ou Haonian (born 1935) and He Huaishuo (born 1941). Wu Lan-chiann has exhibited her paintings in numerous shows in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. She also lectures frequently on topics related to Chinese traditional art. Wu Lan-Chiann’s work is collected on four continents. More information about the artist and her work can be found on her website www.thetranquilstudio.com.
Precious Light
Wu Lan-chiann writes: In my dawn-dusk paintings, the recurring use of light, sometimes only glimmers of light, are metaphors for human resilience: the love, hope, and strength that each person carries within. The inspiration for Precious Light came from the Japanese summer festival of remembrance, called O-Bon. In Japanese society, people welcome home of the souls of deceased family members by floating paper lanterns on water. I am keenly aware that everyone carries within his or her soul memories of loved ones like precious glowing lights. While the festival of O-Bon is a collective tribute of those who have passed, the lonely little boy in Precious Light makes memory and love particularly poignant. I believe this is a universal feeling, which I wanted to express with this painting.
To create the effect of the glowing lantern, windows, and moon in Precious Light, I painted on damp paper, carefully adjusting the paper’s humidity, which ranged from very damp to nearly dry.”
Precious Light
Wu Lan-chiann writes: In my dawn-dusk paintings, the recurring use of light, sometimes only glimmers of light, are metaphors for human resilience: the love, hope, and strength that each person carries within. The inspiration for Precious Light came from the Japanese summer festival of remembrance, called O-Bon. In Japanese society, people welcome home of the souls of deceased family members by floating paper lanterns on water. I am keenly aware that everyone carries within his or her soul memories of loved ones like precious glowing lights. While the festival of O-Bon is a collective tribute of those who have passed, the lonely little boy in Precious Light makes memory and love particularly poignant. I believe this is a universal feeling, which I wanted to express with this painting.
To create the effect of the glowing lantern, windows, and moon in Precious Light, I painted on damp paper, carefully adjusting the paper’s humidity, which ranged from very damp to nearly dry.”