LUI SHOU KWAN (LÜ SHOUKUN, 1919-1975)
LUI SHOU KWAN (LÜ SHOUKUN, 1919-1975)

Purity

Details
LUI SHOU KWAN (LÜ SHOUKUN, 1919-1975)
Purity
Scroll, mounted and framed
Ink and colour on paper
180 x 97 cm. (70 7/8 x 38 ¼ in.)
Executed in 1970
Provenance
Collection of Sara Larkin
Collection of Mary and George Bloch
Sotheby's Hong Kong, Contemporary Literati: Early Ink Masters, 5 October 2013, Lot 3601
Literature
The World of Lui Shou Kwan, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1976, p. 40, pl. 42
Wucius Wong (ed.) Lui Shou Kwan 1919-1975, Lui Mui Sin-Ping, Hong Kong, 1979
Exhibited
Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Museum of Art, The World of Lui Shou Kwan, 12 November-12 December 1976

Brought to you by

Amy Yang
Amy Yang

Lot Essay

Executed in 1970, Purity is a unique example of the pinnacle of Lui Shou Kwan’s most revered period, the last decade of his life when a deep fascination with Buddhism profoundly transformed his artistic output. In his iconic Zen paintings, the artist established a powerful visual idiom to represent the lotus, a symbol for eternity, purity, and Buddhahood. With dense ink applied with bursting energy and spontaneity, the lotus leaves are heightened by the red dot that represents the moment of epiphany, while the calligraphy inscribed by the artist refers to the Platform Sutra, a Chan Buddhist scripture.

More from Chinese Contemporary Ink

View All
View All