Provenance :
Christie's, Hong Kong, 1 Dec., 2008, lot 951
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale
Private Collection, Asia

"Lily" epitomizes nature in its simplest form through the medium of oil. The artist realized early on that a floral sprig could be a subject on its own during the early phrase of his artistic career. While the depiction of a lily in full bloom encompass qualities of a delicate softness frequently found in the classical ink tradition, the nostalgic composition of the brushstrokes adds dimension to the painting. The artist had succeeded in capturing the essence of a lily in full bloom, in line with a saying often utilized to describe the works of Bada Shanren, which posits, "there is not a missed line, nor the requirement of an extra brush stroke to bring out the beauty of the subject matter." The nostalgic airy brushstrokes of the flowering blossom becomes the focal point against the white backdrop that offers a delimitation of space, this attribute adheres to a theory in the Chinese ink tradition that predicates upon the notion where the void "is not devoid of sense", as declares a poem from the poet and painter Ma Desheng the early eighties. The timeless beauty of a lily in full bloom is reminiscence of tradition while the simplified, more vigorous
brushstrokes used to render the stem and leafy sprigs issuing the nostalgic flowering lily dance harmoniously upon the canvas.