Provenance
Francois La Cloche Deheaulme de Vallombreuse, Director of the Galerie Mouffe.
Important private collection, France

Exhibited
Edinburgh, Scotland, Paperback gallery, 1963.

Literature
Lalan: Chinese Abstract Painter Well-Known in Paris, Paperback Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1963 (Plate no. 2)

“MY FIRST PAINTINGS ARE FULL OF LYRICISM AND EXTREMELY FORCEFUL COLORS; THEY ARE A KIND OF GESTURAL ABSTRACTION, CLOSE TO WRITING.

LALAN

THE RHYTHM OF BRUSH STROKE

A MUSE FOR ZAO WOU-KI

Lalan picked the genre of abstract art when she started painting, in part under the influence of Zao Wou-ki who was already working in an abstract mode by 1954, but more so due to her inherent adaptability to this form of art that predicates upon the spontaneity and expressiveness of the artist. In retrospect, Lalan and Zao played an intricate role in each other’s life as they grow and support one another. For instance, Lalan had posed for Zao much like the traditions of the wives of the Impressionists such as Cezanne and Picasso in a number of Zao’s works, one of which an early portrait of Lalan in her wedding dress. When Zao and Lalan travelled to France in 1948, new abstractionism was a prominent discipline in the Parisian art scene during the second half of the twentieth century. In particular, this trend parallels some of the fundamental merits advocated by abstract Expressionism in the United States, which emphasis on the unconscious, spontaneous, and random creation of a composition that defies formal regulations and patterns. Lalan was able to acquire a thorough knowledge of Western art when she accompanied Zao to the various galleries and museums, where the couple interacted with others and assimilated with the Parisian culture. These experiences would prove to be valuable in her initiation into the art almost decade later. Lalan reminisced to have “lived painting in its modern form through the work of her former companion”, as she would often self-effacingly watched over Zao’s work in progress, offering advice and engaging in critical discourse as a form of spousal support and encouragement. The resulting artistic creations could thus be interpreted as a collaboration between the Zao and Lalan.

THE INCORPORATION OF ORIENTAL ELEMENTS

Lalan visited China in 1957 for six months and was able to appreciate her native cultural art through a more experienced eye after exposure to the Parisian art scenery. Ombres Estivales was executed in 1958, a crucial year in Lalan’s life full of emotions from the life altering events that had taken place the year before as she transitions and settles back into a bright and promising life with Van Thienen in France after her first marriage of sixteen years to Zao ended and her subsequent decision to initiation into abstract painting. Interestingly, the digit 2 on the back of the canvas presumably identifies the present lot as the second piece of her abstract work during the early days of her artistic endeavor. A truly exceptional and explosive piece that exhibits the sentiments after years of visiting galleries, museums alongside her first husband Zao. Abstract painting affords Lalan the possibility for individual expression and allowed her to begin an intricate dialogue between her creative invention and heritage. Lalan’s gestural style was inherently oriental, as she would lay out the upstretched canvases horizontally on the floor in her studio measuring a little over twelve square feet in the Chinese tradition while she applied coats of oil paint that is resolutely Western in origin. Lalan worked without devising a sketch, “manipulating her brush with an unselfconscious agility. The important thing was to let the imagination go.” In essence, the artist took on cultural interchange as a starting point rather than a stumbling block as evidence in her early works. According to Kandinsky, “an artist’s intention is to express his or her spiritual response or decision through lines, colors, spaces, and movements, without any reference to things in the perceivable nature.”



THE NEW ABSTRACTIONIST PAINTING OF POST WAR PARIS



The somber tones in the background of Ombres Estivales is characterized by the prominent use of heavily colored dark emerald, through which Lalan’s vigorous and rhythmic use of the paintbrush can be fully observed. The artist meticulously channeled her impulsive gesture into brushstrokes with impasto effect and strokes that are reticent and compact that appears to be stagnant at times, while some stokes appears angular and delicate swirling back on themselves in loops before pursuing their divergent paths amidst the dark emerald ground. Interestingly, this composition is reminiscent of the intensely-worked paintings of Zao Wou Ki from the mid 1950s and also of Jaroslaw Serpan, Camille Bryen, or Marc Tobey. As the tableau grows darker, the illuminating light in various tones of bright apple green gradually trickles out from the dim tableau like a rising star radiating its tender and uncertain light. This illuminating light sources seems to be radiating from behind the surface and reminiscent of old masters works Lalan had admired in the Louvre, in particular the enigmatic illumination of Rembrandt’s candle-lit figures of Georges de la Tour. Interestingly, the dream-inducing simplicity of Ombres Estivales could possibly be interpreted as evocative of the perceivable world as its title fittingly suggests, enticing one to ponder upon the message behind the title of the present lot, a scene when the early luscious summer leaves begins to sprout and outcrop amidst the shadow of the autumn darkness, portraying the strength and energy of nature’s elemental forces that is both refreshing and brisk. In retrospect, Lalan also address the balance between light and shade juxtaposition, her search for balance between light and dark parallels with the notion of universal harmony derived from the Taoist notion of Yin (darkness) and Yang (light). In other words, the oriental element of Chinese theory is being delicately interweaved and manifested within the context of an artistic approach that is European in nature. The present lot not only epitomizes a vision of vernal beauty and briskness through colors and line, it further demonstrates how form and content came to Lalan naturally in these early works embedded with a sensitivity that draws on her exceptional creative sensitivity and experiences prior to becoming a painter.

A DANCER’S GRACE AND SENSITIVITY

Lalan’s talent for music and dance is evident from her early abstract paintings and constitute one of the fundamental focal points of the present lot as it is infused with the rhythmic charm of a dancer’s grace. It is obvious that Lalan has an innate ability to travel between the fields of painting, music and dance with great ease, perhaps this could be partially attributed to her training which started since her childhood, where she was trained as a Soprano at the National Art College of Hangzhou and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She had studied modern dance at the American Community center under the mentorship of Karin Waedner in 1949. Lalan later realized she was more suited to electronic music than classical composition, as each sound is recorded concretely onto tape and can be altered using editing and mixing techniques with electronic music. The note is thus malleable and not restrained by any predetermined structure. More importantly, electronic music remains dear to the artist’s heart as they exhibit an oriental quality to Lalan. In essence, Lalan’s artistic expression closely correlates with her techniques as a dancer as abstractionism emphasizes upon notions of spontaneity and impulsive sensitivity. In this regard, her music and dance background enable her full control over her body and spinal motion. Lalan’s paintbrush would move melodiously across the canvas as the body contracts and stretches. Naturally, the subconscious emotions that fuels the dancer’s gracious movement is transferred to the paintbrush, further manifested through embellishing the lightness of the bright areas on the lower quadrant with exquisite and irregular running lines that resonates with the rhythm of a dance. Lalan drew fairly fast with little preconception and believes that “the movement in painting is driven by the voice and action in one’s body.” Through pure genius and diligence, Lalan’s artistic pilgrimage has been a long journey from being a muse for her first husband Zao to self-exploration of finding herself, Ombres Estivales constitutes a milestone for her transformation from Lanlan to Lalan.