Oil on canvas

72.5×60.5 cm. 28 1/2×23 4/5 in

Signed and dated in English on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

Inner Wisdom of Self-awareness
The Still-life Paintings of Dong Shaw-hwei
Written by Tony Ba

From the time she was a child, Dong Shaw-hwei has always loved to create still-life paintings. Her early creative style in the 1990s was heavily influenced by Impressionism （i.e. the pursuit of intense bright colors and an emphasis on the manifestation of light and shadow） while simultaneously injected with a variety of cultural elements from a more Chinese perspective. Over the course of her creative journey, the painter gradually became aware that to paint a still life is, in fact, to examine one’s inner self. During the creative process, the artist bears her own emotions （“subjective”） to depict a physical object （“objective”）. Concurrence and coalescence therefore unfold between both ends of this very spectrum. In other words, if one cannot achieve an inner sense of calm, one cannot draw a still life, because creating a still life is, in all actuality, a form of spiritual practice. There thus seems to be some degree of convergence between Dong Shaw-hwei’s still-life paintings and the neo-Confucian emphasis on self-observation and the push for the suffocation of material desires prevalent in the Song dynasty. The artist later became dedicated to researching the aesthetic significance of the philosophy of Chuang-Tzu, thereby refining and deepening her own concepts of artistic creation and gradually shifting from Western culture toward the spirit of the East. “In Eastern still-life works, ” she said, “it is the person that is ’still’. After you have finished painting a still object, you have actually engaged in spiritual, contemplative reflection, bringing you an inner feeling of the utmost tranquility.”
Gentle, Unassuming Aesthetics：a Flower within the World
Red Camellia and Plantains from the Harvest are representative works from Dong Shaw-hwei’s classic Black Desk series. The inspiration for this series, which the artist began early in the first decade of 2000s, derives from her love to the calm and simple textures of old wooden tables. This series is an extension of what things were like for her at home, embodying her attitude toward a way of life in which quietude and simplicity were cherished. In comparison with the style of early-period still-life paintings, the artist’s wooden table stills show a greater tendency to reflect her inner state of mind. Here, she has given up the beautiful colors of Impressionist aesthetics and instead exhibits quiet, unassuming, dignified textures. Her treatment of the scene and background tends toward simplification, and each work in the series adopts a different observational angle and perspective. Her use of light and shadow to create the appropriate atmosphere, meanwhile, draws from the imagery of real life. The compositional arrangement of her paintings is filled with tension, while evoking a casual and lyrical feeling at the same time. This is Dong Shaw-hwei’s unique interpretation and extension of the still-life genre of art, and it is a distinctive feature within her works.
The objects presented in both works were drawn from life. From the ceramic vase’s texture to the warm glaze of the cups and bowls, the heavy luster of the glass bottle, the deep richness of the plantains, and the beautiful posture of the camellia, their various details are strikingly vivid. These lifelike portrayals embody the artist’s solid foundation in drawing, and the symbolic nature of these paintings’elements is also of great significance. The plantains represent a bountiful harvest, as well as gratitude towards the earth and nature； the beautiful flowers allude to the joy of life； the teacups represent a relaxed state of mind； the books signify an appreciation of human wisdom； the postcards represent an admiration for Song Dynasty paintings； and the porcelain bowl filled with petals embodies the cherishing of life itself. The canvases are not very large, but they epitomize the artist’s pursuit of life’s values and her quiet, distant attitude towards life itself. This echoes the traditional hermit culture of pre-modern China, and from this, a new style of Chinese oil paintings can be born.

Price estimate:
HKD: 75, 000 - 150, 000
USD: 9, 600 - 19, 230

Auction Result:
HKD: 153,400