Oil on canvas

91 × 72.5 cm. 35 7/8 × 28 1/2 in.

Signed in English and dated on bottom right; titled and signed in Chinese on the reverse

LITERATURE
2017, In Courtyard, Recollecting Precious Moments of Life―Dong Shaw-hwei 2017 Solo Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei, p.207
EXHIBITED
18 Nov 2017-14 Jan 2018, In Courtyard, Recollecting Precious Moments of Life――Dong Shaw-hwei 2017 Solo Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

“The table still life is like a mental landscape to me. It starts with a small pot of flowers and plants, and the lively and beautiful natural life is emerging. The elegant posture of flowers and leaves touches my heart's desire for ‘beauty', so I look at it intently, and it becomes the beginning of a painting.

The table, a ritualized spatial structure, has fully replaced the mental landscape in one's heart, and the objects are placed and cherished as if they were self-talking in peace of mind. At this moment, there is no past or future in time and space, but only the present moment, free from dust and dirt, or any obstacles. Such purity extends to the emptiness in the background, the silk-like texture and light are transparent and bright, giving the mind a whole universe. After all, the finite nature of life is what makes a being fully feel the primordial power. Light is the energy, the time, and the power that makes the finite infinite. If life is a precious gift, then it advances in the incubation of light, with truth and goodness accompanying it.

Life is developed in silence and nourished in harmony……In this way, nature and humanity merge. The objects may be classified as still life paintings, but their ‘stillness' is perhaps the most special thing. Forty years to complete a painting, the painting accompanies me, and I slowly understand the appearance of the landscape of life from the paintings.”

――Dong Shao-hwei , 2021

Price estimate:
HKD: 180,000 - 280,000
USD: 22,900 - 35,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 360,000