LOTUS

CHEN QIKUAN (CHINA, 1921-2007)
LOTUS
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
12 3/8 x 12 ¼ in. (31.5 x 31 cm.)
Signed, with one seal of the artist

PROVENANCE
Formerly the property of the Dr. K. S. Lo Collection

SPECIALIST’S NOTES
The internationally renowned architect Chen Qikuan was born in Beiping (present-day Beijing) in 1921. He graduated from the National Central University in 1944 before moving to the USA, where he worked under the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius and taught briefly at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alongside his architectural practice Chen also exhibited widely as an artist; his training as an architect afforded him a unique sense of composition and design. Nature, architecture and still-life are gracefully interwoven and combined in Chen’s work. Through the innovative use of Oriental motifs gleaned from architecture and craft, his paintings exude an intrinsic decorative beauty that strikes a balance between the visually stunning and the captivating visceral qualities of the painted surface.