Kwai Fung Hin is thrilled to present Strokes of Awakening, an exhibition featuring the early works of French-Chinese artist Xie Jinglan (Lalan,1921-1995). The exhibition sheds light on the origin of her painting career in the 1950s with over 10 oil paintings and paper works.
In her early works in the 1960s, Lalan constructed her abstract universe with opaque tones of brown, red or blue, often devoid of preliminary drafts or sketches. Moving gracefully on canvas with layer after layer of partially dried paint, her use of thick impasto was an accumulation of her intense emotions and vigor. Such cadence could find its roots in her training in modern dance, which endowed her with precise control over bodily movements to express the inner rhythm. Through her vibrant and dynamic brushstrokes, Lalan poured all her energy and the vitality of life onto the canvas.
Xie Jinglan was born in a family of scholars in Guizhou, China and studied music at the National College of Art in her early years. In 1948, she settled in Paris with her husband Zao Wou-Ki to broaden her artistic horizons, traveling around Europe to visit museums and befriending leading figures of different artistic movements at that time to inspire each other and share insights about their art and life. To continue to pursue her passion for music, Lalan took musical composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. In the 1950s, she studied composition under the tutelage of the "Father of Electronic Music", Edgard Varèse, and turned to modern dance after watching a documentary on Martha Graham. The influence of different art movements and cultural encounters allowed her artistry to flourish while staying open and perceptive to various avant-garde creative forms. She yearned to convey her inner world, refusing to be merely her husband's muse.
In 1957, Xie Jinglan made the unflinching decision to divorce Zao Wou-Ki and changed her name to Lalan. Two years later, she married French musician and sculptor Marcel van Thienen, and established an electronic music studio which produced music for dance performances and movies. In 1952, art critic Michel Tapié, who was highly regarded in Europe, coined the term "Art Informel" to describe an abstract painting style which emphasizes intuitive and spontaneous creation, characterized by swift and expressive brushwork. Lalan 's early work closely aligns with such artistic approach that refused to fall into any conventional categories.
Lalan's artistic journey transcended mere technical evolution, intertwining closely with her life experiences. Her art calls for liberated expression of her soul in an era that hardly recognized full-time women artists, nevertheless she lived a challenging yet liberated life, wholeheartedly embracing her creative talent. This exhibition invites us to retrace the origin of her inspiration.
