Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

ABOUT THE WORK

The work of art aptly titled “Inner Light” is among the Lao Lianben pieces that evince Zen beliefs and practices. As with most of his works, the bright light illuminating the darkness could be seen as a manifestation of the spirit when one is in deep meditation. However, for the lot at hand, it is more reasonable to interpret “inner light” in terms of aesthetics than a spiritual experience. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a worldview centered on the acceptance and appreciation of the beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.” Wabi-sabi is a composite of two interrelated aesthetic concepts: wabi and sabi. For the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, wabi means “subdued, austere beauty.” In other words, wabi is a quality of austere and serene beauty expressing a mood of spiritual solitude recognized in Zen Buddhism. Also from the article of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy about Japanese Aesthetics, an excerpt from “In Praise of Shadows” (1933) written by the novelist Tanizaki Jun’ichiro provides enlightenment about the manifestation of wabi in our surroundings, using as an example the alcove or tokonoma in the traditional Japanese teahouse: “An empty space is marked off with plain wood and plain walls, so that the light drawn into it forms dim shadows within emptiness. There is nothing more. And yet, when we gaze into the darkness that gathers behind the crossbeam, around the flower vase, beneath the shelves, though we know perfectly well it is mere shadow, we are overcome with the feeling that in this small corner of the atmosphere there reigns complete and utter silence; that here in the darkness immutable tranquility holds sway.” Lao depicts in this piece a structure that is illuminated at the center of the canvas, much like in the “In Praise of Shadows” where the emptiness created by the alcove invites a play of light and shades. And, as an artist who devotes his art to expressing the essence of light, perhaps it can also be said that he wanted to impart in this painting that inner light will always prevail against the darkness. (Isabella Romarate)