Lao’s Take on Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss
One must be silent and contemplative to listen to the works of Lao Lianben. Infusing his works with the spirit and aesthetics of Zen, Lao brings out the meditative serenity that marks many of his oeuvres, a sense of silence and calmness that brought many art connoisseur to Lao. One of the most eminent of his collectors is Dr. Leovino Ma. Garcia.
Dr. Garcia, aside from being the former dean of Ateneo de Manila School of Humanities and the professor-emeritus of philosophy at the same university, was also an ardent collector of Lao. Starting in 1991, the three-decade-long collecting culminated in the Passion and Compassion: The Lao Lianben Collection of Leovino Ma. Garcia, an exhibit at the Leon Gallery International and curated by Dr. Garcia himself featuring more than 20 of Lao’s works. Among these highly prized pieces in the lot in hand.
This 1981 “Untitled” work portrays Lao’s meticulous process of painting. He superimposes layers upon layers of paint and images, creating a flow and ebb of tension from the piece. He isolates the subject, leaving the background blank to draw eyes straight on the strip at the center of the canvas.
“When I am painting, I like to build up materials into several layers,” he said in a 2023 Inquirer interview. “I navigate through the painting to develop a certain look and let the medium interact with me—to talk as to speak—until it looks satisfying and complete.”
This deep introspection – a key tenet of Zen Buddhism – is highly evident in the works of Lao. Passion and Compassion’s exhibition catalogs write: “In Lao’s paintings, discreet silence turns eloquent. His paintings speak to you, but only after you approach them in silence. It would help then if you stole into the exhibition room at an odd hour of the day.”
It continues: “To truly appreciate Lao’s silence then, one has to be blessed with the patience to pay attention for a long time and the perseverance to listen for even a longer time. Only then, perhaps, can one finally hear the paintings (as in Rilke’s Archaic Torso of Apollo) imploring you: ‘You must change your life!'” (Hannah Valiente)
PROPERTY FROM THE DR. LEOVINO MA. GARCIA COLLECTION
Exhibited: León Gallery, Passion and Compassion: The Lao Lianben Collection of Leovino Ma. Garcia, Makati City, March 19 - April 3, 2014