Andrew Lui
Forever the humanist, Lui has not lost his interest in higher ideals, and the duality that lives in all things continues to be present in his paintings.Whether it is the dialogue between east and west, or between anguish and bliss, the artist’s internal confrontation expresses itself on canvas in images of profound sensibility and mastery of plastic demands. Like most artists fascinated with the passage of time, Lui’s choice of title for his series is self-explanatory. We are witnessing emotions in movement, fleeting before our eyes in a colourful parade of oblique forms, at once animal and alien. And there is no point seeking references to other artists and styles, for having absorbed it all, Lui is in full command of his own unique visual lexiconTradition and Discipline below, Clarity and Vision above. Describing Andrew Lui’s creative process is like taking a page from the I Ching. For it is more Chinese philosophy than the vast artistic tradition of that culture that imbues his paintings. Sparse and strikingly contemporary, Lui’s compositions proclaim their own visual territory while his brushstroke harks at the fluidity of eastern calligraphy.Admittedly at “the crossroads of post-modernity”, he has found his own voice, and from the plethora of personal and artistic experiences produced a series of works that opt for the lyrical and the aesthetic. Having honed his art over three decades, he is in a new phase, and while the pilgrimage continues uninterrupted, the pilgrim has changed. Highly sensitive, and enomoured of quality, this artist has no trouble attracting collectors. His acrylic and ink on rice paper paintings are unusually accessible while remaining of the highest artistic calibre.