LUI SHOU KWAN (LÜ SHOUKUN, 1919-1975)

From the late 1950s, Lui Shou Kwan’s sketches of Hong Kong became the inspirational catalyst for his move towards abstraction. A pivotal, semi-abstract work dated 1963, Dwelling is a superb example of Lui’s painting from this transitional period. Vigorously executed with broad swaths of ink that recall mountains and rock forms, this iconic work demonstrates the artist’s masterful control of the brush, which, when complemented with imageries of a small boat and houses, leads to an expressive composition that straddles the figurative and the abstract.