{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":1943,"auction_id":4,"set_id":5,"lot_number":"38","artist":"Lao Lianben (b. 1948)","title":"Voices","starting_price":1800000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1998 (lower left)","medium":"acrylic on canvas","size":"30\" x 19\" (76 cm x 48 cm)","property":null,"coa":"Accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist\nconfirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":"Acquired directly from the Artist","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"In this lot titled Voices, blackness pervades the canvas; \ndarkness seems to have engulfed the entirety of the \ncomposition. In traditional symbolism, black signifies \ndespair and disorder. <br /><br />\nBut like a light at the end of the tunnel, patches of white \nappear and seemingly embark on an endeavor to escape \nthe abyss of the shadows.<br /><br /> \nLao Lianben, the Zen virtuoso, paints Voices as a likely \nself-portrait. We see him in his creative exercise of \nprofoundly engaging in the transformative power of one’s \nstillness—a kind of meditation that straddles between \nquietude and vitality. <br /><br />\nThe white patches signify the “voices,” not the literal \n“voices” of others but the often-contradicting thoughts \nwithin Lao himself. Thus, the work exemplifies the artist’s \ncontinuing pursuit of exploring the infinite possibilities \nand reinvigorations that imbibing the spirit of Zen in one’s \nself can engender. <br /><br />\nThrough Lao’s artistic praxis of cathartic and \ntransformative meditation, made possible through his \nspiritual spontaneity in creating his sublime art, the artist \nignites that ever-powerful flame of transcendent harmony \nthat recognizes, confronts, understands, and unites the \noften conflicting “voices” inside of him, be it in the form of \ncorporal or spiritual needs or even the rigidity of logic and \nintellect and the unbridled gush of creativity.<br /><br />\n \nIn this regard, the white patches not only give us glimpses \ninto Lao’s psyche but provide us a mystical view into \nour inner selves; we have now integrated ourselves into \nthe composition. It is not Lao’s portrait anymore but \nour image. The blackness of the composition changes \nto become a symbol of that powerful capability inside \nof us to recognize the endless cycle of contradictions \nand transform them as paths towards strengthened \nenlightenment made possible by continuous meditation \nand introspection in everything we do. Thus, we are in \nan infinite cycle of birth and rebirth, a liberating way of \nthinking toward the renewal of the self. <br /><br />\nIn the still of darkness, we honor, not evade, that inner \ndarkness we encounter in order to bring ourselves to light, \nthe fullness and clarity of being and becoming amid a \nchaotic world filled with everyday vicissitudes. The work \nVoices becomes like a gospel that is empowering and \nreawakening. (Adrian Maranan)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":0,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":0,"userBid":5930,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"UNSOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":0,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":1971,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/4/5/lot/38.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"increment":[900000,1000000,1100000,1200000,1300000,1400000,1500000,1600000,1700000,1800000,1900000,2000000,2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":37,"next":39,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}