Richard Lin (Lin Show-Yu, 1933-2011), Parallel Form (Green and White)

Parallel Form (Green and White)
1969

signed and dated 1969 on the reverse; signed and dated 1969 on the stretcher
oil on canvas

63.5 x 63.5 cm (25 x 25 in)

This work was executed in September 1969.

Provenance
Marlborough Gallery, London
Clark Gallery, Texas
Acquired from the above by the present owner

林壽宇
平行式（綠與白）
油彩畫布
1969年作

此作品作於1969年9月

簽名：RICHARD LIN 1969 25" X 25"（背面）RICHARD LIN 1969 25" X 25"（背面畫框）

來源
倫敦Marlborough畫廊
德薩斯州Clark畫廊
現藏家得自上述來源

Precision of colour, pure geometric form, along with a phlegmatic allure characterize Richard Lin's captivating compositions. Having spent significant time in both the East and the West, Lin contemplated a central recurring question throughout his career: "What kind of work should an oriental artist create?" In search of an answer, Lin adopted an unparalleled approach of Minimalism, borrowing influences from his Western contemporaries and education, and reconceptualized them through a philosophical mode of thought developed since childhood from the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, as well as from traditional Chinese paintings.

Lin's creative evolution can be divided into three periods. Having experimented with representational paintings at first, Lin increasingly simplified his approach to a more reduced, paired-down aesthetics since the late 1950s. Repetition, serenity, and creative endurance form the basis of Lin's artistic cultivation. He once stated, "Stillness is very important to me. Painting is my religious expression. It's my altarpiece, something untouched by human hands. Therefore, all gestures disappeared."

Parallel Form (Green and White) is a seminal work that represents the pinnacle of Lin's oeuvre in its awareness to material, mathematical precision, and geometric abstraction. On the encompassing white background, precisely measured lines and blocks are evenly aligned in an orderly concision. Radiating a spiritual aura through an elementally harmonious composition, the present work draws viewers to a realm of tranquillity and soliloquy, guiding us with new sensations as we examine the spatial relationship between light and dark, flatness and depth. Lin's white colour expresses the ideals of purity and emptiness, the mystery of life, and the gifts bestowed on humanity, all enhanced through the combination with simplistic lines. Through years of refinement, discipline, and growth, Lin gained professional proficiency in the use of white, of which Joan Miro commented, "Lin is unmatched in the world of white colour."

Here, we witness an exemplary work that is minimal in a holistic and unitary effect. It is this sense of wholeness that is fundamental to Lin's artistic pursuit, which is skilfully captured with a fluid sensibility in the present lot.

精準的色彩、純粹的幾何圖形和冷靜的氣質，這是林壽宇作品魅力之所在。由於在東方及西方均有長久的生活經驗，他在藝術生涯中一直不斷思考的核心問題是：「身為一名東方藝術家，應該創造出什麼樣的作品？」在追尋答案的過程中，林壽宇從西方同儕和教育訓練中汲取養分，再透過孩童時期接觸的老莊哲學和傳統中國畫加以吸收消化，隨之發展出前所未見的極簡主義。

林壽宇的創作歷程可分為三個階段，從嘗試具象繪畫創作後，他在50年代晚期快速發展出去蕪存菁，簡約的美學。林壽宇的藝術靈感源自心境的穩定和持續的創作練習。他曾經表示：「對於我而言，靜止是十分重要的。繪畫是我的信仰表現，是我的祭壇畫，某種未曾被凡人之手碰觸過的事物。因此，所有的姿態皆消失不見。」

林壽宇深具開創性的作品《平行式（綠與白）》展現了藝術家對於創作材質、數學準確性與幾何抽象的高度領悟，是代表其藝術成就的絕作。白色的背景上，綫條與色塊規整平行，濃淡重疊，畫面平衡與制約，簡潔亦有序。基本元素所組成的和諧構圖流露出精神性的光輝，將觀者帶往安靜的獨白，在光與暗、扁平與深度的空間關係中引領我們體會新的感受。林壽宇的白，直率地表達純粹、空無的理念，林氏用簡單的線條直觀地顯現生命的奧妙，天地賜予人類的產物。經過多年的鑽研，林壽宇被視爲白色繪畫的代表人物，甚至米羅（Joan Miro）都這樣評論道：「在白色的世界裡，林壽宇無人能敵。」

在此，我們見證著一幅完整自足的極簡畫作，這份完整性正是林壽宇藝術的核心，以一種流動的情感形式呈現在這件作品裡。