About Traverser I
Vertical, gestural composition in ink and acrylic paint with large areas of turquoise and ochre and spontaneous calligraphic lines of red, indigo and bright yellow. The overall intense movement in this painterly drawing is in keeping with Lui's dramatic theme of pilgrimage.Born in Guangzhou, China, Lui participated in the Chinese Cultural Revolution as a member of the Red Guard 1968-70 and then escaped to Hong Kong by swimming. Making his way to Toronto he studied at the Ontario College of Art and became a citizen in the late 1970s. He continued studies in the UK, and Italy where he was drawn to the dynamic Uccello's Battle of San Romano (c. 1456).
Lui is represented in multiple public, corporate and private collections in Canada, Europe and China: Musée d'art contemporain, Musée de Dijon, France, L'Ecole des Beaux Arts, Bruxelles, Pallazo Strozzi, Florence, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Sherbrooke, Grimsby Art Gallery, Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Stratford, Stratford, Coburg Art Gallery, Rodman Hall Art Centre, Canadiana Foundation (Art Collection of Governor General of Canada). He is part of a large number of private and corporate collections, including HSBC of Canada, DKNY and Sun Life Insurance.
