Li Ming Yao
BORN: 1936
HOMETOWN: LIAONING PROVINCE, CHINA
Li Ming Yao graduated in 1965 from Luxun School of Art. In 1979, he won the third prize in a national artist contest and several other provincial and municipal prizes.
For over 50 years, Li had a peculiar affinity to the lotus flower, which is regarded in many different cultures, especially in eastern religions, as a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. Its characteristics are a perfect analogy for the human condition: as even when its roots are in the dirtiest waters, the Lotus produces the most beautiful flower.
His work ranges from realistic paintings, to free-flowing ink paintings with abstract elements, to traditional calligraphy. His paintings with abstract elements, such as “Purple Gas”, show a beautifully developed technique, that allows us to admire what looks like a three dimensional, gaseous form created using the fluidity and layering technique of coloured Chinese ink. A wonderful, complementary mixture of royal purple and lemon yellow are used, each withholding the unique properties of their individual colours, while occasionally meeting to blend into an ethereal light green. His mastery of colour and fluidity can also be admired in many of his other works.
From 1991 to 1992, he travelled to Taiwan, where he held his inaugural exhibition displaying his series of artworks dedicated to the celebrated lotus flower. Many of his artworks have since been collected by the state institutes and individuals from Japan, America, Canada, Brazil, Taiwan & Hong Kong.