Richard Lin (Lin Show-Yu) 1933-2011


Untitled (The Black Sun) 1958-1960signed and dated March 1958-1960 on the overlapoil on canvas152.7 x 127.5 cm (60 x 50 in)
|ProvenanceGift from the artist to the present ownerExhibitedLondon, Bonhams, Richard Lin: Selected Works from the Artist's Estate, 2018, p. 21, illustrated in color林壽宇無題 (黑色太陽)油彩畫布1958-1960年作背面簽名: LIN SHOW YU MARCH 1958-1960來源由藝術家贈送予現藏家展覽「林壽宇: 作品選自藝術家家屬私人珍藏」，倫敦邦瀚斯 ，2018年 ，第21頁 ，彩圖Precision of color, pure geometric forms, along with a phlegmatic allure characterize Richard Lin's captivating compositions. Lin spent his formative years in the East, born into an eminent Taiwanese family in a formal official residence of the Qing dynasty in Wufeng, and raised in Hong Kong. In 1952, he moved to England to attend boarding school in Somerset, then went on to study architecture and fine arts at Regent Street Polytechnic in London. Having spent significant time in both the East and West, Lin contemplated a central recurring question throughout his career: "what kind of works is an oriental artist supposed to come up with?" In search of an answer, Lin adopted an unparalleled approach of Minimalism, borrowing influences from his Western contemporaries and education, and reabsorbing them through a philosophical mode of thought developed since childhood from the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, as well as from traditional Chinese landscape paintings.Becoming a professional artist in 1957, Lin experimented with representational paintings and abstraction before transitioning into a highly reductive state of white paintings. Untitled (Black Sun), from 1958-1960 is representative of Lin's earlier works, characterized by experiments with Chinese ink and wash methods, combined with his distinctive choice of black and Persian blue pigments. A dark bold oval, representing the sun, leans towards the lower left and is surrounded by a gradient of Persian blue that goes from light to dark. What becomes apparent is a riveting and intriguing depiction of a sun, enlivened by Lin's manipulation of color and space. This impressive painting offers a rare glimpse into Lin's early creative process and experimentation with geometric forms and color, which remained as a central theme in his oeuvre as seen in Painting Relief. Executed in 1961, Painting Relief is archetypal of Lin's most sought after "White Series." The work exists between a painting and sculpture, displaying Lin's awareness of materials and influences heavily imbedded in his architectural background. In fact, his reliefs were inspired by the works of British artist Ben Nicholson. Lin first encountered Nicholson's works at a visit to the Tate Modern shortly after his arrival in London, which left him completely taken. In Painting Relief, Lin lays out two aluminum discs of different depths on canvas and creates a yellow line and a red line with masking tape with meticulous attention to detail. Advancing and receding, each shape corresponds to one another, meeting at precisely calculated angles, all of which are unified by the surrounding white space. In doing so, Lin transcends what is initially a flat pictorial plane into a three-dimensional structure of contemplation that is powerful and infinite. Often discussed in tandem with Minimalism, Richard Lin once said, "I hadn't even heard of the term when I set out in my career" (Richard Lin in: Nita Lo, 'About the Exhibition' in Homage to the Master: 50 Years of Work by Richard Lin, Taiwan 2010, p. 22). As one of the most influential movements in the 1960s, Minimalism is characterized by simple content and geometric forms, void of representation, focusing on literal and fundamental harmony. Lin's practice suggests an internal specificity of minimalism that not only echoed the reductive abstraction of Minimalist masters including Josef Albers, Donald Judd and Carl Andre but also heavily embodied Chinese philosophy of Daoism. Through years of refinement, discipline, and growth, Lin gained professional proficiency in the use of white, in which Joan Miro commented, "Lin is unmatched in the world of white color." In 1961, Lin received an award from the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and shortly after in 1964, he was invited as the first artist from Taiwan to participate in the quinquennial contemporary art exhibition documenta 3 at Kassel, Germany, in which he presented his "White Series." Having amassed an abundance of influences, Lin transcended traditional definitions of painting and sculpture, pioneering timeless art forms and remaining truly as an international artist. Coming directly from the artist's family collection and therefore on the market for the very first time, Untitled (Black Sun) and Painting Relief are representative of Lin's artistic progression and revolutionary practice, highlighting his dedication to a disciplined pursuit of simplicity, which is also reflected in his everyday life. In his workspace, all brushes are often lined up to precision. Creating with an awareness to his bodily stance and posture – sleeves rolled up, collar buttoned – Lin exudes attentive energy in each work, combining force, grace, and freedom, cultivating an intrinsic essence of Minimalism.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。林壽宇在東方度過童年，他出生在清朝時即在台灣定居並發跡的霧峰大家族，之後在香港長大。在一九五二年，他搬到英國索美塞特郡（Somerset）就讀寄宿學校，爾後進入倫敦綜合工藝學院（Regent Street Polytechnic）攻讀建築和藝術。因為在東方和西方均有長久的生活經驗，他在其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，再透過孩童時期即接觸的老莊哲學和傳統中國風景畫加以吸收消化，隨之發展出前所未見的極簡主義。一九五七年他開始專事藝術創作，此時著手實驗具象和抽象繪畫，之後才慢慢過渡到極為低限的白色繪畫。於一九五八到一九六〇年創作的《無題（黑色太陽）》是林壽宇早期代表作，其特色是中國水墨畫技巧的實驗加上獨特的黑色和波斯藍色彩。代表太陽的深色橢圓形安排在畫面偏左下方的位置，周圍圍繞著由淺轉深的波斯藍。林壽宇巧妙運用色彩和空間，描繪出引人入勝的太陽形象。從這件精彩的畫作，我們得以一窺林壽宇早期的創作過程和其對於幾何圖形與色彩的實驗，如同《繪畫浮雕》一作（Painting Relief），這些手法始終是他藝術的核心主題。《繪畫浮雕》創作於一九六一年，是林壽宇最受人追捧「白色系列」的經典之作。這件作品介於繪畫與雕塑之間，展現出林壽宇對材料的敏銳度，以及其建築背景的深厚影響。事實上他的浮雕靈感來自於英國藝術家班・尼科爾森。林壽宇初抵倫敦時參觀泰德現代美術館，第一次看到尼科爾森的作品便感到震撼不已。在《繪畫浮雕》中，他將兩塊鋁片擺在畫布不同的高度上，用膠布一絲不苟地繪出黃線和紅線。每個形狀有起也有伏，彼此和應並在精準的角度下相遇，這些元素又因周圍的白色空間合而為一。藉由如此表現方法，林壽宇超越了原為扁平的繪畫畫面，發展出令人再三回味的三維結構，賦予作品強大又無限的力量。大家經常將林壽宇的作品歸納於極簡主義，但他曾經這麼說：「我在從事創作時，根本都還沒有聽過這個名詞」（林壽宇語，羅潔尹，〈關於展覽〉，向大師致敬系列《一即一切：林壽宇50年創作展》台灣2010，p. 22）。極簡主義作為一九六〇年代最重要的美學運動，其特色是簡單的內容和幾何形狀，沒有具象的表現，並著重於呈現實際而基本的和諧感。我們可以從林氏的創作實踐看到一種由內而發的極簡主義，其作品的低限元素不僅和其他極簡主義大師如約瑟夫・亞伯斯（Josef Albers）、唐納德・賈德（Donald Judd）、卡爾・安德烈（Carl Andre）相互呼應，我們也看到其作品深深交織出中國道家哲學精髓。經過數年的精進、紀律和成長，林壽宇終於成為白色繪畫的代表人物，甚至連米羅（Joan Miro）都這樣評論道：「在白色的世界裡，你無人能敵。」在一九六一年，林壽宇獲頒倫敦當代藝術學會（Institute of Contemporary Arts）獎項，旋即在一九六四年成為德國卡塞爾第三屆文件展（documenta 3，Kassel）的邀展藝術家，在這個頂尖的當代藝術展中，他以「白色系列」成為第一個參展的台灣藝術家。林壽宇受到來自各方的薰陶，由此超越繪畫和雕塑的傳統定義，開拓出歷久彌新的藝術形式，稱他為國際藝術家是當之無愧了。《無題（黑陽）》和《繪畫浮雕》直接出自林壽宇的家族收藏，因此是第一次出現在市場上，兩件都是他藝術生涯發展和變革的代表作，凸顯出他全力追求簡單而自律的美學，這個特質也見於他的日常生活中。在工作室內，他的畫筆總是排列得整整齊齊的。捲起袖子子、領口扣好，林壽宇在創作時很注重自己的站姿和身體動作，同時全神貫注在每一件作品的創作之上，因而他的作品融合力量、優雅和自由，孕育出內在的極簡主義精髓。