Lalan 謝景蘭 1921-1995
Xie Jinglan, nicknamed Lanlan, was born in Guizhou, China in 1921 and brought up by a scholarly family. Her grandfather was a famous scholar and her father was a traditional Chinese literati. At a young age, Xie Jinglan had a musical gift and had the opportunity to cultivate her talent thanks to her family's support of the arts and academia. When she was seven, she and her family moved to Shanghai and soon thereafter, moved to Hangzhou where she entered the Music Department of the Hangzhou School of Art in 1937. During her time in Hangzhou, Xie Jinglan met Zao Wou-Ki. In 1941, they married in Hong Kong and in 1948, the couple travelled to Paris to start a new phase of life together.
Finding themselves in the centre of the art world in the late 1940's, the couple quickly became enamoured with France's artistic metropolis and world-famous museums. Xie and Zao settled into a studio in Paris Montparnasse where they became neighbors with Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti and befriended artists Sanyu, Georges Mathieu and Pierre Soulages, as well as the poet Henri Michaux who had helped both artistic development.
Xie Jinglan continually pursued her passion in music, while Zao Wou-Ki's career in the visual arts progressed. During this period, Lalan studied music composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, and later, she studied modern dance at the American Cultural Centre after watching a documentary on Martha Graham. Henri Michaux introduced her to the distinguished and avant-garde American-French electronic composer Edgard Varèse who offered Xie Jinglan the opportunity to learn about electronic music. As a result, this experience led to Lalan's realization of her genuine passion to express her inner world of artistry.
In 1957, Xie Jinglan divorced Zao Wou-Ki and moved to St. Ouen in the north suburb of Paris. One year later, she married Marcel Van Thienen, a French musician, and changed her name to Lalan. From then on, she started a new life as an artist, devoting herself to painting, music, dance and poetry.
Lalan never ceased to paint with vibrance and spirit until an accident took her life in 1995. Most significant to her work was the conveyance of her intuitive artistic vision and the freedom of self-expression. Her works are collected by the Culture Ministry of France, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Macau Museum of Art, etc.
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Shining Heart《閃亮的心》, 1958-1959
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Untitled《無題》, 1958-1959
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Untitled《無題》, 1958-1960
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Untitled《無題》, 1958-1960
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Untitled《無題》, 1958-1960
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Untitled《無題》, 1960
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Untitled《無題》, 1960s
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Figure allongé | Extended Figure《伸展的肢體》, 1963-1967
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Untitled《無題》, 1965-1970
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Naissance du jour | Dawn 《日出》, 1966
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Untitled《無題》, 1967
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Untitled《無題》, 1967
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Untitled《無題》, 1967-1968
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Untitled《無題》, 1968
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Va avec le vent | Go with the Wind 《隨風飄逝》, 1968
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Untitled《無題》, 1968-1969
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Untitled《無題》, 1968-1970
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Le Sphinx endormi | Sleeping Sphinx《睡覺的斯芬克斯》, 1969
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L'insecte mangeuse | The Eating Insect 《螳螂》, 1969
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Hommage à René Drouin | Homage to René Drouin 《向 René Drouin 致意》, 1969
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L'automne arrive | Autumn Arrives《秋來》, 1969
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Untitled《無題》, 1969-1970
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Untitled《無題》, 1970
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Les choses | Things《物事》, 1970
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La danseuse | The Dancer 《女舞者》, 1970
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Untitled《無題》, 1970-1975
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Untitled《無題》, 1970s
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Untitled《無題》, 1972
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Untitled《無題》, 1972
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Untitled《無題》, 1972-1973
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Untitled《無題》, 1973
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Untitled《無題》, 1973
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Printemps | Spring《春》, 1973
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Untitled《無題》, 1973-1979
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Vol haut | Flying High 《高飛》, 1974
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Untitled《無題》, 1975-1978
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Untitled《無題》, 1975-1980
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Deux amis | Two Friends 《雙友》, 1976
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Somewhere《某處》, 1977
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Le Rendez-vous des Lunes | The Appointment with the Moon 《與月亮的約會》, 1978-1979
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Untitled《無題》, 1978-1984
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Clair et obscur | Clear and Obscure《清澈與朦朧》, 1979
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Les Rocs Verts | Green Stone《綠石》, 1979
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Untitled《無題》, 1980s
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La montagne doute aussi | The Mountain Doubts Too《山亦疑惑》, 1982
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Remember Henri Michaux《回憶米修》, 1984
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Untitled《無題》, 1986
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Les branches mêlées | The Tangled Branches 《交纏的枝椏》 , 1986
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Untitled《無題》, 1986
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Untitled《無題》, 1986-1988
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Untitled《無題》, 1986-1988
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Untitled《無題》, 1987
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Untitled《無題》, 1987
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Untitled《無題》, 1987
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Untitled《無題》, 1988
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Untitled《無題》, 1989
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La terre blessée | The Spoiled Land 《赤土千里》, 1990
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Untitled《無題》, 1990s
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Untitled《無題》, 1991
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Untitled《無題》, 1991
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Untitled《無題》, 1991
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Untitled《無題》, 1992
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Untitled《無題》, 1992
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Untitled《無題》, 1992
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Untitled《無題》, 1992
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Untitled 《無題》, 1992
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Untitled《無題》, 1993
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Untitled《無題》, 1993
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Untitled《無題》, 1993
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L'hiver | Winter 《冬》, 1994
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Untitled《無題》, 1994
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La révolte des Mimosas | The Revolt of the Mimosas《金合歡起義》, 1994
Calligraphic Abstract (1957–1969)
In the first phase of her artistic development, Lalan's background as a trained musician and dancer converged with childhood calligraphy lessons and the spirit of French Art Informel in the form of dark and hypnotic monumental abstractions. Her early abstract works introduced symbols and forms inspired by Chinese calligraphy.
But Lalan's gestural application of thick, black calligraphic brushstrokes - executed without reference to any preparatory drafts - conveyed a daring, dancer-like quality, with deeply-felt rhythms and vibrations attesting to Lalan's diverse passions. It was a bold vision that captivated the French art world when Galerie R. Creuze in Paris presented her first solo exhibition in 1960.
Landscape metaphor (1970 –1983)
After 1969, Lalan sought a new artistic language. Undergoing a profound re-examination of her roots, she studied traditional Chinese painting, particularly the dramatic "one corner" compositions of Southern Song Dynasty artists Ma Yuan and Xia Gui, as well as the classic Taoist text Zhuangzi, which ponders the state of "Heaven and Man in unity". Lalan's extensive travels to Europe's famous mountains also provided an opportunity to meditate on the spirit and beauty of nature, and its connection with humanity.
She began to create watercolour paintings on scrolls, and her works changed from highly charged abstract compositions to dreamy landscapes depicting the sun, moon, mist, peaks and rock formations. In 1971, the French Ministry of Culture acquired Lalan's three-paneled masterpiece Sudden Blue, which marked the beginning of Lalan's landscape series. Soft tones of white, yellow, grey and blue suffuse the landscape series, as well as gentle rhythmic lines evoking a latent cosmic energy - a reflection of the artist's enlightened consciousness and introspective approach to life.
In 1971, Lalan began incorporating performance art into her solo exhibitions at Galerie Jacques Desbrières, Galerie Iris Clert and the Centre Culturel Pablo Neruda of the Corbeil-Essonnes. In front of her paintings she performed her own choreographed modern dances accompanied by her original electronic compositions. These unique interdisciplinary "Spectacles" marked the inception of Lalan's "integrated art" (l' art synthèse), and in 1973 the French Ministry of Culture awarded Lalan a special grant in recognition of her work in this field.
Pure inner spirit (1984 –1995)
In the 1980s, Lalan returned to China on several occasions and spent much of her time exploring its museums and natural landscapes. With inspiration rooted deeply in Chinese culture, Lalan's mature works gradually returned to abstraction. Compared to the bold style of her earlier abstractions, which were punctuated with vivid calligraphic lines and symbols, Lalan's later abstract creations were sublime in their portrayal of rhythm and movement. Favouring a palette of lighter hues, her compositions were defined by ultra-fine lines and clustered dapples that synthesised modern dance movements with the staccato rhythms of electronic music through the meditative lens of Chinese qigong. Ignoring trends, Lalan only created what she believed in - a bold and avant-garde vision for a woman of her generation and cultural background. In the words of dramatist Eugène Ionesco:
"It is very rare to witness the existence of an original voice and path, it is very rare to be innovative in non-figurative painting, to find the forceful, discreet yet evident originality that Lalan possesses. There can be nothing new, one is tempted to think, in one domain or another: then all of a sudden here is something new, here is the unexpected, here is a painter, here is Lalan."
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The Cornerstone
An Exhibition Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Kwai Fung 14 Jun - 31 Aug 2021 -
Extended Figure - The Art and Inspiration of Lalan
Supported by Kwai Fung Foundation; Organised by Asia Society Hong Kong Center 27 Apr - 19 Sep 2021 -
Signifiants de l’informel 2020
11/F, Asia One Tower, 8 Fung Yip Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong 16 Oct - 15 Dec 2020 -
Between Dream and Drama - Works of Lalan
Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, G/F, 20 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong 3 Apr - 2 May 2020 -
Rue du Moulin Vert
Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, G/F, 20 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong 9 May - 16 Jun 2018An exhibition of a collection of the finest works of ZAO Wou-ki, Lalan, Pierre SOULAGES, Nicolas DE STAËL, Sam FRANCIS, Georges MATHIEU, as an associated project of Le French May 2018Read more -
Singing in Colours and Dancing in Ink - Retrospective Exhibition of Lalan (Works of 1958-1994)
Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, G/F, 20 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong 25 Nov 2016 - 11 Feb 2017
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Documentary of Lalan - A Life Between Dream and Drama
JC Cube Tai Kwun 11 Sep 2021To commemorate Chinese-French artist Lalan's centennial birthday, Kwai Fung Hin presented the premiere of 'Documentary of Lalan - A Life Between Dream and Drama' on...Read more -
Lalan's works at Femmes années 50. Au fil de l'abstraction, peinture et sculpture
14 Dec 2019 - 10 May 2020 | Musée Soulages - Rodez 14 Dec 2019Our gallery is delighted that Lalan’s works are currently on view at the group exhibition Femmes années 50. Au fil de l'abstraction, peinture et sculpture...Read more
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Special guest Zhao Jialing's attendance at A Life between Dream and Drama Documentary
Asia Society Hong Kong Center 15 Oct 2021Jointly presented by Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Kwai Fung Art Foundation, A Life between Dream and Drama screening was hosted on 15 October...Read more -
Opportunities for Female Artists - from Lalan to the Current Situation in Hong Kong
Asia Society Hong Kong Center 23 Aug 2021Co-organized by Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Lalan Archives, Opportunities for Female Artists: from Lalan to the Current Situation in Hong Kong invited cross-disciplinary...Read more -
Fresh Eyes - In Conversation with Young Artist, Art Patron and Art Historian on Works by Lalan
Asia Society Hong Kong Center 10 Jul 2021Extended Figure: The Art and Inspiration of Lalan is the first major retrospective of Lalan in Hong Kong. The exhibition showcases 32 artworks by Lalan...Read more -
Synaesthesia in Art and Lalan
Asia Society Hong Kong Center 29 May 2021Showcasing thirty-two masterpieces and archival materials of Lalan's cross-disciplinary attempts, Extended Figure: The Art and Inspiration of Lalan traces the artist's transformative moments, and experimentation...Read more -
Portrait of Lalan
Sotheby's S|2 Gallery 2 May 2019Prior to the opening of the solo exhibition of Lalan: Endless Dance at Hong Kong Sotheby's S|2 Gallery on 2 May 2019, Ms. Catherine Kwai,...Read more
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Booth 1B26丨Kwai Fung Hin at Art Basel Hong Kong 2022
25 - 29 May 2022Kwai Fung Hin returns to Art Basel Hong Kong for the fourth time with a selection of artworks by modern and contemporary masters Lalan, Li Huayi, Chi Wing Lo, Gérard Schneider, Pierre Soulages, Georges Mathieu, Jonas Wood, Yoshitomo Nara and Xue Song.Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2021 - Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery
19 - 23 May 2021Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery is delighted to participate in Art Basel Hong Kong 2021. We will be presenting the works by Lalan (Xie Jing-lan,...Read more -
Fine Art Asia 2020 & Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel
27 - 30 Nov 2020Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery is delighted to announce our participation in both Fine Art Asia and Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel. We will...Read more