Location of Galerie LuS (photography © Hennie Schaper)
YesterdayLet's start at the beginning as far as the two of us are concerned. This is actually the painting that drew me into her gallery May 1999 - and
drew me back in a few minutes after leaving it when I decided to buy it.
It does seem like yesterday (her choice for the name) - the start of a
romance that has meanwhile lasted over 20 years already. It is hanging in our bed room.
Amsterdam AngelIn August 1999, I took my (then) girl friend - later my wife -
to Europe to meet the family. For her it was the first trip outside
Asia, and just as overwhelming as Asia was for me. When we came back to
Singapore, this was one of the first paintings in which she used the
inspiration of her first Europe experience.
La CappuccinaThis was the painting she was working on when I
proposed to her (well, not at that exact moment), and we also used it on
our wedding invitations early 2000. I have named this one La Cappuccina
(the capped one), a play on cappuccino of course. Another painting that we will always keep and cherish.
CharacterOne of the last paintings my wife made before we moved from Singapore to France in the summer of 2001. It is a wonderful example of the strong
colours that mark the beginning of her Shanghai Expressionism period, with some cubist
overtones. I love how the figure is shown in the transition from chaos
(left) to peace (right).
DreamscapeOne of my wife's best paintings also according to reactions we get. A wonderful example of her style, with all the trademarks: expressionist style, Asian theme, and featureless faces. It has a prominent fixed place in our gallery, and we chose it for the brochure we had printed in 2002
Close to the Edge
I love the clash of the cold tones and the sensual subject. It has been hanging in my workplace ("man cave") at home for many years already.
The Three Graces
This is the biggest painting I have seen
my wife make. It is actually painted on a 3-panel canvas room divider (three
times 40x180 cm). I love this graceful image, and so do many visitors of
our gallery - where it is on permanent display.
Singing the Blues
Combining my passion for art with that of music.I love the setting, the colour scheme and her trademark lack of facial details. It is often on display in our gallery, but is currently hanging at home.
Whirling
One of the first works she painted after our
arrival in our new home town of Kampen. I love the happy feeling in this
one, expressed in the dancing couple's stance and the colours.
I've Got the Music in Me
This will always be special to me: the first artistic cooperation between my wife and me. This
was originally a photograph (actually, a digital merger of five
photographs) by myself.
We printed it on canvas for display in our gallery, and then my wife
decided that this would be ideal material for an experiment: she
provided some touch-ups with oil paint. The result is quite effective.
Metropolis
This is a work my wife made a few years ago. The atmospheric image of a couple in the big city also gets lots of positive reactions whenever we display it in our gallery.
Selfie
Self portraits are not very common in my wife's repertoire, but here is one that she made a few years ago. And I love it. So do many others, given the comments
we got when we put it in the window of our gallery. Since a few years we have given it a fixed place at home.
Copyright statement: all images copyright Lu Schaper (Yang Lu).
