'An Air of Elegance and Grace' | Su Shi’s 'Wood and Rock'

Specialist Kim Yu considers the spiritual import of Su Shi’s 'Wood and Rock', and why elemental forces might have offered consolation in times of banishment. ‘What is the spirit of the Orient?’ asks Kim Yu, International Senior Specialist in Chinese Paintings at Christie’s, before citing ‘the pursuit of simplicity’ and artistic expression through ‘introspective exploration’. The specialists says Su Shi’s Wood and Rock, painted, it is believed, sometime between 1071 and 1101, exudes this same sense of simplicity. Rocks, bamboo and wood regularly featured in the great Northern Song scholar-official’s work and these ‘three worthy friends’, as Su Shi referred to them, became a source of spiritual inspiration. Find out more: https://ift.tt/2yeFrrG