Loy Luo
Stillness
2018-
Jindu Art Center - Beijing
Overview
Stillness is an important solo exhibition by Loy Luo in 2018, exploring the relationship between spiritual stillness and visual language. Here, stillness is not a mood of silence or peace, but a threshold of being — a reflective response to existential movement, mental entanglement, and the limits of language. This exhibition represents a significant culmination of Luo’s early abstract practice, affirming the philosophical depth and maturity of her visual language.
Installation View
Sound of Stillness
By Rongjian
Heidegger once said that the sound of stillness (die ruhe) was more volatile than all motion. Does that statement defy common sense? Dophilosophers deliberately challenge public opinion with their meditations? In fact, Laozi had said: “By keeping the inner world perfectly calm and uninfluenced, I can observe how the world repeats itself as things evolve.” That is an awakening of humanity. In the thunderous din of the world, it is no easy matter to remain calm and unperturbed. According to Heidegger, men’s journey from cradle to grave eventually turns into stillness, while the nature of language is also stillness, which is the ontology of life, with tragedy being its ultimate form.
When examining Loy’s works, which look kind of familiar, I was at a loss for words, as if I had stumbled into a still and gloomy night. The artist was trying to depict the entanglement between life and death, drawing the audience to her inner thoughts, which are either joyous or blue. However, the stillness I felt had little to do with her emotions, state of mind or subconsciousness. What I felt was transient, something that got solidified instantly or, to put it in another way, electrified; and there was no going back, no digression possible. The momentary stillness may be the most authentic feeling of existence. Through the dialogue in the work, the artist and the viewers engage not in a dialogue but in monologues of their own. In the stillness, soul’s volatility freezes, the language becomes hollow and the thoughts evasive. Alone do I exist.
Stillness reigns supreme but the sounds of bells linger. The ancients say that calmness leads to space anddistance but how far is far? Is the heart far enough? Looking up, we see the vast, expansive, dark and still universe, and my heart feels likewise. Putting aside the secular world and standing in front of Loy’s paintings, can you hear the sound of stillness?
Talk View
Stillness, this is not about emotions
By Loy Luo
Existentialism is the gravest rebellion against metaphysics. Originally, pure abstract art is the logical veil of metaphysics but abstract expressions seeks a middle way between existentialism and metaphysics, while minimalism indulges itself in the self-perceived “god and man in one”. These theories seek to battle for dominance but all inevitably lean towards the doubt of the void, in the pure sense of existentialism. I insist on the entanglement between life and death of the existing beings but walk towards the stillness discerned by other people’s eyes, which is not connected with feelings or emotions. Following Kant and Heidegger, I once thought that my spiritual journey was similar to that of Kierkegaard, who believed in Christian existentialism. Only I was not sure if his god was overly protective of humanity while I was less fervent and more moderate. After all, life is not a material product or a slice of time. Rather, it is a chance or inevitable meeting of infinite matters in an endless process. Art walks hand in hand with life, growing or waning with it; while life as a whole eventually becomes selfless, emotionless, without sorrow or joy. Entrusting itself to the care of the unmoved and unfeeling god, and without perils or danger, life repeats itself over and over again. Something ushers in nothing and vice versa. And postmodern tricks are the solution to the anxiety of the time. Developing, I naturally discern the intrinsic secrets while instinctively opposing trickery. After transcribing the sutra for almost one hundred times, I suddenly found enlightenment and hence started to read it backwards. Life is death; dirty is clean; up is also down. All things therefore are in themselves both good and bad, both increasing and decreasing.Therefore one may say there are such things as form, perception, concepts, thinking process, and consciousness. Our senses such as eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are leading us to illusion; thus one may also say there is reality in visible form, sound, smell, taste, touch and mind knowledge. There are also such things as the realms of sense from sight up to mind, and such things as the links of existence from ignorance and its end to old age and death and their end. Also the Four Noble Truths are existent, just as there are such things as wisdom and also gain.
Opening View
Critical Note
"Loy Luo is a profoundly complex individual "Luo Yi is a profoundly complex individual — what we see in this exhibition is just one facet. She has many layers and artistic orientations. Although she studied art in graduate school, her true interest lies in thinking and reflection — she is an artist driven by philosophical inquiry. In the realm of female artists, such temperament is rare. She is known for her reverse thinking. When presented with a point of view, she instinctively argues from the opposite direction. Her intellectual engagement is so strong that it becomes a core part of her creative approach. She could have been a theorist or philosopher. Yet she chose abstract painting as her spiritual outlet. Her paintings are full of inner contradictions. There is passion, but also intense suppression. Her canvases are never flat color fields. Each area vibrates with restrained energy — seemingly still, but always on the verge of explosion. Luo belongs to what I define as the third visual language system: abstraction. It is the stage when artists turn inward to explore the essence of art itself — no longer concerned with depicting external objects or subjective emotion, but rather, pursuing the structure, the form, and the logic of the medium. In China, unlike the West where abstraction has declined, this exploration remains ongoing. Luo’s work is part of this unfinished journey, carrying strong cultural and philosophical potential. — Jia Fangzhou
Exhibited Works
