LOT 36
SOON LAI WAI
(B. Penang, 1970)
Resonance Series 1 & 2, 2015
Acrylic on paper
29.7 x 42 cm x 2 pieces
Provenance
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 3,500 – RM 5,500
“This new series is trying to reflect my mind status. Peace. To see the water and its reflection. To remind me that we should always look back at ourselves and inner soul. The answer always in ourselves”
Art, in its simplest form, is an expression of beauty and for Soon Lai Wai, the lotus flower is the epitome of beauty. Coincidentally, his reworking of the classic flower was the reason he gained recognition at beginning of his career.
With liberated strokes, he manages to create a equatorial and prolific mood to it, the broad leaves curving here and there with complete abandon. “I rotate my canvas to allow the liquid paint to flow slowly and to settle into shapes of ponds, flowers or leaves,” explains the artist. He also expresses his fantasies and romanticism with striking and confident greens and yellows. The unrestrained and enthusiastic way with which he applies brushstrokes onto canvas make the pure, demure flowers even more filled with life, standing out from the murkiness of muddy waters that they are surrounded by.
Soon Lai Wai was born in Penang in 1970. After attending the Saito Academy of Design, he began working as an artist for an overseas advertising company for five years before making the decision to become a full time artist. Until this day, his artworks are being collected by collectors from the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and some of them are displayed in Hotel Ascott, Kuala Lumpur.