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Thinking of Zen signed and dated 1994 (lower left) acrylic, modeling paste, pencil on burlap 40" x 60" (102 cm x 152 cm) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Manila WRITE UP: For Lao Lianben, painting is an invigorating exercise centering on creative solitude and dynamic contemplation. Profoundly influenced by the tenets of Zen Buddhism, Lao’s creative praxis revolves around painting as an act of both seeing and contemplating; it is Zen encountered, experienced, lived, and nourished. It is in this sustained practice of living and creating under the influence of Zen that Lao’s 1994 work titled Thinking of Zen can be contextualized. Here, we are immediately struck by a captivating image of the circle in the center, delicately engraved in an almost perfect manner. In Zen Buddhism, the circle or the ensō is the supreme symbol of enlightenment. Traditionally, drawing the ensō requires spontaneity, and its creation involves the utmost freeing of the mind from any inhibitions, ultimately allowing the hands (and the entirety of the body) to be liberated from tension. A clear mind calmly yet fervidly situates itself in the arena of the present, reveling in expressive composure. Depicting the ensō is meditation in itself, for it manifests our innermost being, emancipating all our repressed thoughts and emotions. In Lao’s Thinking of Zen, the artist appropriates the ensō and renders it in an almost perfect manner (as opposed to its traditional depiction as an imperfect, open circle) as an implication of a human desire for perfection, as well as the ultimate knowledge and acceptance of the world as being inherently imbued in contradiction and struggle, and thus, the need for a dynamic meditation in which even the most mundane of activities become profound contemplation in themselves. Lao also employs grids in various areas of the composition. In cartography, grids determine the absolute location of a specific point on Earth using latitude and longitude. In doing so, Lao points out to a spiritual panorama of the psyche, in which his mind—and the artist himself— indulge in a captivating silence that becomes a revitalizing experience. Incisions that form delicate gradations resulting from Lao scratching the canvas with a pointed material evoke spontaneity, which in turn captures the artist letting the unbridled flow of his expressions gush from his inner being, “purifying” and “relieving” himself in the process in order for him to create such a masterpiece that becomes a balm for one’s being. These incisions also allude to a mind that straddles the boundaries between knowing and not knowing, learning and unlearning, strengths and flaws. Thus, we are transported back into the concept of the ensō, where the mind realizes the harmony of things and the body freely drinks and creates from the fountainhead of a realized peace and quiet. Lao’s Thinking of Zen encompasses an emancipating practice, a place of no inhibitions, of unbridled contemplation, towards a cathartic and transformative enlightenment. And as always, Lao shows us a disciplined spontaneity, distilling only the essential through an austere palette that overflows with an energy that is the spirit of soothing and empowering Zen. (Adrian Maranan)