Event: Alannala Lau: It's Blooming!

Date: May 14- 31, 2003

Grotto Fine Art takes pleasure in presenting a special exhibition "Alannala Lau: It's Blooming" to send a positive message to Hong Kong amidst the current somber situation. Featuring new works by the locally born and bred artist, this exhibition shows how traditional floral motifs can be interpreted in a contemporary language and medium. "Alannala Lau: It's Blooming" is on view at the gallery from 14 May through 31 May 2003.

Alannala Lau's work centered on floral motifs. Peonies, chrysanthemums or roses are prominently featured on all his canvases. Lau's flowers possess power and energy and they radiate through their petals, stems and backdrop. Flower represents life and vitality, its growth and blossom being seen as the cycles of life.

In traditional Chinese art, flowers played an important role in assuming one's Confucian virtue. For instance, chrysanthemum is one of the four gentlemen in classical literati tradition, symbolizing the implicit value of determination and perseverance. Alannala Lau's work takes roots from this tradition but at the same time redefines its symbolism in a contemporary context. Dabbling between abstract and objective art, Lau's flower is a celebration of life.

Alannala Lau was born in 1965 in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994 majoring in fine art. He has been an independent curator and program officer for the Hong Kong Arts Centre. In 2002, Lau was artist-in-resident at the Vermont Studio Center, USA under the Freeman Fellowship. The works of Lau can be found at the Town Imaizumi Museum of Niigata, Japan, the Vermont Studio Center and the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Geneva and Brussels.