Artwork Description

Title:The Days Are Cold and Deep
Artist: Ping Tang
Date: 2016
Medium: Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions: 19.7 x 23.6 in (50 x 60 cm)

Artwork Identification
The Days Are Cold and Deep by Ping Tang is a contemplative work rendered on canvas, measuring 50 by 60 centimeters. The composition depicts desiccated lotus or water lily stems and fading blossoms, their skeletal forms elegantly articulated through delicate lines and subdued tonalities. The restrained palette and fragile contours evoke a poetic meditation on impermanence.

Artistic Style and Influences
The painting resonates with elements of traditional East Asian ink aesthetics—where negative space, linear subtlety, and tonal restraint carry symbolic weight—while embracing a contemporary sensibility through its mixed-media execution. Its minimalist ethos recalls literati painting traditions, yet the gestural fluidity and atmospheric depth suggest a dialogue with modernist approaches to abstraction and natural forms.

Historical Context
By choosing the motif of withering lotus stems, Tang engages with a theme deeply rooted in classical Chinese art and literature, where the lotus symbolizes purity and resilience amid decay. Reinterpreted in a modern idiom, the work reflects a broader cultural turn toward introspection and the transient beauty of nature, offering a visual counterpoint to the accelerated temporality of contemporary life.

Provenance and Authenticity
For detailed provenance information and certificates of authenticity, please contact the gallery directly.

Condition and Conservation
The work appears to be in excellent condition, with no visible abrasions, pigment loss, or structural distortion. The surface maintains its subtle tonal integrity and compositional clarity. Preventive care in humidity and light regulation is recommended to safeguard the delicate chromatic nuances.

Artistic Significance
The Days Are Cold and Deep exemplifies Ping Tang’s mastery in distilling the ephemeral into enduring form. Its synthesis of cultural symbolism and modern aesthetics makes it a work of profound lyrical resonance, ideal for collectors drawn to contemplative art that navigates the intersection of tradition and contemporary visual language.