Artwork Description

Title: Lotus Pond Plum Color
Artist: Wei Luning
Date: 2016
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 23.6 x 19.7 in (60 x 50 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Lotus Pond Plum Color presents a delicate, poetic interplay of winter branches and early blossoms rendered in oil on canvas. Executed in 2016, the work captures a transitional moment in nature—the fleeting emergence of plum blossoms against the muted tones of a pond landscape. With minimal gesture and sparse application, Wei Luning evokes both stillness and renewal, suggesting a contemplative space imbued with lyrical restraint.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Wei’s signature technique—blending impasto texturing with restrained tonal fields—finds quiet intensity in this piece. The plum blossoms, composed of thick dabs of pink and ivory oil, bloom from thin, sweeping branches drawn with confident, minimalist lines. Echoing the aesthetic philosophy of traditional Chinese painting, Lotus Pond Plum Color distills emotion into gesture, light, and spatial breathing, while also drawing from Western modernism’s appreciation for surface and abstraction.

3. Historical Context
Painted during a mature phase in Wei Luning’s career, this 2016 composition reflects his ongoing engagement with seasonal cycles and the symbolic resonance of floral imagery in Chinese art. The plum blossom—long associated with endurance, purity, and the arrival of spring—holds a revered place in both classical poetry and visual culture, making this work resonate with deep cultural undercurrents.

4. Provenance
Further provenance details available upon request.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The surface retains its original impasto relief and has no signs of damage, overpainting, or canvas distortion. It is well-suited for exhibition or collection display.

6. Artistic Significance
Lotus Pond Plum Color encapsulates the poetic minimalism that defines Wei Luning’s finest work. With quiet authority, the painting bridges East Asian aesthetics with contemporary material expression. Its subtle textures and emotive delicacy would appeal to collectors of lyrical realism and Asian modernism alike.