Existing comment:
Little Artist
This portrait of Hung Liu's son Ling Chen (born 1978) is based on a snapshot that a friend took while visiting Liu's family in Beijing around 1980. The image captured the toddler after he had drawn in chalk on the concrete floor. It was a revelation for Liu to see the power of a candid photograph of her child in contrast to the posed studio portraits that her mother had orchestrated during Liu's youth.
Memories of such quotidian moments exist vividly, even monumentally, in Liu's mind. Her translation of a spontaneous moment from a small black-and-white snapshot to a larger-than-life colorful portrait emphasizes the poignant tension between time, memory, and the ongoing intimacy of a mother-son bond through the years.
Oil on canvas, 1998
Bill and Christy Gautreaux Collection |