Ceng Lou

Ceng Lou is a signed, limited-edition silkscreen print by Wu Guanzhong, with only 62 impressions produced worldwide. “I have often been drawn to painting densely packed urban dwellings or tightly clustered mountain villages. Their beauty lies precisely in that sense of close arrangement and irregular rhythm.” — On the Formal Beauty of Painting In the 1990s, Wu was invited to Hong Kong to paint from life, where the city revealed its vibrancy beneath dazzling neon lights. Amid the constant flow of traffic, the beauty of its towering buildings often goes unnoticed. Through lines of varying weight, he outlines a forest of high-rises; through blocks of shifting intensity, he constructs depth and spatial layering; and through dots of differing forms, he evokes the multitude of households within the city. The composition pursues a refined simplicity through geometric arrangement, capturing the dynamic density of an urban skyline. Contrasts of horizontal and vertical, black and white, articulate a sense of order and balance. Accents of red, yellow and other lively hues punctuate the monochrome architecture, infusing the cityscape with a quiet vitality.