The Essence of European Culture and the Elegance of the East Chi Wing Lo’s sculpture simultaneously represents both a departure from European modernism and a continuation of ancient European cultural art. From this perspective, we can argue that when modernism and antiquity become distinguishable only by their developmental directions, the modern and the ancient acquire new meaning—each as an extension of the other in a continuum. This highlights the distinct and unique characteristics of Lo’s sculptures: a seamless fusion of Eastern elegance with the rich heritage of European culture.
In fact, the “modern Europe” of the 17th and 18th centuries was the result of the acculturation of “rudimentary Europe” from the 13th to the 16th centuries. During this process of acculturation, the Crusades were a major influence, facilitating the abundant infiltration of Eastern cultures, as well as Islamic and Greek civilizations. It is through an understanding of this cultural background that we can better grasp the heritage of European culture in Chi Wing Lo’s sculptures, and recognize that the elegance of the East had already been incorporated into European culture. Furthermore, Lo’s sculptures should not be interpreted merely as a baton carrying the heritage of European culture into modern European civilization; rather, they must be viewed and studied from the perspective of the roots of ancient Europe.
Therefore, when the general view is that European modernist art has an extremely limited origin, Lo’s sculptures may seem aberrant. However, if we have a clear understanding of how European civilization has progressed from ancient to modern times, we will see traces of ancient Greek culture and the Eastern cultures of Asia Minor embedded in European culture, unobstructed by the characteristics of European modernism. We will also recognize that Lo’s modern sculptures are a legacy of ancient European culture.
Eastern and Western cultures have long been intertwined. Therefore, as Lo’s art delves into the antiquity of European culture, it also captures the pulse of Eastern culture. By applying his innate sensibility, the elegance of the East and the modernism of Europe merge seamlessly. This is a prominent and unusual characteristic of his sculptures. His works clearly engage with an important, yet easily overlooked, period in the history of European civilization. Without recognizing or considering this, we cannot fully appreciate the unique cultural depth or the revelation of aesthetics in his sculptures. Any reference to changes in the present and the continuation of the past would merely be empty talk or a superficial
laurel of Eastern elegance and European heritage adorning Chi Wing Lo’s sculptures.
Our discussion has moved from the heritage of European culture to ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, not to search for the artistic origin or cultural roots of Lo’s sculptures, but to show that the sense of Eastern art in his sculptures is not tied to a simple or singular cultural origin. He has neither borrowed nor modified patterns from any specific artistic discipline. The forms of his creations are simple and pure; there is no direct reference to antiquity, yet the feeling of classicism abounds. They do not reference the present, yet the feeling is unmistakably contemporary. His works break the frame of time, blending past and present into one. While there is no doubt that his works are creations of the present, they also embrace the past and point to the future. Chi Wing Lo said of his own work: “They possess a demonic ambivalence, a perfect paradox that unlocks our finite perception.”
Lo’s sculptures evoke Greece and also recall what Bertrand Russell said about the Italian Renaissance: “It liberated educated men from the narrowness of medieval culture... By reviving the knowledge of the Greek world, it created a mental atmosphere in which it was again possible to rival Hellenic achievements...”
The Renaissance not only created modern Europe but also gave rise to modernism in the arts, shaping a new form of narrowness. Although the concept of modernism had been curbed in Europe by the mid-20th century, global post-industrialization has not fully parted ways with modernism. Instead, in post-industrial society, the cultural concepts and logic of modernism have remained mainstream. While “contemporary art” may seem to have distanced itself from modernism, it continues to be an extension of it, with modernism thriving in various new directions.
It was under these circumstances that Chi Wing Lo’s sculptures miraculously emerged, as if to liberate us from the narrow confines of the lingering remnants of modernism in the arts. Perhaps, following what Russell suggested, we can say that after modernism in the arts, Lo has created a completely different mental atmosphere: he has revived the aesthetics of Hellenic art, or perhaps even the aesthetics of ancient Egyptian art.
