The Sky is White as Clay 2011

Lu Cong made this painting, The Sky is White as Clay, with oil. The whole thing has this dreamy, muted quality, like a memory fading at the edges. It’s the kind of palette that makes you think about what it means to capture a feeling, not just a likeness. The paint here is so smooth, almost porcelain-like. Look at the way the light catches the cheekbones. There is this incredible softness achieved through layers and layers of thin glazes, like veils over the canvas. It’s easy to get lost in the details, like the slight imperfections of the skin, which bring so much life to the face. The hair is looser, more gestural, which gives the painting this lovely contrast between precision and spontaneity. You can see echoes of artists like Gerhard Richter in the way Cong blurs the boundaries between realism and abstraction. Both artists create an atmosphere where clarity and ambiguity coexist, where the act of seeing becomes a question in itself.