The moving art of Lalan

She points out how the painting looks like an approximation of the yin-yang symbol. The canvas is divided into black and white halves, informed by the Daoist idea of binaries complementing each other.

The idea is less obvious in a painting called On the High Pass, 1979, in which faint outlines of mountain ranges appear against a pale background. Much of the canvas is left blank, while the image seems lit by its ambient luminosity.

A keen onlooker, however, might be able to appreciate the contrast between "the accent and the void," says Law. Although it looks empty, the painting, she says, represents "a complete landscape, including all the elements around us… like air and mist."

At Full Moon, 1984, makes a fine companion to High Pass. This too is a mountain landscape in pale colors with a huge full moon as the focal point. Both paintings are replete with literati features, as seen in their play with perspectives and tweaking of natural forms.