Orchids of Chen Wu

The best exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago
are often the ones
I didn't expect to find....

Like the apparently random
rotation of things in the Chinese room.

The red bug,
pictured above,
was what first caught my eye








This painting was done by two well educated sisters
in the Qing Dynasty

(did they live in Prospect Garden with Lin Daiyu ?)

This piece feels so feminine,
as space collapses
in favor of precious detail.

Wouldn't this be a wonderful
silk embroidered design?




and then there's
this Ming dynasty floral,
"Flowers of the Four Seasons" from 1625 -
by Chen Jiayan (born 1539)

Space has returned,
as well as
a dynamic transition
of energy from left to right (or right to left)







But it's these 6 orchids (1832)
by Chen Wu
that made my day.





They're just breath taking.






Each one
a compact, balanced
self contained design,
like a character in calligraphy

and so ... so... spacious








Here's a wonderfully goofy detail





Sometimes
I feel these depictions of flowers
are more erotic
than any figure drawing can be






What a swoon!

I wish I knew more about this artist,
but "Chen Wu" is too common to Google.