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Lillian Shao Return to Thumbnails Lillian Shao's training in the great Chinese art ofcalligraphy began at the age of six. Instructed by hergrandfather in her native country of Taiwan, she learnedmany of the various styles, including those of the Chin andHan dynasties, dating from the 3rd century B.C. and 4thcentury A.D. These early skills formed the foundation forher artistic development. The young Lillian spent much of her childhood drawing. Shethen started taking Chinese painting lessons. Soon theimages of the female form joined her calligraphy. By thetime she finished high school, the evolution toward hercurrent style had begun. She went on to study at NationalTaiwan University, and after her graduation in 1973, shecarried her dream of being an artist to the United States.In 1977, she received her MA from California StateUniversity, LA. Today, Ms. Shao's work is infused with many influences, fromboth East and West. Her compositions include elements of ArtDeco, Greek mythology, and Chinese poetry. Contemporarydesign and ancient art form combine to create herdistinctive style. Shao is one of the more recent in a long line of artists tosuccessfully cross over from the world of illustration. Thisthoroughly modern phenomenon was given a sense of legitimacyby the work of Andy Warhol, who, along with other popartists, permanently blurred the line between commercial and"fine" art. In the nineties, more specifically, we seefashion as art and art as fashion. With the untimely deathof Patrick Nagel, and the passing of Erte, Shao has becomethe standard bearer of this remarkably popular school of art. While Erte's beautifully styled women were often doll-like,and Nagel's women reflected the super polished and sleekstyle of the Seventies, Shao's women have a distinct senseof depth and feeling that engages the viewer at an emotionallevel. She conveys not merely an image, but also a mood; onethat is often mysterious and romantic. An air of grace, elegance, and mystery; a sense of theexotic; a glimpse of ephemeral beauty - this is the appealof Lillian Shao. . |