Lo Chan Peng’s Italian Rhapsody is presented by Corey Helford Gallery at CONTEXT Art Miami 2023, from 5 to 10 December, Booth B11.

On the work, Lo writes: “This painting grew out of a journey in search of Leonardo da Vinci — beginning in Paris, visiting the cities where he lived, all the way to Rome. Travelling through Italy, and especially in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, I noticed decorative borders everywhere. They began in architecture, where beams and columns framed the murals; once oil paintings could be moved, that movable border became part of the picture itself. In aristocratic buildings the borders carried each family’s emblems and stories — sometimes not carved but painted in gold, conjuring a convincing illusion. In that age there was also the notion of the ‘figure within the frame’ — usually the gods of Greek myth or the saints of Christianity.”