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By Eve Gilman, Office Assistant
Saint Louis University Museum of Art
Despite the unpleasant wintry weather, more than 150 people convened at the
Saint Louis University Museum of Art for the opening reception for Suspended
Marks on Saturday night, February 15, 2003. The exhibit features paintings,
videos and installations by Lampo Leong and Yueying Zhong, and was curated by
the artists and museum Director Nanette E. Boileau. The name, Suspended Marks,
refers to the site-specific installations of scrolls suspended from the ceiling,
marked by the artists in their unique ways with calligraphy and painting. The
evening was a successful homage not only to these two
talented artists, but to the Chinese Lantern Festival, which marks the end of the Chinese New Year
celebration.
As visitors walked into the museum, they saw a cluster of colorful red and gold
lanterns hanging in the center of the stairwell. This tribute to the Lantern
Festival was generously donated by the St. Louis Chinese Association. Inside the gallery, while enjoying the artwork on the
walls, guests partook of delicious eggrolls, steamed dumplings, and Chinese
cakes donated by the Chinese Culture and Education Foundation. The
St. Louis Chinese American News acted as a
liaison between the museum and these organizations, arranging for the food, music and
publicizing the event.
Another highlight of the evening was a musical
performance of four songs on the guzheng by Xiaoyu
Yan. Though just 14 years old, Yan, an eighth grader at
Parkway West Middle School, is a gifted musician and a skilled
performer. She was born in Shanghai, China, and has been playing the guzheng since she was
four. The musical understanding evident in her playing well surpassed her young
age and delighted the audience.
 
The two featured artists were both born and trained in China, but have been
living and working in Columbia, Missouri for the past several years. Lampo
Leong is an Assistant Professor of Fine Art at the University of
Missouri-Columbia. His style synthesizes classical calligraphy and modern techniques to
create his dynamic paintings, three-dimensional pieces, and performance art.
Leong's work is exhibited and has won awards worldwide. Yueying Zhong is a
former Associate Professor of Art at the Luxun Academy of Fine arts in China.
His paintings display a calm and meditative attitude towards nature and
landscape. This was especially apparent in the ethereal images produced by his
paintings on four translucent silk scrolls hanging down the center of his half
of the gallery. His paintings and art criticism are published across the United
States and China.
 
The exhibit runs through Sunday, March 23, 2003. The Saint Louis University
Museum of Art is located at 3663 Lindell Blvd. in St. Louis. Museum hours are
Tuesday-Sunday, 1-4pm. For more information, please call (314) 977-6630.
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