Catherine Yi-Yu Cho Woo

Peace and Tranquility by Catherine Yi-Yu Cho Woo - The Art of Feng Shui

Circa 1980

Sublime Success by Catherine Yi-Yu Cho Woo Available sizes: 22" x 22" - Edition 5 of 99 A Blessing for "Sublime Success": One who views this Things will go smoothly. One who stu...

Various Gods of Wealth by Catherine Yi-Yu Cho Woo Available sizes: 22" x 22" - Edition 2 of 99 22" x 22" - Edition 21 of 99 Feng Shui - The Ancient Chinese Art of Placement Dr. Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo was a master of Feng Shui, the 4,000-year-old Chinese art of designing one's environment to maximize the flow of positive energy (ch'i). Dr. Woo believed that there is no separation of art, life, and Feng Shui. Her works therefore embrace and reflect a balance of the five elements in Chinese philosophy — metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. Building on these principles, she had channeled an insight into beauty and peacefulness into her works that has won praise from those seeking enlightenment, mainstream American corporations, and many others . As a disciple of Mizong Feng Shui, Dr. Woo maintained that the positioning of paintings within a room can have different effects on those who view the paintings. Displays of her works that respect Feng Shui principles, whether in public or in private homes, have been found to bring a sense of peace and tranquility. Artist Bio: Dr. Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo (1935 - 2021) Scholar, teacher, painter, poet, composer The Honorable Dr. Catherine Yi-yu Cho Woo was an accomplished poet, composer, painter, teacher, and writer. She was the first Asian American woman to serve on the National Council on the Arts, and was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts with an appointment as an Ambassador for the Arts. Dr. Woo's paintings have been shown in galleries and museums throughout Asia and the United States, including the United Nations, the Sackler Museum at Harvard University, and the National Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. One reviewer said, "To stand in front of Dr. Woo's work is to experience the stirrings of the heart, mind, and soul of nature, as if the paintings are alive. Trees and mountains breathe out peace. Splashes of color vibrate with the energy of life and movement. Her visually poetic paintings create a close relationship between the beauty of nature and its beholder." Born in Beijing to a family of classically-educated scholars, all four of Yi-yu's great-grandfathers earned Jin Shi...

The Forbidden City was built in 1406. With the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the entry of Qing troops, the Forbidden City became the core of the Qing Dynasty and gradually reached its peak in scale. After the last emperor...

This photography is part of a series of zen like beauty of Flowers art photography. In 3 sizes. This piece: Print size: 30 x 37.5 in. Image dimensions are 22 x 30 in. Matted in 8 ply museum archival matt. Ed of 15, signed, editioned on a Certificate of Authenticity by by photographer. About this series: With great patience and respect, the photographer observes the life cycle of the flower, viewing the subject much like a portrait photographer views a person, choosing the particular instance which in his view represents the essence of the flower. We feel the piece evokes a certain poetic, quiet, Zen beauty. The photographer was a London Central Saint Martins graduate and lived in a short spell in a monastery in Japan, and now primarily lives in Japan. ----- The artist was born in the UK in 1971, and after leaving Central Saint Martin’s in London in 1992, determined to explore a deeper sense of meaning, and contemplate life, he journeyed to Japan where he lived in a Zen Buddhist monastery and lived and studied in a temple in the mountains of Yamanashi for months, during which he studied Zen Buddhism and joined the monks in their daily prayers and routines. Over time, the subject matter for this series is borne out of a respect of the inner life of living things, Nature, in this instance and a sense of “mono no aware” (the art of impermanence). His artist vision has drawn influences from his Western artistic culture, Japanese classical aesthetics, and the 1933 classical text, “In Praise of Shadows” by Japanese literary titan, Junichiro Tanizaki (1886–1965). Tanizaki, as translated by scholars, examines the singular standards of Japanese aesthetics and their stark contrast with the value systems of the industrialized West. He writes: “We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates… Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.” “Shadows” presumably refers to the subtle interplay between light and darkness, not a stark dualism between black and white. Hence, the quiet beauty expressed in shadows of light and darkness as a living flower moves through the passage of life. The art of impermanence refers to a “pathos” (aware) of “things” (mono), deriving from their transience. The flower is a perfect metaphor for the expression of impermanence and beauty. Each flower has its own distinctive character and temperament, and is in constant dynamic motion. Through the passage of its life, it blossoms to its greatest peak, turning always towards the light until they eventually give up their petals. The artist documents this process through hundreds of images over time, essentially capturing the essence of the life of the subject. Both the visual aesthetic and process of his art calls to mind the transcient nature of things and reminds us to rejoice what we do have. In his gold series - Gold, in turn associated with the sacred, the divine, with supernatural powers and even immortality, has been recognized since ancient times in all the great civilizations as a noble material. Gold leaves have been used to decorate shrines, temples, statues, armor, jewelry since ancient times. At different times of the day, the light reflects off the gold differently as the day progresses, providing a visual context in which the celebration of life was captured. The artist has been recognized for his work for example, with a merit award at the Art Directors Club 87th Annual Awards N.Y. (2008). His work has been in group exhibitions as a runner up at the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Taylor Wessing London – Elle Commendation Portrait Awards, and at the Kiyosato Photo Art Museum in 1999. A successful photographer, the artist’s commercial clients include Adidas, Estee Lauder, Hugo Boss and shot celebrities for magazines / editorials featuring Sam Smith, Jeremy Renner, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Fincher, Zhang Ziyi...