August 2009: "Deena Gu Looks at Nature"

An exhibition of paintings by Falmouth and Philadelphia resident Deena Gu Laties was on display at the Maser Gallery at FCTV Community Television, 310 Dillingham Avenue, from August 2 - 30. RECEPTION: Sunday, August 2, 3 to 5 p.m.

Deena Gu Laties is an accomplished artist who melds aspects of western art with her Chinese training. Born in Shanghai, Deena Gu studied under famous Chinese painters Cheng Shifa and Tse Chen-Na. She continued her art studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts when she moved to the U.S. in the 1980s, fusing Chinese tradition with a western approach in terms of space, color and relationship.

The late renowned Philadelphia artist, Sam Maitin said, “In painting watercolor on silk, I find that her command of the medium is extensive and eloquent. It has an imperial, regal quality. She handles it so deftly and so expertly.”

Ms. Gu’s preferred painting medium is watercolor on silk. Silk is a traditional Chinese medium. Ms. Gu feels that the smoothness of silk exhibits the most exquisite colors. She also paints on rice paper as well as oils on canvas. “When I paint on silk, I feel a strong communication with its texture. Silk is like a part of me,” says Ms. Gu, whose subjects include landscapes, flowers - especially lotus blossoms - birds, as well as portraits. Her flower paintings are “disciplined, elegant and demonstrate technical refinement,” according to Derek Gillman, Executive director and President of The Barnes Foundation. The Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to "promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts." Located in a twelve-acre arboretum in Merion, Pennsylvania, the Foundation is home to one of the world's largest collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, with extensive holdings by Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir and Modigliani, as well as important examples of African sculpture.

Ms. Gu feels deeply about her heritage. “My soul is still purely Chinese. I always remember who I am and where I come from,” says Ms. Gu. “No matter what genre you are following, basic skills are forever the essence of your artistic life.”

As a lecturer and former teacher of watercolor technique at the Falmouth Artists Guild and calligraphy at the Valley Forge High School, Ms. Gu stays true to her philosophy. She particularly enjoys teaching Chinese kids adopted by American families the technique of Chinese painting.

Ms. Gu previously exhibited other works at Highfield Hall in Falmouth. Her artworks are in public collections including Columbia University, Washington and Lee University, National Liberty Museum,The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and in private collections of the UN Secretary General, Ambassador Wang Guangya, Princess Mishka Al Saud of Saudi Arabia among others.