Friday, August 11, 2023
Lau Chun paintings
Sophia,
I wonder if any original Lau Chun paintings were burned in Maui. I know, it’s a small thing given the death and destruction. But still, I was wondering that today after looking at more photos of Lahaina.
There were plenty of art galleries on Front Street. I know your mother and I spent a long time in Sargent’s Art Gallery, which was directly across the street from Cheeseburger in Paradise. The gallery was totally destroyed. I even checked their website to see if they had any original Lau Chun paintings. I didn’t see any in their inventory, but you never know.
Does your mom even talk about Lau Chun at all anymore? I assume you know what I’m talking about, but I can’t be sure. Your mom really liked a painter in Hawaii named Lau Chun. She was selling his paintings at Nana Lee’s art gallery when we met. I’ve met Lau Chun several times; he lives in Honolulu. Anyway, most of his paintings that you see hanging on walls are giclées. It’s a fancy French word that basically means it’s a copy. They’re excellent copies, but nevertheless, still copies. Rarely, the original is available for sale. They’re much more expensive. And obviously, they’re one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable.
Once in a while, some art gallery somewhere would have an original Lau Chun for sale. Is there a painting in your house of a girl on a beach? That’s a Lau Chun original. The girl in the painting is actually your mother when she was much younger.
Believe it or not, for a long time, the background screen on my phone has been his painting “Waimanalo” (which, by the way, at this writing, August 11, 2023, is for sale on eBay – the ORIGINAL is for sale! – for $9000).