Page 8 - 2020 September 21 Elegant Embellishment the RenLu Colelction, Bonham NYC

The RenLu Collection is a love story. A collection of scholars works
of art, furniture, sculpture and jewelry accumulated through years of
acquiring one special object at a time. Each one a token of my father’s
devotion and love for my mother — or at least that was his justification.
My father is well known as a designer, with impeccable taste, and as
a creator of fine objects and furniture. He is also an avid student of
Chinese antiques and is always curious how they were created, what
motivated the maker, and how individual personality and character is
portrayed through the pieces. What most people do not know about
him is his love for Chinese gold jewelry. His passion started during
his business trips to China to work on his contemporary collections.
This passion soon became his favorite pastime. Since he is a “maker”
himself he was acutely aware, and in awe, of the intricate detail and
work in the jewelry. He would be delighted and find joy in the whimsy
and characteristics of each piece. He justified his collecting passion
by saying they were birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, and holiday gifts
for my mother - any reason to buy another special piece. Few people
have seen or know about this collection. My father is a very private
person, and that both insulates him and fosters a blissful naiveté of
pure pleasure for my parent’s collection.

From the craftsmen who create and communicate with their hands to
the scholars that study the objects, those are the people with whom
my father has an easy rapport. He is uncomfortable in the spotlight
and would much rather be in a lively discussion with craftsmen prob-
lem-solving and creating. He is able to ancient techniques to create
modern pieces that are relevant yet steeped with history. And in doing
so, he is considered an internationally renowned designer.
My father was raised in a family that revolved around art, and mak-
ing art is what he knows best. His father, Ming Chiao Kuo, was a
calligraphy artist whose paintings are in the permanent collection of
the Vatican Museum and the Natural History Museum in Taiwan. His
applied art (cloisonné) was collected by museums and also given as
diplomatic gifts to foreign visitors by Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Fam-
ily friends included people like Li De (artist/professor), Mo Tian (artist),
Max Chi Wai Liu (watercolor artist), Li Lin Can (vice director of National
Palace Museum), Ma Bai Sui, and my grandfather’s mentor Jiang Zhao
He who my grandfather lived with for 3 years before he left Beijing.
This collection is my father’s way of sharing part of himself with others,
his quirkiness, whimsy, joyfulness, and amazement at life - through
the stellar objects that live in this collection.

6 | BONHAMS