I am Lantian, formerly known as Lantian D, a Chinese-born artist living and working in London.
Centred on duality, Hortus Conclusus｜寓形於兩間 is an ongoing body of work anchored by two mutually illuminating titles: the Latin Hortus Conclusus (‘enclosed garden’), where enclosure paradoxically becomes a condition for creation, and the Taoist 寓形於兩間 (‘taking shape between the two’). Together, they articulate the series’ defining movement: form emerging between opposites. Over the past nine years, the work has become my way of understanding both the self and the world.
Now comprising 55 works, the project traverses the metaphysical, the psychological, the geopolitical, and the literary.
At its heart lies the journey of a modern individual in search of a soul — seeking meaning, faith, and the ideal amidst the currents of materialism and nihilism.
→ Catalogue
我是蘭天，生於中國，現居倫敦。
我的長篇創作《Hortus Conclusus｜寓形於兩間》，以兩個彼此映照的題名為軸：拉丁語 Hortus Conclusus「封閉的花園」——封閉，卻成為孕育與創造之所；道家「寓形於兩間」，則是萬物在陰陽正反之間成形、流轉。一西一東，二者共同指向我的創作宗旨：於對立之間見生成；透過繪畫觀照自我與世界。
歷經九年，現已包含55件作品，穿梭於形而上、心理、時政與文學之間，描繪一個現代人在物質主義與虛無主義的洪流中尋找靈魂的旅程——尋找意義、信仰與理想。
→ 圖錄
In life, I often find myself playing along; only in my work do I seek the real and the ideal.
Hortus Conclusus is my own Odyssey — to paint in order to know, and to know in order to paint. Art is my longing for wholeness.
My journey home, in search of a spiritual home, has only just begun. These are the shores I have touched, and the chapters along the way:
生活裡，我常感到被動和虛偽；唯有在作品中，才能尋獲真實與理想。
《寓形於兩間》是一部屬於我的《奧德賽》。以畫求知，以知作畫；藝術，是我對完整的嚮往。
我的歸途——一場尋找精神家園的漫長旅程——才剛剛開始。以下，是我曾停泊的港灣，沿途的章節：
Contemporary Themes as Subject Matter
當代議題作為繪畫對象
Some works draw inspiration from contemporary events, geopolitical developments, and public figures.
部分作品從當代議題、地緣政治與公共人物中汲取靈感。
Creative Diary
The text on these pages comes largely from my creative diaries, capturing my scattered thoughts on art and my evolving understanding of it.
On ‘Hortus Conclusus｜寓形於兩間’
The Flies: In Pursuit of Liberty
Everything, Nothing
The Great Mother
Puer Aeternus
The Inferior Predator
On Nihilism
Sidetracks
Rothko’s Suicide: The Danger of Too Much Abstraction
On Anselm Kiefer
Not by Abstraction, but by Analogy
Portraiture in the 21st Century
On Beauty
The Disciple
Sir Roger’s Donkey
創作日記
作品頁面的文字多摘自創作日記，記錄我對藝術的隨想與體悟。