Missing in Action

There is a painting hanging on my wall that I have had for 18 years. It has moved with me three times and has always had a place of honor in each location. It is a painting that gives me joy each time I look at it, which is usually everyday. I bought it in 1993 at the Cardinal Stritch Mile of Art show which no longer takes place but had a run of 25 years until 1997.

The driving force behind the Mile of Art show was Sister Thomasita , a nun from the order of Saint Francis of Assisi, director of the Cardinal Stritch art department and the owner of the renowned Studio San Damiano.

The juried show brought in artists of various media from all over, including the artist who did this one.  It has been such a treat to have in my home that I tried on numerous occasions to contact her, to no avail. Even with her old business card and the broad hand of the internet, my efforts led nowhere.

At the time, the artist hailed from Chicago, Illinois and did a number of beautiful paintings. The name on her business card was Rebecca Ming but she signed her painting  Yuan Zheng Wu, with Rebecca Ming below it. I would love to know where she is today, as her painting piques my curiosity. What was the inspiration for this work? Was it from somewhere in her history or an imagination? Who were the figures? Where was this place? Is what I envision correct, that of a seaside village somewhere on the vast coastline of China? Was it during the Cultural Revolution under the heavy hand of Mao?   Was she a child whose parents witnessed any of this? Did her family successfully escape the tyrannical rule and oppression of the time?  Or, is this my mind run wild with the intrigue of creating fiction?  I never stop wondering.

by Yuan Zheng Wu,  December 20,1992 , Ink on rice paper

This painting is something special. Among all her work in the traditional structure and palette of vivid reds, black and yellow, this stood alone, rendered in muted soft pastels in the more contemporary, loose flowing style seen here. It was so different, perhaps she didn’t think it would sell, as others passed it by in favor of the more traditional work she had on display, beautiful as well.  When I chose it, in soft spoken, but clear sincerity and modesty, she said ” Aah, you have a great sense of art”. That instant connection turned me into her patron at once;  I only wish I could find her now.