It looks for all the world like a picture set in a perfectly polished frame. The fine lines and details are so perfect, that it must be a picture, a photograph that captured the exact moment.

But the moment you hold these fine images in your hand, their weight tells you these are stones, delicately carved with vivid realism.

Lu Yuchen is a master of stone carving and has been working at it for more than 30 years. It is a traditional craft that his ancestors have always been involved with. Now this intricate, painstaking tradition rests solely with him.

Art for the ages, with a twist

The tradition has been in his family for four generations. His grandfather taught his father and his father taught him. Lu started learning at home, surrounded by the tools of trade.

He learned as an apprentice would, by looking at his father’s work, recreating his work, and then developed a new style that includes a blend of themes, both traditional and modern.

He has applied traditional stone carving skills and added new elements to the art, such as paintings. His work now integrates photography, painting and stone carving. His artworks are in two- and three-dimensions. It is an innovation that his father still does not approve. “He doesn’t like it that much,” he says.

The works’ motifs are varied. They may include carving typical themes seen throughout art from the mainland, but they also incorporate pictures, stylised images of women and men, as well as more abstract topics.

The variation in his work has seen them used as murals, stele portraits and desk ornaments. And they’re becoming more and more popular.

He matches stones to meet different purposes, depending on the effect he intends to create. For instance, when the details do not require additional emphasis or when he needs to paint, marble is the choice because it is the best stone to colour. If the work is three-dimensional, it has to be another stone.

The process is the one constant. First he hones and polishes the stone. Then he outlines the image and, finally, he creates lifelike carving using special tools that help give the intense final look.

Overseas Chinese preserve a legacy

Born in Suqian, Jiangsu province, Lu was 11 years old when he decided to follow the family tradition. “It’s an old-fashioned Chinese tradition. The son has to inherit the father’s business,” he says.

Now 46 years old, Lu knows his only son is not even remotely interested in learning the craft and does not intend to follow the tradition. He fears the worst. “I’m afraid there is no one to continue,” he says.

Although the family may not carry on Lu’s legacy, there is hope the skills of stone carving may be passed on. From his small shop in Suqian, he receives art students from Guangdong or Beijing. They want to watch and learn the craft. It makes him happy but he is not fulfilled.

While other stone carvers continue to work in the mainland, very few use images. That’s why people travel to Suqian to buy his work. “Even people from different countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore,” he says, explaining how he became famous after a solo exhibition in the Lion City.

This is his first visit to Macau and he is thrilled about it. For his appearance at Lou Kau Mansion until June 27 he has brought “special pieces that have foreign images” to reflect the city’s unique Portuguese heritage.

PRODUCTION OF CHINESE HANDICRAFTS

Schedule

Tuesday through Friday 12pm to 7pm

Weekends and public holidays from 10am to 7pm

Workshops

Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm 5pm

(excluding the final weekend of each show)

Workshops Fee

MOP20 per session

LOU KAU MANSION

Opening hours

Tuesday through Sunday and public holidays

from 9am to 7pm

Free guided tours by resident guides

Weekends and public holidays from 10:15am to 6:30pm (guided tours in Cantonese and Mandarin available every 45 mintues)

Address

No.7, Travessa da Sé

Information

(853)8399 6699