Soseki's Light

Buddha of the Setting Sun (Amida)
Gregg Chadwick
40"x32" oil on linen 2010
Private Collection Marina del Rey

One in an ongoing series of artworks inspired by the life and poetry of
the Japanese Zen monk, poet, scholar and garden designer Muso Soseki. I am indebted to the American poet W.S. Merwin for his masterful versions from the Japanese translations and for his kind words of inspiration to me at the Hammer Museum.

Temple of Eternal Light
by Muso Soseki
(1275 - 1351)

English version by
W. S. Merwin
Original Language
Japanese

Buddhist : Zen / Chan
14th Century

The mountain range
the stones in the water
all are strange and rare
The beautiful landscape
as we know
belongs to those who are like it
The upper worlds
the lower worlds
originally are one thing
There is not a bit of dust
there is only this still and full
perfect enlightenment


Portrait of Zen priest, poet and garden designer Musō Soseki

Peter Clothier's Review: "Monks"

Peter Clothier's new review of my work captures the soul and spirit of my art.

"There is an other-worldly quality to Gregg Chadwick's paintings, a sense of liberation from the bonds of gravity that define our physical existence. They celebrate the dedication of the monks they portray and convey some of the quiet joy that freedom from earthly needs invests in them. And yet, too, there is an elegiac tone, a kind of nostalgia for a manifestation of the purely spiritual that most of us can never hope to attain. The paintings are truly captivating in that they invite us irresistibly into their spaces and hold the attention there in their swirl of light and color, suggesting inexhaustible depths of experience for the eye to explore."
-Peter Clothier

Please read the full review here on Peter's site:
Monks by Peter Clothier

Peter Clothier has a long and distinguished career as an art writer, novelist and poet. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Artscene, ARTNews and other publications. Peter writes a daily weblog, The Buddha Diaries, and is a contributing blogger to The Huffington Post. He also hosts a monthly podcast entitled "The Art of Outrage," on ArtScene Visual Radio.

Peter Clothier's latest book is Persist.