Extract from: Beyond the Stage of Time, Volume I Realised Realms. The Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat

7 Foreword I am grateful to several people who helped in the production of these two volumes. Pete Suart, who not only wrote a delightfully appropriate essay for the fi rst volume, but also designed, edited, proofread and delivered the two into the world. Sean Geer, one of the very few editors I have ever worked with for whom I have never envisaged bodily harm. Sebastian Turner, my studio assistant in Hong Kong, for collating the information and chasing down with relentless good grace the endless details involved, and for some of the photography. My nephew, Nick Moss, for his masterly tech systems that have allowed me to keep track of the works over the years in a complex database, and for his photography. Mark French, also for a good deal of photography. All my artist friends over the past several decades who have encouraged me, taught me, and above all inspired me to join their ranks. Finally, Yifawn Lee of Orientations Magazine who took time o ff from running the universe in order to work with Pete Suart in printing these volumes. I am also extremely grateful to the gallerists and agents who have encouraged my aspirations as an artist over the years: James Hsu of Ping Art Space, who has organ- ised exhibitions in Taipei and Beijing; Gladys Chung (Zhong Jiaxian), Zeng Fanzhi and his brother Zeng Fanggang for their interest and support in organising the 2016 exhibition at Yiyuan Art Space, Wuhan; Nicolas Chow of Sotheby’s, who has included my works in his auctions over the years; Meeseen Loong, also formerly of Sotheby’s and organiser of the S| 2 exhibitions of contemporary ink painting in New York; Craig Yi of Ink Studio, Beijing, who organised an exhibition in New York in 2018 at the J. J. Lally Gallery—to the owner of which I am also grateful for his long-term support; Ng Kaiyuen of KY Fine Art, Hong Kong; and fi nally Nader Rasti of Rasti Chinese Art, Hong Kong, who also generously undertook the role of publisher. We have divided the works into two volumes, one related primarily to landscapes and fi gure paintings, all imaginary and mostly representing otherworldly intent, the other to the playthings of the in fl uential minority of rulers, scholars, monks and hermits, mostly walking staves, strange stones, incense burners and ruyi sceptres. Each volume is then chronologically ordered. Th e designation AK 8 represents everything produced in 2008 or earlier, and from then on each year is designated sequentially, AK 9 , AK 10 , and so forth.