Henri Rousseau had stated—if God truly is observing man from the heavens disinterestedly, then man should seek thyself while living in the world of uncertainty, and discover the value and the possibility of their own existence by holding a learning, questioning attitude toward every piece of knowledge about oneself.

The exhibition Mind, Minor Matter is titled according to my personal observation on and perception of the artist’s work throughout many years. The artist presents highly poetic works ever since his History of Plants series and his works strike you as if they are images from negative films. He has been constantly attempting an exceedingly inactive posture through his work, like an unknown, invisible author as his work is done. In the past, to provide perspectives on acknowledgment and seeing, many works referred to being-for-others. While the common technique in art academies of presenting artwork as a trendy, contemporary expression has often neglected the basic materialistic features of the work, in this exhibition, with a still attitude, art materials return as what they are themselves in the artist’s hand. It demonstrates the artist’s profound experience while he was facing his materials and canvas.

From merely natural elements to the existence of art form in canvas—the artist, albeit being an artist with an art school training background, persistently explores the materiality of/in his media during his creative process. While the materiality is transformed into created images—there is a conceptual attachment to the visible realm—this art may be more than a coexistence to its creator’s idea, but also becomes a difference, restored by concept and produced with artistic media via the artist’s concepts. As the artist had said himself, he intended to detach himself from the work. Perhaps for an artist his own work often disguises itself as another extension to his ego. Thus his work is also just a naked, personal expression by an artist, which wanders along the echoes of thoughts via the reproduction and the qualitative change in materialistic terms, and its purpose is to conquer the versatility of material in the name of art. Yet the artist portrays a submissive, humble view of life in the core of his art.

No material matter can be fully detached to human souls, the existential meaning of matter manifests ultimately through man’s soul. I believe it is the same logic—how God exists in every man’s heart and a man without the perception of his heart is merely a representation of the human body. As it is said by the existentialists, to understand oneself one must learn through inner experiences. The expression of artistic ideas ought to be a personal creation; those applied materials are not meant to be detached from the artwork itself, but to express a relationship of dialogue between man and his object via motionless presentation. As the artist himself once said: “My paintings are basically restoring the features of my media(materials) and, instead of using techniques as means to manage my materials, they have the materials as their own characteristics.”

Distance of light．Unknown land: Liao Chin-Hsiang Solo Exhibition

John Berger wrote in his book Ways of Seeing: ”Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.

“But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled.”

Thus painting is created under this uncertainty.

The core of my creation is about binary tension—subject versus object, continuity versus discontinuity and light versus shadow, as I search for the difference (which is unknown) that lies in the distance in between them.

Meanwhile the binary tension in subject/object, reality/fiction, continuity/discontinuity and light/shadow makes them one, for they do not exist against the other. The binary pair completes and complements each other.

And the uncertainty between them is a distance produced by time.

After piece of scenery (a realm unknown) is seen, it becomes a blurred image of memory, of picture and of painting. Now it is the painting itself.

As time goes by, I continuously force myself in a certain distance. Due to my curiosity to the unknown, I explored, experimented with and investigated the spontaneity created by automatism on my paintings in progress continuously. This is for the purpose of creating the possibility of a binary pair in tension. I ponder the distance between my thinking and my work; but this distance in itself is seeing.

The distance of light is not a discussion about light in physical aspect, nor is it the light from Western art history which is widely discussed. It signifies the distance that occurs in between a painting and the sight and mind of its viewer. It is the inner interpretation of the painting by its viewer.

I apply pearlescent silver paint for the purpose of forming this distance between viewers and paintings. This produces a polarized light effect on canvas, which varies at different viewing distance and angles. Due to this effect, viewers may shift their distance from the work and thus recognize this distance.

This awareness of distance may furthermore kindle their inner interpretation and senses, so that they can hold a dialogue or an interchange with the paintings.

The distance of light lies in between sight and soul.

Plasmodesmata: Solo Exhibition of Metal Handicraft by Hsiao-Meng Su

In the process of forming a unique style by acquiring skills on my creative journey, every reflection and each rearrangement of my works has surprised and moved me. I deem the marriage between Eastern culture and modern creations of metal handicraft a necessary condition to breathe new life into traditional metal handicraft. This tradition lasts only via a continuous transformation of rearranging customs. My quest is to maintain the existence value of my cultural root as I create a new style of art out of it.  Hence, in my late works, I continuously endeavor to combine my cultural background with these modern creations, as I probe into the historical context of metal handicraft culture, along with their connections to and differences from contemporary metal art work—including its historical meaning in the context of the traditional society and lifestyle, and the symbolic meaning of applying metal handicraft.