SELECTED CURATINGS
IMAGRATION
25 March - 23 April, 2023
Gallery COMMON, Tokyo, Japan
Chang TingTong
Antone Könst
Felix Treadwell
Tseng ChienYing
Wu MeiChi
IMAGRATION
25 March - 23 April, 2023
Gallery COMMON，東京，日本
張碩尹
安通庫恩斯特
菲利克斯崔德威爾
曾建穎
吳美琪
View on Gallery COMMON
25 March - 23 April, 2023
Gallery COMMON, Tokyo, Japan
Chang TingTong
Antone Könst
Felix Treadwell
Tseng ChienYing
Wu MeiChi
IMAGRATION
25 March - 23 April, 2023
Gallery COMMON，東京，日本
張碩尹
安通庫恩斯特
菲利克斯崔德威爾
曾建穎
吳美琪
View on Gallery COMMON
Photo by Arito Nishiki, courtesy of Gallery COMMON and Each Modern
People have long utilized the symbolism of images to build status in relation to politics, religion, and culture. Through symbolism, images regulate the appearance of the world and dictacte how we behave. As the times have changed, however, even the symbolic nature of images has gradually faded and started losing its roots. We could easily attribute this to the information and image explosion, but we could also consider a more nuanced take by exploring the rise of populism and the disintegration of the elite class. This development has mixed up the positions of the image creators and receivers. High-end aesthetics attempt to dispense with images while others want to produce images massively. Asian sub-cultures in particular have a great fluidity of images. Perhaps due to a more open spiritual heritage, there is a greater emphasis on integration. As a result, the reproduction of images has shifted away from dogmatic symbolism and has become more focused on an intuitive lived experience. When these images overflow, the public, already paralyzed by traditional images, seems quick to accept them. This gives rise to a certain vision of the future, one in which we see the disappearance of all classes and groups defined by images, and the movement of human beings towards a new ideal society.
American artist Antone Könst’s magical, fairy-tale-like paintings and sculptures transcend borders, blending Western and Eastern imagery to depict anthropomorphized emotions. Könst’s visual lexicon, informed by his own history, is deeply personal and yet familiar by design, reimagining tropes of spiritualism, love, humor, and fear. His latest paintings in this show feature one of his most iconic motifs, the flower. Tseng ChienYing, who recently held a solo exhibition at Each Modern, is one of the leading representative artists of contemporary ink painting in Taiwan. His textural brushstrokes display distinctly Eastern techniques, but his intention is not fully about claiming the orient. With fashionable hairstyles, modern clothing, and relatable gestures, the contemporary figures in Tseng's paintings have the characteristics of both Western icons and Eastern divinity. By connecting the past, present, and future, the artist attempts to express a universal spirituality.
British artist Felix Treadwell often depicts childishness in his paintings. His new two-sided portraits contemplate the self-exploration of adolescents, who are often influenced by trendy cultural symbols and innocent childhood fantasies. The immature faces supported by growing bodies are covered in complicated patchworks of images, hovering on the boundary between determination and uncertainty. The image making process of Taiwanese artist Wu MeiChi is like a chemical experiment– through dissolution and reconstruction, her works abandon the study of mages’ identities, and instead pursue a more intuitive method of collage and representation. In this way, Wu can examine and break through the limitations of photography (and herself), using computer graphics as a catalyst to destroy and internalize, thus pursuing freedom.
Taiwanese artist Chang TingTong’s two new Vantablack ink paintings combine two- and three- dimensional spaces, inviting us to observe the “Multiverse” within: different star clusters are connected by wormholes, creating a shared world. The shōjo manga girl portrait refers to a Japanese cultural aesthetic that is now prevalent not just in Japan, but in many countries across the world. In a certain sense, this may exemplify the ideal coexistence of image, culture and ideology.
長久以來，人類使用圖像中符號意義來豎立狀態，觸及了政治、社會、宗教、文化，是人們生活行為的指標，規範著一個合乎常理的世界樣貌。然而在今日，即使圖像嚴謹的符號性隨時間變化，卻也逐 漸淡化並失去根源。我們可以簡單歸因於信息與影像爆炸，也可以複雜到去探究民粹的興起與菁英的 解體。該發展調換並揉合了圖像制定者與接收者的位置，被視為高端的設計美學試圖捨去圖像，而其他群體卻在大量地產出圖像。在亞洲，次文化可說是圖像流動最為蓬勃的群體，他們沒有了狹隘的精神傳承，更重於融合與使用。也因此，圖像的再產出跳脫了教條式的符號指向，更大程度著重在了更為直覺的生活經驗之上。當這些豐沛的圖像溢出時，早已對傳統圖像感到麻痹的大眾便快速地接納。這或許構成了對未來的某種想像（該想像並沒有定論）：所有被圖像定義劃分的階級與群體消失，人類也因圖像自由而邁向另一種理想社會。
美國藝術家安通庫恩斯特融合了西方與東方的圖像，他的繪畫與雕塑展現出超越國界、如神奇童話般的靜物與人像。在這些令人會心一笑的作品中，藝術家將情感與張力擬人化，詮釋著唯靈論、愛、幽默及恐懼。本次展出的兩件新作為藝術家最具代表性的主題之一－花卉；甫於亞紀畫廊舉辦個展的曾建穎，是台灣當代水墨最具代表性的藝術家之一，其作品具有濃厚的東方筆觸和材料質地，但其意並不在於全然地告知東方。他所繪畫中人們有著現代衣著與流行髮型，卻同時兼具西方聖像及東方神性的特徵。這是藝術家期望表述的普世精神性，貫穿了歷史、當下與未來。
英國藝術家菲利克斯崔德威爾經常在繪畫中描繪童趣。展覽中的兩件全新創作呈現了兩尊側身像，意圖探討青少年的自我形塑－來自外部的社會符號及來自童年的純真幻想－最終，稚嫩的臉部由龐大的身軀撐起，如同一張張圖像的拼布遍佈全身，徘徊在堅定與茫然的界線之上；在台灣藝術家吳美琪的手裡，圖像更像是經歷著一次次的化學實驗，關於溶解與再造。吳美琪對圖像的處理不再是對其身份的研考，而是更為直覺的拼貼與再現。在這樣的狀態裡，藝術家得以審視並突破攝影（自身）的框架，以電腦繪圖作為催化劑，破壞又內化，從而追尋自由。
最後，台灣藝術家張碩尹以奈米碳管黑墨（Vantablack ink）所繪製的兩件新作搓合了二維與三維， 邀請我們以全觀的視角觀察其中的「多元宇宙」：蟲洞在形狀與顏色各異的星團之間相通，不同的思想成為了一體。另一幅少女漫畫肖像則是一種源自日本、現盛行於世界的文化符號。這或許是圖像、文化與意識形態的理想共存樣貌。
American artist Antone Könst’s magical, fairy-tale-like paintings and sculptures transcend borders, blending Western and Eastern imagery to depict anthropomorphized emotions. Könst’s visual lexicon, informed by his own history, is deeply personal and yet familiar by design, reimagining tropes of spiritualism, love, humor, and fear. His latest paintings in this show feature one of his most iconic motifs, the flower. Tseng ChienYing, who recently held a solo exhibition at Each Modern, is one of the leading representative artists of contemporary ink painting in Taiwan. His textural brushstrokes display distinctly Eastern techniques, but his intention is not fully about claiming the orient. With fashionable hairstyles, modern clothing, and relatable gestures, the contemporary figures in Tseng's paintings have the characteristics of both Western icons and Eastern divinity. By connecting the past, present, and future, the artist attempts to express a universal spirituality.
British artist Felix Treadwell often depicts childishness in his paintings. His new two-sided portraits contemplate the self-exploration of adolescents, who are often influenced by trendy cultural symbols and innocent childhood fantasies. The immature faces supported by growing bodies are covered in complicated patchworks of images, hovering on the boundary between determination and uncertainty. The image making process of Taiwanese artist Wu MeiChi is like a chemical experiment– through dissolution and reconstruction, her works abandon the study of mages’ identities, and instead pursue a more intuitive method of collage and representation. In this way, Wu can examine and break through the limitations of photography (and herself), using computer graphics as a catalyst to destroy and internalize, thus pursuing freedom.
Taiwanese artist Chang TingTong’s two new Vantablack ink paintings combine two- and three- dimensional spaces, inviting us to observe the “Multiverse” within: different star clusters are connected by wormholes, creating a shared world. The shōjo manga girl portrait refers to a Japanese cultural aesthetic that is now prevalent not just in Japan, but in many countries across the world. In a certain sense, this may exemplify the ideal coexistence of image, culture and ideology.
長久以來，人類使用圖像中符號意義來豎立狀態，觸及了政治、社會、宗教、文化，是人們生活行為的指標，規範著一個合乎常理的世界樣貌。然而在今日，即使圖像嚴謹的符號性隨時間變化，卻也逐 漸淡化並失去根源。我們可以簡單歸因於信息與影像爆炸，也可以複雜到去探究民粹的興起與菁英的 解體。該發展調換並揉合了圖像制定者與接收者的位置，被視為高端的設計美學試圖捨去圖像，而其他群體卻在大量地產出圖像。在亞洲，次文化可說是圖像流動最為蓬勃的群體，他們沒有了狹隘的精神傳承，更重於融合與使用。也因此，圖像的再產出跳脫了教條式的符號指向，更大程度著重在了更為直覺的生活經驗之上。當這些豐沛的圖像溢出時，早已對傳統圖像感到麻痹的大眾便快速地接納。這或許構成了對未來的某種想像（該想像並沒有定論）：所有被圖像定義劃分的階級與群體消失，人類也因圖像自由而邁向另一種理想社會。
美國藝術家安通庫恩斯特融合了西方與東方的圖像，他的繪畫與雕塑展現出超越國界、如神奇童話般的靜物與人像。在這些令人會心一笑的作品中，藝術家將情感與張力擬人化，詮釋著唯靈論、愛、幽默及恐懼。本次展出的兩件新作為藝術家最具代表性的主題之一－花卉；甫於亞紀畫廊舉辦個展的曾建穎，是台灣當代水墨最具代表性的藝術家之一，其作品具有濃厚的東方筆觸和材料質地，但其意並不在於全然地告知東方。他所繪畫中人們有著現代衣著與流行髮型，卻同時兼具西方聖像及東方神性的特徵。這是藝術家期望表述的普世精神性，貫穿了歷史、當下與未來。
英國藝術家菲利克斯崔德威爾經常在繪畫中描繪童趣。展覽中的兩件全新創作呈現了兩尊側身像，意圖探討青少年的自我形塑－來自外部的社會符號及來自童年的純真幻想－最終，稚嫩的臉部由龐大的身軀撐起，如同一張張圖像的拼布遍佈全身，徘徊在堅定與茫然的界線之上；在台灣藝術家吳美琪的手裡，圖像更像是經歷著一次次的化學實驗，關於溶解與再造。吳美琪對圖像的處理不再是對其身份的研考，而是更為直覺的拼貼與再現。在這樣的狀態裡，藝術家得以審視並突破攝影（自身）的框架，以電腦繪圖作為催化劑，破壞又內化，從而追尋自由。
最後，台灣藝術家張碩尹以奈米碳管黑墨（Vantablack ink）所繪製的兩件新作搓合了二維與三維， 邀請我們以全觀的視角觀察其中的「多元宇宙」：蟲洞在形狀與顏色各異的星團之間相通，不同的思想成為了一體。另一幅少女漫畫肖像則是一種源自日本、現盛行於世界的文化符號。這或許是圖像、文化與意識形態的理想共存樣貌。
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
FEATURES
CURATING
PRESS
TEXT
CV
@lanchunghsuan
[email protected]
LAN CHUNG-HSUAN © 2024
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
FEATURES
CURATING
PRESS
TEXT
CV
@lanchunghsuan
[email protected]
LAN CHUNG-HSUAN © 2024