JI-LIN, HUA is an expert at using thin layers of paint to create subtle changes on paper, tackling nuanced and intertwined interpersonal relationships. The artist’s past paintings mostly feature human figures, either with their heads bowed or lost in thought upon setting eyes on particular objects, rooted in classical references while being relevant to contemporary times. The references in the works are shown in the notes that the artist wrote herself. Although Hua’s past exhibitions also featured flowers, the works exhibited in recent years are still life illustrating flowers, tablecloths with prints, jade and rocks, ceramic objects, or independent calligraphy works. Although human figures are not seen in these works, the deliberately arranged flowers on the vases, the soft, crimpled tablecloths, and the small but seal-like rock that keeps the tablecloth in place, as well as the objects placed in the corners of the painting, all exude the warmth of the people who live there. The soft, extending, yet disconnected lines depict the clean outlines of the vase, conveying a sense of warmth, ease, and serenity. The calligraphy work showcased in this exhibition shows texts excerpted from popular songs such as Omnipotent Youth Society’s “Quarrying” and “Titmouse” and Faye Wong’s “Love Commandments.” The brushwork of the calligraphy is light, while the characters and words are profound, becoming imprinted in the mind once seen by the eyes.
YAN-YI TSENG’s works mostly feature human figures, and the artist mainly creates three-dimensional ceramic works. The human figures have an elongated silhouette, with extended necks and sloped shoulders, and seem plump at first glance. However, the details in the cheeks, where the collarbone meets the sternum, and where the abdominal lines recede into the navel endow these sculptures with a strong sense of vitality through changes in the skin surface and details. The artist does not capture physicality in these works but instead focuses on the feeling of fullness, like continuous waves, formed on the body's surface through breathing and exhalation, and the unceasing sense of life. In this sense, re-presented bodily proportions seem more like adding flesh to bone structure, constraining the sense of life. The upward-extending form and movement express a sense of spirituality that surpasses corporeality through the physical body. The lowered gaze, half-closed eyes, and slightly opened lips that seem to be about to say something reminds viewers of prophets’ or psychics’ low humming at the enlightenment of the divine. In contrast, the hairstyles and clothing of the figures are all simple, perhaps to guide viewers' gaze to the unassuming parts of the body that manifest the spirit of life.
Most of the works that MOBAI presents for this exhibition are mixed-media paintings featuring landscapes or interiors. MOBAI’s works have a wooden base with various mixed media, resulting in designs and textures that seem like bas-relief works, which are then added with painting pigment. The sturdy support of the wooden base allows textures that resemble oil painting and for employing bas-relief techniques according to the theme of the painting or to create frames for the work, achieving consistency in the inner and outer spaces. The calligraphy pigment is more like a dye, and when applied on the highly absorptive mixed media, the colors seep into the textures created on the surface, resulting in changes in color while enhancing visual tension. The textures and watermarks create an effect that seems connected and independent at the same time, reminding viewers of the thin, translucent pigments of frescos or large amounts of white paint that are thickly applied. However, when examined closely, viewers will realize that the textures vary. The landscapes showcased in this exhibition extend beyond the painting frame, while the mottled textures of the interiors and bas-relief methods create an ambiguous depth in the space.
The exhibition title “Luxuriant (“離離” in traditional Chinese)” is inspired by the saying “those millets are so luxuriant (離離)” in Classic of Poetry and describes the scene of fruitful abundance, while “My heart was sorrowful and grieved, sobbing in scattered pain” in Songs of Chu used the word “scattered (離離)” to express sadness, but the term may also mean vast, vague, intermittent, or delicate. The lowered flower buds and traces of ink in the works of JI-LIN, HUA, the subtle curves and countenance of vast and distant sorrow in the sculptures of YAN-YI TSENG, and the mottled textures and faint watermarks in the paintings of MOBAI all showcase different interpretations of the term “離離.”
Article by Yuchang Shen
