Double Square 双方藝廊

Double Square Gallery is delighted to present a new group exhibition titled Material Metamorphosis, which will run from February 15 to April 5, 2025. The exhibition will showcase six distinguished artists from both Taiwan and abroad, including Peter Gentenaar, Yunghsu Hsu, Miyuki Yokomizo, Chiharu Shiota, Yuchih Ludy Huang, and Mia Liu. By highlighting the transformations and extensions of materials in contemporary artistic creation, the exhibition explores the dynamic interactions between materials and various elements, such as space, time, the body, nature, and memory.

Contemporary art challenges conventional views of materials, expanding artistic expressions from painting and installations to sculpture through converting and creating materials. Mia Liu’s work continues her innovative practice that integrates flat surfaces with space by employing techniques such as cutting, folding, and gluing, effectively turning paper—a static, two-dimensional medium—into dynamically structured artworks. Creating large, net-like forms crafted from rice noodles, which symbolize dreams, she merges material transformation with emotional depth. Similarly, Chiharu Shiota’s State of Being series offers poetic interpretations through spatial installations constructed from layers of intertwined threads. In State of Being (Child’s Dress), white threads envelop a white dress, representing purity and new beginnings while hinting at ends and mortality. Meanwhile, in State of Being (Buddha), black threads surround a Buddha statue, establishing a tranquil space resembling a memory network that fosters a meditative ambiance. These intertwined threads, reminiscent of natural textures, bear witness to the passage of time and life’s weight, metamorphosing personal memories into broader cosmic contemplation.

Yuchih Ludy Huang weaves metal wire, seeking a balance between delicacy and strength. What seems to be a soft, lightweight sculpture is, in fact, made up of multiple layers of intertwined metal wires. Her work demonstrates a dialogue between rigidity and flexibility, as well as lightness and weight in the material, creating a spatial atmosphere that is dynamic and vibrant. It evolves along with light and shadow, growing naturally like a plant. Under the light, the metal glimmers with a subtle radiance, allowing viewers to observe the gently shifting changes in light and shadow as their perspectives alter. This fosters an organic interaction between the space and the observer, highlighting the material’s resilience and inclusiveness. Yunghsu Hsu works with clay as his medium, employing physical methods like pressing and pinching to shape it into organic, free forms. He frees the clay from traditional constraints, closely linking his bodily actions with the material’s reactions, creating a dynamic dialogue between himself and the material during the creative process. Conversely, Miyuki Yokomizo adopts a sculptural painting approach that blends natural elements with art actions, highlighting the tension between the contingent and the controllable. She fastens screws and threads to the canvas, applying paint in a spray-like fashion, which generates visually rich effects that evoke sculptural depth and the interplay of light and shadow, effectively blurring the boundary between painting and sculpture. Peter Gentenaar concentrates on the inherent qualities of plant fibers, utilizing specialized machines to transform them into thread-like strands floating on water, allowing them to curl and change naturally as they dry. His paper sculptures, characterized by intricate folds and textures, resemble natural landscapes and flowing water, transcending the limitations of paper pulp as a static medium and imbuing it with a vibrant sense of dynamism and vitality.

These artists’works investigate the relationships among material, body, space, and nature from their distinctive viewpoints. Mia Liu imbues materials with an intricate sense of space and structure through delicate craftsmanship. Chiharu Shiota transforms threads into poetic visual expressions of memory and emotion. Yuchih Ludy Huang adopts a flexible approach to metal weaving. Yunghsu Hsu uses bodily actions to challenge the rigid forms of clay. Miyuki Yokomizo fosters a dialogue of light and space through the organic flow of paint and lines. Peter Gentenaar captures natural vitality using plant fibers. The alteration of materials and the creation of forms not only blur the lines between painting and sculpture but also act as vital mediums for contemplating the connections among space, time, and the body. These artworks redefine the significance of materials in art, highlighting diverse dialogues between artistic expression and ideas while ushering in new possibilities in the exchange between art and nature, as well as the body and thoughts.