Depiction – between representation and the real
The ancient poets, in writing their poems, built their literary forms on emotion, while later poets, in writing their fu and sung, created emotion to fit literary forms. How do we know this is so? Because the rise of the feng and ya was due to the fact that the ancient poets, full of real emotions and opinions, sang of these emotions and opinions in satirical remonstrances against their superiors: this is what is meant by building literary forms on emotion. The philosophers, on the contrary, felt no real frustration, but indulged in exaggerated ornamentation merely for the sake of winning fame and fishing for worldly glory: this is what is meant by creating emotion to fit a literary form. A literary piece will be pertinent, simple, and realistic, if it is based on feeling; but if it aims merely at literary achievement, though it may have deceptively alluring charm, it will be prolix and diffuse. —“Emotion and Literary Expression,” The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons
Double Square Gallery is delighted to present Depiction—between representation and the Real, which will run from February 19 to April 2, 2022. The group exhibition features four Taiwanese artists born around 1980, namely Wang Liang-Yin, Lu Hao-Yuan, Kuo Yen-Fu, and Huang Hua-Chen, to tease out a certain collective context of contemporary painters from their generation through their works, which reflect their individual feelings and emotions via varying media and create poignant narrative characteristics with rich imageries. In their respective painting vocabularies, these artists expose the realities hidden beneath common appearances to strike a resonance within the minds of spectators; and in the context of this exhibition, we call it “depicting the real,” or simply “depiction.”
The inspiration of Depiction originates from the chapter, titled “Emotion and Literary Expression,” in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Xie, a writer from the Chinese Southern dynasties. In this chapter, the author discusses the relationship between classical literary texts and emotions: in order to avoid merely creating emotions to fit creative forms, a work of art must come from genuine feelings and emotions to convey a sense of reality. Themed on “depiction,” the exhibition examines the narrative context of narrative approaches and genuine emotions in contemporary painting, exploring how such narrative context conveys abstract yet memorable personal life experiences and warmth via concrete imageries. The exhibition is curated around the art practices of four mid-generation artists from Taiwan, whose works respectively express feelings and emotions projected unto objects, show reservation of feelings towards their own lives, demonstrate connection between images in memory and life experiences, and visualize a sense of uneasiness towards relationships and the surrounding environment. Their works reflect how they view themselves and the world. As for the layout of the exhibition, Depiction unveils an exhibition space based on the classical salon exhibition, in which the four artists’ works are juxtaposed and displayed alternately, interweaving a dialogue in the gallery and constructing an intertextuality in the space to immerse the spectator in a feeling of weaving different time and space together.
Wang Liang-Yin specializes in utilizing highly watery paint to cover the depicted toys with intensely vibrant colors, through which feelings seem to overflow constantly with colorful paint. She infuses indescribable emotions in her paintings, which reflect her own uneasiness towards relationships or the surrounding environment. In Balance Practicing, although both clowns wear a joyful smiles on their faces, they are placed in an extremely nerve-wrecking state, a delicate balance in which their necks are literally hanging on threads and they could accidentally hurt each other. The painting is a manifestation of the artist’s anxiety of human interaction and relationship. Lu Hao-Yuan utilizes mostly realistic techniques to compose his paintings that revolve around plants or old objects in his personal collection, unto which he projects his own feelings to create situations informed by his personal indulgence and fascination, turning objects into symbols that harbor various meanings. Linger is inspired by a conversation between the artist and his friends about “cherishing things” (惜物), which plays on the Taiwanese pronunciation of “物” (object, thing) that sounds like “夢” (dream) in Taiwanese. The artist therefore links this romantic situation to an old porcelain dog in his collection, transforming the object into a concrete image in a scenario that is both dream-like yet realistic at the same time. To Lu, from the existence of an object, its arrangement, to the presentation, they all carry unique meanings and feelings.
Kuo Yen-Fu does not confine himself to certain techniques and often uses the arrangement of a bold and free palette to create his paintings. Drawing artistic ideas from his childhood life experiences, such as his family’s video rental business or memories of his childhood surroundings, the possession of these experiences, or a lack for that matter, have directly provided him with emotional support and creative inspiration. Consequently, the images he delineates are mostly taken from cinematic classics or broadcasts of sports events, all of which not only represent his nostalgic remembrances of childhood life but also straightforwardly portray the collective memories of an entire era. The Days We Spent Together is inspired by the horse-riding club near the home of the artist’s maternal grandfather in childhood. Spectators can perceive the artist’s deepfelt feelings from the unison of the horse and the jockey, the muscular lines of the galloping and jumping horse, and even the crisp rhythm of horseshoes clanging on the ground, all so vividly expressed in the painting. Huang Hua-Chen’s paintings display refined and fluid lines with a clear, distinct palette, revealing tender lusters in reserved, elegant compositions. His works solidly condense the fragile human emotions, the tenderness she receives, her resolute faith in religion, as well as an inner journey of embracing one’s courage step by step. Her painting series, In Wilderness, which comprises blurry yet somewhat familiar sceneries, portrays her personal experience of feeling lost in an inner wilderness, which becomes a gradual process of refining herself and finding comfort and courage as she realizes her own limits and feels being enveloped in a sense of tenderness.
Depiction brings together four artists to gaze retrospectively from personal feelings and emotions into the life experiences and collective memories of an era, allowing the audience to see again realistic documentation amidst the superficial appearances of fast technologies, consumption civilization and the virtual world through the concrete, lyrical, nostalgic and dream-like visual tension presented by the artists.
