Double Square 双方藝廊

Double Square Gallery is delighted to announce the forthcoming group exhibition Engravings, taking place at the gallery from September 7 to October 5, 2024. The exhibition, features a distinguished selection of emerging printmaking artists from Taiwan, including Liu Shu-Yu, Yu Ya-Lan, Huang Yi-Ping, Hong Zi-Wei, and Lee Ping-Yi. This exhibition not only showcases the artists’ mastery and innovative application of both traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques but also underscore their profound understanding of the medium, Through diverse and creative approaches such as collagraph print on paper, lithography, and reduction oil woodcut, these artists challenge conventional forms of printmaking, offering fresh perspectives on art-making within a contemporary context and broadening the scope of artistic expression. By articulating the contemporary relevance of printmaking through their unique visual languages, the exhibition invites the audience to reflect upon and explore the evolving boundaries of art.

Engravings provides an alternative framework for examining the trajectory of Taiwanese printmaking. Originating with early religious engravings, printmaking later found practical applications in fields such as medical texts, anthologies of traditional Chinese drama, and almanacs, before evolving into a decorative art form that depicted a wide range of subjects, including cityscapes, current events, and folk customs. As the times have progressed, contemporary artists have transcended the narrative confines of traditional printmaking. By integrating interdisciplinary topics, mixed media, and various techniques, these artists have forged new expressive forms that reinterpret the art of printmaking. They blend contemporary Eastern and Western ideologies while incorporating their own observations and insights, exploring the subtle emotional interplay between the self and the environment, as well as between traditional regional and modern cultures. The definition of printmaking, as codified during the 1960 general assembly of the International Association of Art in Vienna, emphasized the significance of limited edition sizes. Consequently, a print must bear the artist’s signature, the edition size, and its number within the edition, adhering to standard market practices. However, in contemporary practice, the concept of multiplicity is no longer the exclusive criterion, with monotype printing increasingly garnering attention and discussion within the art world. Artists are now reinterpreting traditional techniques and challenging the convention of printmaking as a primary form of reproduction, exploring how the contemporary art world values the uniqueness and individual significance of printmaking while redefining its role in the modern art landscape.

Liu Shu-Yu employs collagraph and viscosity print techniques on paper to depict deconstructed architectural elements, urban landscapes, and social phenomena from everyday life. By isolating and recombining these elements, Liu adopts deconstruction and reassembly strategies to emphasize the autonomy of individual components and their roles within collective structures. This process signifies the artist’s reinterpretation of physical space and a profound exploration of urban culture and social architecture. Yu Ya-Lan’s work captures everyday emotions that are often inexpressible in words. Utilizing reduction oil woodcut techniques, her works accentuate the distinctive texture of wooden plates, evoking a serene, otherworldly atmosphere through intricate carving. These textures chronicle the evolution of emotions over time, preserving present memories while encapsulating each fleeting moment. Huang Yi-Ping uses lithographs to investigate the relationships between humans and spatial environments. Her works, characterized by rich, muted colors, skillfully convey the layered and dynamic nature of space, enhancing our understanding of spatial perception and transformation. Her practice not only represents physical space but also delves into the interaction between individuals and their surroundings, revealing complex visual and emotional dimensions.

Hong Zi-Wei’s artistic practice diverges from academic norms in collagraph printmaking. Employing sharp, pointed tools to craft simple, organic lines, she prints on transparent, lightweight paper, overlaying them onto vintage calendar sheets she has collected. The unadorned, elegant imagery of the calendars, combined with her prints, forms compelling compositions that transition from academic to folk culture. Hong draws inspiration from folk and religious art, reinterpreting household objects and auspicious symbols to reflect on memories of home and aspirations for an ideal life. Her work seeks to guide viewers in exploring sensory perception and emotional resonance. Lee Ping-Yi is renowned for her multicolored reduction oil woodcuts, characterized by delicate, nuanced hues. Her works mirror her emotional projections, observations of nature, and subconscious fantasies. Lee juxtaposes the “plates”—the creative vessel typically hidden from view—with the prints on paper, integrating the former into the artwork and creating “mirroring landscapes.” Each of her pieces comprises two components: one features a wooden plate with reduction linocut carving marks, revealing enduring natural scenes, while the other presents rich, layered prints. This juxtaposition challenges the traditional concept of printmaking as a multiple, constructing a dialogue between reality and illusion throughout the carving and layering processes, allowing a sense of tranquility to emerge from the mirrored images’ contrasting qualities.

This exhibition unites five young Taiwanese printmakers who employ traditional techniques and diverse creative approaches to challenge the established forms of printmaking and explore the notion of artistic value. Through their innovative experimentation with techniques and materials, they transcend conventional boundaries, demonstrating a distinctive and innovative spirit that bridges traditional and contemporary practices. Their works offer new perspectives on printmaking, ranging from nuanced emotional expression to intricate visual experimentation, reflecting the artists’ insights and observations on modern life and social issues. By showcasing these new-generation artists' efforts to balance traditional techniques with modern concepts, the exhibition emphasizes their unique styles while redefining the art of printmaking and its significance.