Artist Interview (3)
“Art Revolution Taipei 2017” Artist Interview (3)
This interview includes nine artists:
(1) China Zhang Yuying,
(2) Slovakia Michal Straška,
(3) Taiwan Wei Chi-I,
(4) Taiwan ANO,
(5) Spain Manuel López Herrera,
(6) China Lin Geng Cong,
(7) Japan Emi Uchida,
(8) Taiwan Liao Mei-Lan,
(9) Taiwan Ma Sing Ling + Luna Chen (cross-arts cooperation, trio Ma XinLing + Chen YiXin, collaborative work of four artists).
Artists devote their deepest and sincerest passion to their creations. With such persistent enthusiasm, their works are full of stories and power to touch people’s hearts!
Thanks to Art Revolution Taipei, I am very lucky to participate every year since the first year back in 2011.
I was born in the mountains of northern Qinhuangdao, Hebei. My family raised a lot of animals. I went to a university in the South. After graduation, I began to find my own creative focus, and finally landed on my memories from childhood- my hometown, farmland, animals and hard-working people.
My first painting was about people laboring on the farm, with donkeys, cattle all around. I believe no matter how the environment changes, people's pursuit of the good and pure nature of life is the same. Overtime, I gradually put my main focus on animals, through which I express my understanding of the current society.
I brought the animal series to the exhibition the first year. With the changes in my creativity, as well as the request from the A.R.T. to the artists. Every year I have asked myself to make creative changes to my works, including the layout, the main theme of animal. This year I also bring new works to the exhibition.
I have the most appreciation this year and thank A.R.T. for providing the artists with such a good platform. A.R.T. organizes the exhibition to perfection, from every detail, publicity, including the entire layout of the exhibition site. As an artist, I should double my efforts to create more and better works, to give back to the majority of the audience, thank you!
When I was studying in the university, I was not taking notes in my classes, but doing some sketching. If it was not finished during class, I would finish it after class. After that I painted a lot of pictures of many countries, based on what I saw in my mind.
The first painting was a picture of my friend, a very small painting, a photo on the identity card, a fun painting at school. Many of my friends asked me to draw their photos into a portrait. After drawing, more friends came to me for paintings. They were surprised and said: "Oh, this is your painting?" I painted piece after piece. I also painted the country and nature. I just continued to paint.
Pencil is the tool I use to create. I used pencils in school for sketching. Even now, I still use pencils. The pencil is a popular tool, which is very inexpensive. Young students are using it, and perhaps one day, they may also become artists.
This piece is based on the scene of the Eastern District of Taipei. When I returned to Guandu, I saw the night view of the city in the rain and felt that the scene was great. Then I expressed my feelings for the night view in the rain, combining with the metropolitan in the painting album.
My art is all related to life. I grew up in the country. For example, this painting of chicken is from my childhood when I lived with chickens. I also like this work. The domestic fowls are the main characters, behind which an old lady is picking up vegetables. As the saying goes, "Start up, Start up", " which pronounced like “chicken" in Taiwanese. So I enjoy using chickens as my theme.
This painting is of cattle and is the largest piece exhibiting. It shows the scene in which people in the country are going home in the dusk, with a lifestyle of going out to work at sunrise and going back home at sunset. In the upper right corner is a group of swallows, creating a literary, lyrical atmosphere ~ ~ At dusk, the sun sets, bullock cart is moving slowly toward home, the birds are going home. I love to create and am particularly keen, sensitive, to want to preserve these images, to present a literary, poetic nature. I also want to give people a warm feeling, rather than a superficial picture only ~ Thank you.
The theme of my work this year is the aspiration with which it all started. I happen to bring my works from 2011. This painting is my favorite piece. I collected those goodies from games I played years ago, and put them together. I have always wanted to find a lot of my favorite treasures. I want to collect them to put them together, just like this creation, full of adventurous spirit.
"I am the Graffiti ANO" is another series, drawn with glitter and glue. The glitter is very similar to the spray paint I used in graffiti, except that it is more shiny. This work is about the dog in the dollar store next to my home. This is the cutest dog that I have ever met. Though it is already more than ten years old, it is still very cute. I want to use this concept to draw a universe, to express that it is the cutest dog in the universe. There are a lot of sequins, glitter on it, presenting a cutesy style, and the effect of glittering film presented in a photo booth.
Lu Zhiwen, Mickey Huang and myself, have collaborated together for five consecutive years. We have always been a three-person-team. This creation uses the electronic products or small packaging that Mickey used before to display on the canvas, to appear as if it’s building a house. And then we added colors to the concept.
As for this artwork, inside has a camera, driving recorder, tape. The concept is to record memory, hence, the theme is called memory, storing many colorful memories inside.
The works I brought this year, have the characters from last time, and I added colorful flowers to look warm and bright, and leaves an impression. Last year since I went back to Spain, my wife found out that she had a tumor, and has been going to doctors. Later due to the successful treatment, she her health recovered. My mood also became relaxed. I felt very happy and so I added flowers elements in the painting. The bright colors are just like my life being full of hope again.
This is my third year coming to A.R.T. We like Taipei, so last year I hoped my wife could get well quickly, could be able to come to Taipei to participate in the exhibition again. Taipei makes us feel very familiar with this place. It is the kind of feeling of returning to the second home. Although we only come once a year, because I have been constantly creating new works, it is like I have been always thinking about here all the time. So in fact I feel very familiar with Taipei.
I never liked studying when I was going to school. I would always draw in my notebook in class. I’ve always known that I wanted to be an artist. In my teenage years I began to go to museum to copy others’ work diligently and with great enthusiasm. This year I am already 70 years old. I know that I have been walking on this road properly, and have always maintained the same passion for painting, and even more devoted to painting now than ever before!
Through painting, I hope to express not only feelings, but also things that are inexpressible. I did not know the first time I came to Taipei whether people here will like or accept my paintings. And later I found that I worried too much. My paintings are very well accepted by most of the audience. I hope people can see my paintings, and not only feel happy, but also that positive energy inspired in their heart by the works. Thank you for A.R.T. and all the staff here. I have been coming for three years, and I feel that the arrangements are always very considerate. I hope to continue to participate in the exhibition next year.
I am presenting "Dunhuang Series" this year, using the wood carvings of Buddha image in the late Tang Dynasty and early Song Dynasty. I hope that these works pass down the ingenuity and spirit of the folk artists of that time. Their absolute purity deserves to be the model for future generations.
The ones from Dunhuang are collected in museums. Through these works, we can understand the high level of technical art, as indicated in an ancient statement "The remnant wood can be carved to present the divinity of God." Their technics also reflects the economic, political situations at that time. All different factors combined to create such fine artworks of Buddha statue.
When engaged in anything, whether it is art, sculpture or modern oil painting, we want to have a very pure and simple mind, not to have any negative impact. Art is art. It is very pure. There is no other thing to be mixed in it.
It is a great honor to come to Art Revolution Taipei, which provides me a platform to exhibit my works. To conclude, I simple want to say thank you.
I am honored to participate in Art Revolution Taipei for the second time. My works are characterized by the use of silk wave lines in the process. I am the only one to use this technique in the world.
The opportunity to create this kind of work began 10 years ago. When I was sketching scenery, someone saw the sketch book and said to me: "Your line is very unique, very interesting." Having heard those words, I suddenly came to realize: "Ah ~ this kind of line is my specialty." After that, I decided to fully develop using lines into my artwork, and continue to pursue in such a way.
The base of my work is stacked with a lot of layers of oil paint. Although at first sight it seems very thin, in fact, because it has so many overlapping layers, the color contrast between the spaces will naturally bring out the depth, becoming very beautiful works. If you wear 3D glasses to appreciate the works, the color contrast will be even more clear, which is very interesting, and will bring out a different perception. Please make sure you give it a try. Thank you ^ ^
From my first solo exhibition in 1999 to now, I carry with me one of the most important themes, that is, concern for life and humanity. I choose people as the main subjects of my art because other images are not as direct in interpreting the concern for life and could not easily touch people’s heart. From the beginning, I have been diligent in creating figurative painting.
I often depict people in middle and lower classes, their families, the feelings between husband and wife, parent and child. This is a very important aspect that I focus most of my energy and heart. I hope that my paintings can bring the audience emotional resonance, that when they see the figures in the painting, the viewer can think of all the beautiful things in their own lives, or that they are reminded of their families, friends and relatives, that they can cherish the happiness of the moment. Although those moments may be ordinary, but are the most precious treasures in the world.
I think the artists should have a sense of social responsibility and mission, and not just solely create pretty and decorative displays to be put on the shelf. Along the way, my heart has not changed. It is my hope that the audience can feel this message.
In addition to ink painting, I am also engaged in calligraphic works, as well as seal carving, watercolor, glue painting. The ancient literati focuses on poetry, writing, painting, calligraphy and everything. I would like to excel in all these categories. This ink painting is depicting my mother, who is 80 years old. Every year at the Dragon Boat Festival, she rises early to the market to buy the food and ingredients back home to wrap rice dumplings with bamboo leaves. We asked her not to do this anymore, because it such hard work, but she insists on the making rice dumplings. When we try to help her, she often calls us clumsy, but she is also very happy to be so capable in front of her grandchildren. My mother's rice dumplings are the best in the world, which cannot be bought outside. So I depicted her in this painting.
In this piece, the old man is someone who loves to read. The old lady beside him keeps talking to him. The old man continues his reading, while still carefully listening to what the wife is saying. He gazes at her~ ~ This is the deepest and sincerest affection that I have been yearning for in life. I hope I can feel this kind of affection forever and hope that the viewer can see the love in this painting, as if seeing their own parents, that they can go back to accompany them more often, or can cherish the moments in their lives.
Ma Sing Ling is not just the name of our artist group, in fact, it is a concept of creation. We wanted to convey a concept of art collaboration. When we first started creating "Form of Unity", we were hoping to unite the strength of three people and to put aside our adherence to the ego, instead we wanted to achieve a spirit of beyond the self as stated in Buddhist doctrines and present an integrated, harmonious and successful work of art.
We have worked as a team for seven years, still committed to our original mission. Luna Chen joined our team as the fourth artist, to create a new series "Magnificent Wonder World". It is hoped through this mentality of "unity of art" and to achieve the spirit beyond self, that miraculous beauty will result.
We have a very special aspect in our artwork this year. Professor Lee Sun-Don saw our collaboration project, “Magnificent Wonder World", and was delighted that the work was beyond his expectation. He believes that because the four of us have a foundation in Buddhist practice, our works portray the current state of our minds and practice. He then added totems to the painting that represented our current level of cultivation, which also served as a confirmation and verification of our Buddhist practice. So this series hold great significance to us.
Luna Chen says, "This is the first time I have worked with the trio Ma Sing Ling. I think it is very special to have four people together to complete a painting, which is very difficult because we have to achieve a very harmonious state. We are blessed that we can all be together in the studio to work and paint. The emotions and tacit understanding between us is special, so we can create these beautiful paintings.