Chen Tao-MingPost date：2023-12-06
Updates：2024-04-11
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- Event Time
- 2023-12-05~2024-01-13Tue. - Sat. 11:00 -18:30
- Event Location
- 1F, No.16, Dongfeng St, Da'an Dist., Taipei City Taiwan, R.O.C
Lin & Lin Gallery is pleased to present the solo exhibition Chen Tao-Ming in December. As a founding member of the Ton-Fan Group, Chen was one of the first to focus on the abstract painting and the development of its techniques. He opened up a new horizon for abstract art through the refinement of creative language and the use of contrasting materials. The exhibition showcases a comprehensive selection of works from different periods of Chen’s painting career, including oil paintings from his early years, acrylic and mixed media works from the 1970s and 1980s, brightly colored sketches on paper from the 1990s, and acrylic paintings on canvas and paper from his later years. At the exhibition, viewers are invited to experience the vibrations of the colors and textures in the time of suspension.
“I use abstract symbols as a narrative language
For what my language cannot reach or what languages cannot tell.
” —Chen Tao-Ming
Influenced by Paul Klee in his early career, Chen used geometric and architectural elements in his works, responding to the post-war trend towards abstraction in global painting. Around 1955, he introduced the oracle bone inscriptions as a formative line, using abstract brushstrokes to capture the inspiration of consciousness and express his reinterpretation of Chinese traditional culture. Chen mixed wood oil with mineral pigments to create paintings with the mottled texture of antiquity. His work is full of contrasts between Eastern and Western painting strategies and materials, harmonized by the integration of ‘time’ into visual expression and the processing of media.
After the 1970s, Chen made use of the fluidity of water-based paints such as acrylics and watercolors to generate atlas-like tableaus vibrating with musical rhythms. The colors of his works became brighter and warmer. At the same time, he used automatism to break the boundaries of rationality and control, and to allow a freer access to the space and time, resulting in a dreamy and poetic style of expression.
In the use of materials and experimentation, Chen developed a unique style of expression and a distinctive personality. In addition to the paintings featuring colors, light and dark, texture and block representation, his works on paper also reflect his exploration of lines expression and the rapidity or the delicate movements of Chinese calligraphy. The fusion of Eastern and Western cultures is echoed in the artist's commentary on his calligraphic work: "Seeking artistic breakthroughs from both the inside and the outside, I devote myself to the pursuit of infinite passion for ink, brushstrokes, and the worldview. Based on the pure and simple painting elements such as color, light and shadow, together with the rapid flow of lines and unrestrained brushstrokes of Chinese ink painting, the movement of nature and the throbbing of life are reproduced in an invisible way through the sense of light. The calligraphy and musical meanings are transformed."
Chen's later works were concerned with the removal of form and the emphasis on momentum. The reduction of geometric compositions and tangible symbols has led to a greater focus on the expression of vibrancy. With soft and lyrical color, he sculptured a microcosm through layers of paint. The concrete matters and abstract momentum come to clash on the canvas to allow the mind to freely wander in time, reflecting his inner vibrancy of life and the capture of time, which is a poetic representation of oriental aesthetics.
“I use abstract symbols as a narrative language
For what my language cannot reach or what languages cannot tell.
” —Chen Tao-Ming
Influenced by Paul Klee in his early career, Chen used geometric and architectural elements in his works, responding to the post-war trend towards abstraction in global painting. Around 1955, he introduced the oracle bone inscriptions as a formative line, using abstract brushstrokes to capture the inspiration of consciousness and express his reinterpretation of Chinese traditional culture. Chen mixed wood oil with mineral pigments to create paintings with the mottled texture of antiquity. His work is full of contrasts between Eastern and Western painting strategies and materials, harmonized by the integration of ‘time’ into visual expression and the processing of media.
After the 1970s, Chen made use of the fluidity of water-based paints such as acrylics and watercolors to generate atlas-like tableaus vibrating with musical rhythms. The colors of his works became brighter and warmer. At the same time, he used automatism to break the boundaries of rationality and control, and to allow a freer access to the space and time, resulting in a dreamy and poetic style of expression.
In the use of materials and experimentation, Chen developed a unique style of expression and a distinctive personality. In addition to the paintings featuring colors, light and dark, texture and block representation, his works on paper also reflect his exploration of lines expression and the rapidity or the delicate movements of Chinese calligraphy. The fusion of Eastern and Western cultures is echoed in the artist's commentary on his calligraphic work: "Seeking artistic breakthroughs from both the inside and the outside, I devote myself to the pursuit of infinite passion for ink, brushstrokes, and the worldview. Based on the pure and simple painting elements such as color, light and shadow, together with the rapid flow of lines and unrestrained brushstrokes of Chinese ink painting, the movement of nature and the throbbing of life are reproduced in an invisible way through the sense of light. The calligraphy and musical meanings are transformed."
Chen's later works were concerned with the removal of form and the emphasis on momentum. The reduction of geometric compositions and tangible symbols has led to a greater focus on the expression of vibrancy. With soft and lyrical color, he sculptured a microcosm through layers of paint. The concrete matters and abstract momentum come to clash on the canvas to allow the mind to freely wander in time, reflecting his inner vibrancy of life and the capture of time, which is a poetic representation of oriental aesthetics.
