Unity in Diversity 異中求同 Galvanized steel, Glass object, Multi-channel video / 鍍鋅型鋼、玻璃物件、多頻道錄像 Size Variable / 視場地尺寸而定 2023
Material, Landscape, Dust and Light 物境與塵光 Date: December 19.2023 to March 3.2024 展期: 2023年12月19日至2024年3月3日 Venue: Hsinchu City Art Gallery 地點: 新竹市立美術館 ( Installation view of Material, Landscape, Dust and Light, Hsinchu City Art Gallery, 2023 )
Hsinchu is a city that gathered of talents, other than the contemporary concept of “art”, there are also “skills” that in the context of tradition. This exhibition is started from the concept of art and skills. On one hand, the term “art” is originated from the Latin word “Artem” which means skill or craft, to discuss the “art and skills” that created locally, on the other hand, the exhibition is also connected with the craft industry in Hsinchu (shell inlay and glass), attempt to explore Hsinchu’s renowned artists’ spirit and memory within their work from the technical aspect, through the transaction and extraction of material to substance and to the whole industry.
Due to the nature resources, climate and environment, Hsinchu’s industrial sector thrived in the Japanese colonial period. Other local craft industry also formed under the influence of industrial sector and livelihood sector. For example, glasswork in Hsinchu were born from the shift of class industry, furthermore, the development of two other types of craftsmanship, shell inlay and lacquer, are deeply connected to the planting of lacquer tree and wood furniture industry. Behind all this, Japanese brought in Vietnam lacquer tree and successfully planting in Taiwan during the colonial period, and it turned out to the result of the founding of Hsinchu lacquer factory and Riken Electric Corporation, it also conduced to the development of shell inlay in Hsinchu which associated with the lacquer and furniture production.
Along with the development of the skills been used in craft, the change of pattern of labor production has been showing. The craftsman is shifting from the massive production in the factory to personal studio, and led to art making. Under the context of “art and skill (craft)”, this exhibition is compiling craft works like glass and shell inlay and art collection from Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu City which contain work from east and west, using different material and category, representing living proof of various knowledge, time period and cultural history, yet individually they all have their own materiality, under the historical narrative they create the relationship between the medium and objects.
Using glass as the fundamental element in his work, artist Ting Chaong-Wen’s concept of work started from “light” and “see”. He referenced the precise optical technique of glass lens to human eyes which capture the surrounding world, also in the process of making glass lens, high temperature liquid glass cool down and turn into solid can be refer to the concept(fluid) turns into reality(solid) in the progress of art making. Also, Ting’s video installation that contain the concept of “frame”, from picture frame to the screen, trying to open the discussion of how framing (in the social science aspect) reflected in different artists’ style and their way of seeing, responding to three Hsinchu renowned artists, Ho Te-Lai (Ka Tokurai), Lee Tze-Fan and Xiao Ru-Song’s technique and style in their painting. Ting also collaborating with glass artist Cheng Ming-Fan for technical support. ( An excerpt from the museum website )