Essence Ablution: Inks, Brushes and Embodiment of YUAN Hui-Li’s Shanshui Painting, installation view, 2024, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Courtesy of the artist.
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
80 Meishuguan Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Essence Ablution: Inks, Brushes and Embodiment of YUAN Hui-Li’s Shanshui Painting
Date｜08.31-12.22.2024
(Press release by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts.)
"Yuan Shu" (元漱) on one hand shares the same pronunciation as the artist YUAN Hui-Li's pseudonym "YUAN Shu", and on the other hand refers to the starting point of the creator's ink and wash paintings, where she reinterprets contemporary ink painting through the perspective and consciousness of the female body.
The exhibition " Essence Ablution: Inks, Brushes and Embodiment of YUAN Hui-Li’s Shanshui Painting " lays out the evolution of the artist's creations over 30 years through the lens of the female body/feminine writing, demonstrating how women use their bodies and emotional journeys to portray new styles in contemporary ink painting.
The exhibition works begin with the " Discrete Islands ", where the artist first explored the relationship between brush, ink, and materials, establishing her "Blocky Shanshui " style. This showcases the artist's artistic insights and experiences at different periods.
The exhibition works begin with the " Discrete Islands ", where the artist first explored the relationship between brush, ink, and materials, establishing her "Blocky Shanshui " style. This showcases the artist's artistic insights and experiences at different periods.
Starting from the " Discrete Islands ", the artist's "Blocky Shanshui " structure is further reconstructed with diverse meanings in the " THEY Shanshui ". After creating her own type of landscape textures using software, the artist produced replicas of ancient paintings or original images in the " PS. THEY ", reflecting the consciousness and observations of the contemporary era.
Continuing the exploration of " THEY Shanshui ", artist in "Intrinsic Potential Landscape" further attempts to create a contemporary visual effect within the brush and ink.
Cross beyond the visual perception, the artist extends her contemplation and expression of "ink" through bodily perception. Works such as "Ice Ink" , where the cold ink ice accompanied by the resonating sound of singing bowls spreads on Xuan paper into a black-and-white video piece, and " Fiery Ink " , which transforms wet ink in response to climate change into burnt and smoky ash, showcase YUAN Hui-Li's practice of sensorial body aesthetics.
From the practice of sensorial body aesthetics, looking back at the work " Manual of Yuan’s Texturizing Strokes " , which extended from " THEY Shanshui " ,allows audience to understand how feminine writing transforms traditional texture methods that reference external nature into abstract symbols referring to female inner emotions.
Reflecting on YUAN Hui-Li's 30 years of artistic practice from the perspective of bodily perception, one can see how the artist uses feminine writing to transform traditional texture methods that reference external nature into abstract symbols that refer to female inner emotions.
Continuing the exploration of " THEY Shanshui ", artist in "Intrinsic Potential Landscape" further attempts to create a contemporary visual effect within the brush and ink.
Cross beyond the visual perception, the artist extends her contemplation and expression of "ink" through bodily perception. Works such as "Ice Ink" , where the cold ink ice accompanied by the resonating sound of singing bowls spreads on Xuan paper into a black-and-white video piece, and " Fiery Ink " , which transforms wet ink in response to climate change into burnt and smoky ash, showcase YUAN Hui-Li's practice of sensorial body aesthetics.
From the practice of sensorial body aesthetics, looking back at the work " Manual of Yuan’s Texturizing Strokes " , which extended from " THEY Shanshui " ,allows audience to understand how feminine writing transforms traditional texture methods that reference external nature into abstract symbols referring to female inner emotions.
Reflecting on YUAN Hui-Li's 30 years of artistic practice from the perspective of bodily perception, one can see how the artist uses feminine writing to transform traditional texture methods that reference external nature into abstract symbols that refer to female inner emotions.
