08 Nov 2019 Art Taipei
Presence and Trajectory – the unpresentable reality
18-21 October 2019
Participating Artists : Li Tingting, Cheuk Ka-Wai, Cheng Tan-Shan
“Modernity, in what age it appears, cannot exist without a shattering of belief and without discovery of the “lack of reality” of reality, together with the invention of the other realities.”
Jean-François Lyotard
Jean-François Lyotard states that “To present the fact that the unpresentable exists, to make visible that there is something which we can conceived and which can neither be seen nor made visible” whilst discussing the works of Kazimir Malevich, aiming to liberate and present the existence of the objects that cannot be presented. The development of consumerism and materialism as well as the popularisation of digital imagery and the internet in the contemporary let to the neglect of the reality of daily routines, sceneries and sentimentalities of one’s life.
These hidden matters occur on a daily basis yet are not presented figuratively; they have left their marks yet not really existed, creating gaps that are never addressed. Daguan Gallery presents the works by four female artists – Li Tingting, Cheng Tan Shan, Zhang Xioli and Cheuk Ka Wai – with the exhibition titled “Presence and Trajectory – the unpresentable reality” to explore the reality of life.
The various elements such as subject, technique, medium, size, colour and form included in Li Tingting’s works are to encourage the audience to break away from the norm they recognise. Through crisscrossing between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the spectators are inspired to be imaginative and see endless possibilities in art.
Cheng Tan Shan takes inspiration from “A Room of One’s Own”, excluding traditional subjects and present household objects such as clothes, accessories and cookware in her works, as well as bath accessories and other personal items in her paintings, creating an intimate peek into the artist’s private life.
The “mobile landscapes” by Zhang Xiaoli combine together small accessories such as folding fans and products from post-industrialisation period, creating innovative art works, giving landscape art a new existence and meaning in the fast -developing world. The green landscapes and waters are no longer limited to backgrounds of fairy tales but have become part of the consumer society.
Cheuk Ka Wai creates an imaginary kingdom, beginning a journey to the mythical world with creatures from fairy tales and pictures generated with artistic merits, and contemplate on one’s life in boundless time. Under the surface of various endearing creatures lay the examination of philosophy of life. Each painting is the picture of the life of men, encountering what is meant to come in one’s life. On the other hand, just like Zhuang Zhou dreams of himself as a butterfly, can one really differentiate reality from illusion?
In the time of mainstream post-modernism, the centre collapses, the canons evaporate, and structured sensibilities break down. Through the variant works by these four artists, Daguan Gallery aims to explore and search for the “reality without figurative”.