現狀與未來


現狀與未來I──郭振昌、蘇旺伸、李俊賢三人展

展覽時間:2015/04/04~05/10

開幕茶會:2015/04/11下午三點



現狀與未來II ──黃海欣、周代焌、顏妤庭

展覽時間:2015/05/16~06/14

開幕茶會:2015/05/16下午三點


策展人:王嘉驥 Chia Chi Jason WANG


台灣當代繪畫自1987年解嚴之後,曾經掀起一段以批判和解構為手段,積極反映社會乃至政治現況的創作高峰期。進入21世紀之後,台灣政壇結構雖然歷經變革,黨派分化反倒熾熱化,不同政治利益思惟的鬥爭與傾軋更是史無前例。明顯地,社會並未朝向樂觀可期的明日發展。近期眾多民生事件甚至凸顯了台灣全民幾已陷入一種無政府的渾沌與絕望心態。

反映在創作上,持續關注台灣政經社會議題的資深藝術家,仍大有人在。後解嚴時期成長的年輕世代,自1990年代末期以來,不避諱喃喃自語,以自身作為取暖,或是藏匿的場域,餒於正面與社會或政治亂象交鋒的「御宅族」(otaku)式創作,蔚為一時風氣,更與資深世代形成鮮明對比。

直到近期,台灣政治出奇地快速崩壞,社會內憂外患,兩岸經濟此消彼長,差異快速擴大,加劇民生惶惶的處境。官方為了讓兩岸服貿協定強渡關山,意外釀成前所未見的2014年「318學運」。立法院成為學生抗爭運動下的攻佔之地,據守長達二十餘天,行政院甚至曾一度淪陷。學生在惡劣現實中的覺醒,連帶激發不少青年創作者開始進行相關議題的創作。儘管如此,就以近幾年的觀察來看,年輕世代的繪畫與社會、政治議題脫節的現象仍然嚴重,創作萎弱的趨勢甚至昭然若揭。學運即使帶來某種效應,一時還無法反映為深刻的繪畫藝術。

《現狀與未來》策劃展意圖聚焦繪畫創作,觀察台灣藝術家如何回應近期的台灣景況,從中發現他們對台灣現狀與未來的觀點、見解,乃至於憂懼。同時,為了更方便看出世代差異,第一檔以資深藝術家為展出對象,受邀的郭振昌(
1949年生)、蘇旺伸(1956年生)、李俊賢(1957年生),都是自解嚴以來,長期以藝術創作觀察台灣社會變化的重要代表者。第二檔的年輕世代畫家,則是黃海欣(1984年生)、周代焌(1986年生)、顏妤庭(1989年生),都屬於當代藝術「學院化」之後的台灣繪畫生力軍。值得一提的是,資深世代的女藝術家較少直接以政治和社會議題作為訴求;年輕世代較有不同,更多女性藝術家──譬如,展中的黃海欣和顏妤庭──勇於參與這類主題的思考與貢獻,值得注意並鼓勵。


《現狀與未來》的主題頗大,礙於邀展的「小畫廊」空間稍有侷限,只能盡量做到小中現大的取樣之效;不過,還是期待看到藝術家各有精到之處。透過小畫廊此次展覽,策展人也希望以此拋磚引玉,再度引起藝壇,尤其是年輕世代投身繪畫,有意以繪畫為志業的後繼者,繼續以藝術觀照並反思台灣的現況及其未來。






What Is & What Will Be, IJ. C. KUO, SU Wong-Shen, and Jiunshyan LEE

What Is & What Will Be, IIHai-Hsin HUANG, CHOU Tai-Chun, and YEN Yu-Ting


Curated by Chia Chi Jason WANG


After martial law was lifted in 1987, Taiwanese contemporary painting experienced a buoyant surge in creativity, vigorously reflecting the current conditions of society and politics by means of criticism and deconstruction. Yet despite structural reforms, since the dawn of the 21st century Taiwanese partisan politics have become ever more fervently polarized, with struggle and strife among different political interests and ideologies rising to historically unprecedented levels. Quite clearly, society has not moved in the direction of a bright tomorrow. Recently, numerous incidents in civil society have even underscored that the Taiwanese people have descended into anarchic disorder and a mindset of hopelessness.

In the realm of art, many senior artists have still continued to focus concern on Taiwan’s political, economic and social issues. Yet beginning in the late 1990s, an “otaku” style of art – agoraphobic and self-absorbed – came into vogue among the younger generation who grew up in the post-martial law era. Prone to navel-gazing, drawing warmth from their own private realities or hiding in certain locales, they have been loath to confront social or political maladies head-on, forming a stark contrast with the generation before them.

Recently, however, Taiwanese politics has collapsed with exceptional swiftness. Society is beset with troubles within and without. While China’s economy waxes, Taiwan’s wanes, and the gap is rapidly widening, worsening the people’s state of panic. Seeking to force the passage of a cross-strait trade agreement, Taiwan’s officials unintentionally gave birth to the unprecedented March 18 Student Movement of 2014. The Legislative Yuan became the site of occupation by protesting students for more than 20 days. The Cabinet Building even fell into their hands for a time. The awakening of students to harsh reality spurred numerous young artists to engage with the same issues in their art. Be this as it may, from what may be observed in recent years, the phenomenon of young artists disconnecting themselves from social and political subjects in their paintings is still severely pronounced. The tendency toward creative anemia is abundantly clear. Even though the student movement generated a certain effect, in the short term it has not been reflected in paintings of depth.

Concentrating on creations in the medium of paint, “What Is & What Will Be” holds the curatorial aspiration of scrutinizing how Taiwanese artists have responded to Taiwan’s recent circumstances and discovered their own perspectives, interpretations and even fears regarding Taiwan’s current state and its future. In order to more conveniently view the disparity between generations, the first segment of the exhibition focuses on the senior artists J.C. KUO (born 1949), SU Wong-Shen (born 1956) and Jiunshyan LEE (born 1957). All are major representative painters who have long been observing the changes in Taiwanese society since the lifting of martial law. The second segment features the young artists Hai-Hsin HUANG (born 1984), CHOU Tai-Chun (born 1986) and Yu-Ting YEN (born 1980). All are rising stars of Taiwanese painting who have entered the field following the “academization” of contemporary art. Worth mentioning is that women artists of the older generation have relatively seldom directly addressed political or social issues, but in the younger generation this is less the case, as more women artists – for example, Hai-Hsin Huang and Yu-Ting Yen in this exhibition – are bravely pondering this realm of discourse and making contributions to it. This is a trend worthy of attention and encouragement.

The themes explored in “What Is & What Will Be” are vast, yet the space available at the host venue, Show Gallery, is somewhat limited. Thus, by presenting a sampling of the artists’ works, we can only do our best to achieve the effect of scale in miniature. Yet we also anticipate viewing the distinctive essences of each artist. Through this exhibition at Show Gallery, the curator hopes to plant a small seed that may one day yield a fuller harvest, to encourage the art community, especially those of the younger generation dedicating themselves to painting, those successors who consciously embrace painting as their vocation, to continue, through their art, to illuminate and muse on what Taiwan is and what it will become.