羲之堂 Xi Zhi Tang Gallery

“The Imagery of Calligraphy” refers to the imagery of the written word, and the imagery has infinite room for expansion. The works are not obsessed with the similarity and dissimilarity of external objects but emphasize their spiritual meaning. In order to develop creativity and innovation, the artists start from the traditional Chinese characters, with a profound and thorough grasp of the calligraphy style, display the boldness and broadness from the delicacy of the characters, unfold the dialectical relationship between tradition and modernity, and permeate all of these components on paper.

The digital form of the internet generation, the variation of lifestyle, and the wave of contemporary art have brought new challenges to traditional artistic expression and unearthed other impacts and possibilities. Since the 20th century, the doctrines and genres of Western painting have had an unprecedented dialogue with Eastern art. Regardless of Eastern and Western media, they can generally be distinguished through the form of a picture, such as figurative, abstract, sketching, freehand, and so on. Although the art of Chinese characters uses words as expressive elements, it does not always take the meaning of the text as the core of its expression. It often conveys a calligrapher's psychology or certain spirituality through the choice of fonts, spatial arrangement, and writing techniques.

According to Immanuel Kant, "...in all free arts, there is yet requisite something compulsory or, as it is called, mechanism, without which the spirit, which must be free in art and which alone inspires the work, would have no body and would evaporate altogether…" The mechanical aspect here refers to the skill and repetition in artistic creation. Any skill requires long-term training to master the so-called "mechanism" - that is, skills and proficiency, - and then finally to achieve the state of creating art with ease and freedom. Lin Chang-hu and Cheng Daile both graduated from the Chinese Painting Group of the Department of Fine Arts of National Taiwan Normal University (Grade 66 and Grade 68). They both were taught by Lin Yushan, Lu Foting, Wang Zhuangwei, Wang Beiyue, and other professors when they were in school. They all were awarded first place in the Chinese painting group when they graduated. Excellent and solid academic art training in the early stage is an important cornerstone for their future art creation.

In Lin Chang-hu's works, a large number of Chinese characters are often written on the picture, and the arrangement of the ink echoes with the images. The elements of the painting are applied to the expression of Chinese character art, forming his unique style. In addition, most of his works are written in seal script and cursive script, however, they are not limited to the arrangement of classical rules but are freely combined and written like painting with a brush, and added painting techniques such as rendering, contrasting actual and visual scenes, and deconstructing shapes, creating a peculiar taste. In his work "Mirror Flower, Water Moon", for example, he presents the water moon as an image, and then writes the word "Mirror Flower" in light ink, giving people an illusory feeling of being in the flow, echoing the semantic meaning of the text, and adding a fresh visual effect to the piece. Or in the piece "Listening to the Rain", he uses gelatin alum water to write the text on the background and then applies a large area of light blue with the method of rendering, resulting in a hazy effect. The word "Listening to the Rain" seems to be immersed in the water. Or in the piece "Drunkard", the bold and unrestrained style of writing, combined with the bright cinnabar red, reminds people of the pleasure of intoxicating wine and conveys a feeling that it's not the wine that intoxicates but the drinker who gets himself drunk, as written in the inscriptions. In Lin Chang-hu's works, we can see the sophistication and proficiency, but also the plain and innocent simplicity.

Cai Mingzan, a well-known calligrapher, once mentioned in an article: "Lin Chang-hu uses a great deal of his seal cutting in calligraphy and painting, especially the former. The blank space is used as a prompt, and it is often coherent, embellishing the picture, and this is a style of seal filling that is rarely attempted by other calligraphers." Therefore, when appreciating Lin Chang-hu's works, one cannot ignore his unique seal cutting. The lines of his seals are simple and well-shaped, giving an interesting finishing touch to the picture. Lin’s aesthetic thoughts are mainly based on Zen. As such, what he focuses on is not the reproduction of real-world images, but the expression of the mental image. He successively put forward the aesthetics of "free idealism" and "postmodernism", which are the choice and persistence of the artist after interacting with real society.

Cheng Daile has recently applied the curved structure of seal script to his calligraphy. Not only do the themes of his works respond to the current social situation, but the forms also break away from the framework of traditional brush and ink. He presents his thoughts and feelings about life in his works. In an article written by Huang Zhiyang, the professor commented: "(Cheng’s works) draw nutrients from the Chinese classics, integrate what he has seen and thought in life, combine sentences in the classics with modern life, and have both linked and reachable." From this, we can see the unique feature of being close to people in Cheng Dale’s calligraphy.

Cheng uses thick lines to form text images and renders the background with ink or cyan. In his works, he strengthens the contrast between light and dark in the picture, yet color and calligraphy are no longer opposed to each other, but integrated and intertwined with each other. At first glance, his works seem like a wizard's talisman, summoning his enchanting context, allowing the viewer to enter and fascinate. The momentum and visual effect of the work are unique among contemporary calligraphers. Cheng Daile emphasizes starting from the classics again and seeks to interpret the style of contemporary painting and calligraphy. However, he does not blindly cater to the trend of the times or pursue both refined and popular tastes. Instead, he deepens his thinking on the theory of calligraphy and painting in addition to the change of form. Besides retaining the essence of traditional brushwork, the artist also incorporates an experimental spirit into ink and wash creations, or combines Western art with his calligraphy to present his works that reflect the past and the present.

The work titled "Running Thunder" displayed in this exhibition shows a natural and flowing style of writing in the text, and the blank space left by the speed of using the brush is like the tire marks of a racing car passing a curve, giving people the feeling of speeding. The splashed ink stains and the blanks are like the lighting of a theater, giving the text a strong visual impression. Also, most of his works exhibited this time boldly use geometric color blocks to divide the picture, such as "Make a Wish of Happiness" or "Life is Like a Play", which reminds people of Piet Mondrian's simplicity and clarity, and also imbues the works with modernity. The characters he chooses to write about are drawn from modern life, and the meaning is straightforward, presenting a different look from traditional calligraphy. In the work "Walking, Living, Sitting and Lying", the oblique square space contrasts with the arc turning of the text, just like a person living in a house, echoing the meaning of the text.

Art is always changing and progressing, never static. Even modeling after the ancient style will not be the same as it once was, it will always be affected by the atmosphere of the times and then lead to the unknown world. The same is true for calligraphy. In this exhibition, in addition to the profound background in tradition, we can also see the two artists’ ambitions for contemporary expression. Interacting with the times, the artists stepped out of the barriers and brought viewers different visual art presentations and new experiences that were different from the established impressions.

“The Imagery of Calligraphy – A Joint Exhibition by Lin Chang-hu & Cheng Daile” is the first art exhibition held in Xizhitang Gallery after its interior was newly renovated. Two important ink artists are specially invited to exhibit 24 wonderful works with the theme of Chinese character art creation. Looking at the past exhibition experience of the two artists, whether it is an ink painting or a calligraphy exhibition, the artistry of writing has always played an important role. Even though they can carry out the task with ease, they still create innovative works to present the exhibits with a rigorous attitude. This is a worthwhile exhibition to attend - we look forward to seeing you!