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2016A Painter of the Empire
Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan 帝國畫師 耿畫廊，台北，台灣 |
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"A Painter of the Empire" is never a historical referent. On the contrary, the term pertains directly to every contemporary artist; it coexists with history.
— Su Meng-Hung A Painter of the Empire, Su Meng-Hung's first solo exhibition since 2012, centers on identity issues for the contemporary artist, where Su interweaves three series "Material Paradise"(2002), "Grandeur．Void．Cloud．Lark" (2013–2015), and "A Painter of the Empire" (2015) into a narrative of painting and installation on artists' place in a globalized art world, and ways to rise above their circumstances. Recognized by the Taipei Arts Awards in 2002, and the seed for Su's idea of "A Painter of the Empire," the "Material Paradise" installation series at first glance, appears to parody and defy classical aesthetics through the marriage of the 17th-century Western painting replicas and mediocre ready-made merchandise. A closer look at the oil paintings of blooming flowers untouched by the change of seasons in the house of Dutch merchants from the Age of Discovery, juxtaposed with artificial plastic flowers of the 21st century, reveals an eternal yet fleeting question: how standards for taste and appreciation, and rules for art and mechanism, are perpetually intertwined with the destiny of artists in different generations riding the tides of history. The "Grandeur．Void．Cloud．Lark" painting series explores how the decorative element in the painting form triggers intense visual language. Deeply inspired by Chinese classical painting, Su appropriates Eastern and Western art motifs, as well as popular culture icons to dissect the intricacies in the establishment of social hierarchy and taste. By copying from The Album of Immortal Blossoms in an Everlasting Spring by Giuseppe Castiglione (1478–1529), Qing-dynasty chief imperial court painter, Su imbues the ancient imagery with vivid details by forsaking the traditional mogu (boneless) painting technique while expanding the scale of his canvas. His latest installation series "A Painter of the Empire" is an unexpected development following his previous body of work. Su collages a taxidermied peacock — a symbol that defies death, the disused roof of a palanquin, and diamond-shaped carbon sculptures into an installation of searing elements that are linked to life/death, religion/superstition, and diamond/carbon — constructs whose differences are rooted in their similarity. Through his appropriation of diverse symbols, meanings are added and expanded as Su provides multiple access points for spectators to understand his work, below the surface of which is brimming with desolate opulence that transcends interpretation. These three series validate Su’s attempt to rebel against the concept of interpretive text. Exuding a profound sense of chagrin and self-will, Su’s work is dedicated to artists living in different art worlds in different social contexts. Maneuvering ancient and contemporary art history, Su alters the linear path of history while maintaining an aloof distance from the exotic flair of East and West, allowing an endless cycle of self-referential imagery that incidentally mirrors the artist’s own dilemma. |
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「『帝國畫師』從來就不是個歷史指稱，相反的，它直指每個當代藝術家，它與歷史一直是共時的存在。」
－蘇孟鴻 睽違三年，蘇孟鴻本展延續他一直以來對當代藝術家身份認同的關注，透過三個創作年份橫跨十餘年的系列： ”Material Paradise“（2002）、《美˙空˙雲˙雀》（2013-2015）、和《帝國畫師》（2015），針對全球化當代藝壇中創作者的處境及突圍策略，再度提出觀察與體會。 曾獲「台北美術獎」肯定的 ”Material Paradise “ 裝置系列，可視為蘇孟鴻對帝國畫師此一概念的思考起點，也讓本次展覽的討論擁有更豐富完整的面向。作品表面上藉著17世紀西洋複製畫與廉價現成商品的媚俗聯姻，諧擬並挑釁古典美學，但細究內容，則可見航海時代荷蘭商人家中，不分四季盛開的鮮花油畫，以及 21 世紀的塑膠人造花，在本質上皆指向一個永恆又短命的課題：品味與觀看的準則、藝術與機制的遊戲規則，永不凋零地在歷史的行進中輪迴轉世，纏繞在不同世代藝術家的命定中。《美・空・雲・雀》系列涵括數件繪畫，富裝飾風格，也俱現濃密的視覺語彙轉化過程。蘇孟鴻大量自中國古典畫作汲取靈感，同時交錯挪用東、西藝術史母題（motif）及流行文化元素，揭露階級與品味建構之幽微。數件作品，以清宮首席畫師郎世寧的「仙萼長春冊」為臨摹對象，同時又捨棄沒骨技法、劇烈放大尺幅格局，拉開詮釋維度，納入了多重的典範轉移。 最新裝置系列《帝國畫師》，則可視為前述創作，非理所當然的推展。作者將象徵抵抗死亡的孔雀標本、退役或半成的神轎龕頂、和鑽石狀的碳材質雕塑拼貼在一起，這些意象強烈的異元素，指涉著生／死、宗教／迷信、鑽石／碳等「同素異構」特性。這樣的形式設定，在當代藝術的脈絡中，可被理解為藉由大量符號搬演，開放成熱鬧的意義鑲嵌或再造活動，並提供得以掌握的解讀路徑。然而作品在表層之下，在異質元素間的接縫深處，卻莫名散發出斑斕又蒼涼的氣息，詮釋註記遂成了種餘贅。 蘇孟鴻透過這三個創作系列，宣告了拒絕文字消費性詮釋的態度，作品皆兀自透露一種莫可奈何又奮不顧身的情懷，屬於身處各「帝國中的帝國」不同時代藝術世界裡的創作者們。而蘇孟鴻對古至今藝術史的突襲，又竄改了歷史線性發展的路徑，其對中西「異」國風情的若即若離，更是形同一場又一場華美而空洞的穿越劇，使圖像本身無止盡地自我指涉，在不經意中，精準地折映出創作者本身的情境。 |
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