The World of a Young Artist, Sat on the Shoulder of Classical Painting’s Giants Buoyantly, Merrily, yet Seriously
By Shin Bo-seul, Curator of Total Museum of Contemporary Art
Almost nothing was in Sam’s studio, recently returned from his honeymoon. A few paintings were on a wall, a small desk, a notebook computer, and materials on a worktable. Looking around, I saw cola-cans lined up by the window, and recalled a friends’ ambitious project to collect cans from around the world. Such friends have something in common with this unfamiliar artist.
Unlike the bright pink painting on his wall, Sam’s early series material paradise resembles gloomy Northern European still lifes. I consider they are different from his present work. I also found a flask holding plastic flowers, miniature chickens, and manmade butterflies. Looking at them, and the cans, I found it hard not to smile. Sam, who plays with dour European still lifes, seems to know that what is lighthearted and buoyant can also be serious. He makes the provocative suggestion, play as you stand seriously before an artwork!
Sam works with a variety of materials and forms, going beyond conventional time and space. In material paradise for example, he broke away from the historic context of still life, by adding objects onto typical Western still life painting, enabling viewers a new perspective. That is, he presented a forum for the audience to play delightfully and comfortably.
At first glance, Sam’s still lifes seem like painting, which on closer examination, appear replaced with readymade objects. For such work, in his Kaidaotumi 2003 exhibition for example, Sam used Chinese classical paintings, instead of Western still lifes, reproduced in a style akin to contemporary design with luxurious color. They conveyed Sam’s humor, going beyond a mere modernization of classical Chinese painting. In one instance, he dispensed with drawing a bird in a typical setting, by placing the sculpture of a bird sitting on a bough before the painting, so the bird looked like an omission. Elsewhere, Sam puts his drawn profile into the wings of a butterfly.
Though Sam is 32, he has presented a variety of work: two-dimensional, using objects and clothes made in collaboration with an apparel company; photographic, for unreachable blooming in 2007; and monochrome painting of uniform patterns, for shadow in the same year.
During his residency in Goyang, he went to Hong Kong, to complete his project, involving an enormous balloon in peony pattern, set on the roof of a downtown building. Sam is now working on the distortion series at the Goyang studio, reviving aspects of his work from 2003. With it, he represents distortion of a stable, fixed, visual point, by perverting works like huei go go and garden in autumn from yuan dynasty. I asked if he had returned to two-dimensional work, to which he replied, “This kind of work is most proper for this residency period”. I then asked if there was something influencing his appropriation of traditional Chinese painting. He answered, “My work here is influenced by Bibimbap (boiled rice mixed with vegetables)”. Sam said he had learned new background colors and composition from this mixture of boiled rice and vegetables! It was an unexpected answer, but it was serious.
Sam boldly generates appropriations of classical motifs by exploiting them freely with great dexterity. He refreshes the past merrily and liberally, and embraces heterogeneous cultures, absorbing his surroundings like a sponge. What is impressive is that his work appears light-hearted, interesting, and liberal, without being confined to a frame, while maintaining its seriousness. Although his work is easily to enjoy, viewers must look at Chinese classical painting, as his work sits on its shoulder. If we figure out this giant, we can better understand Sam’s work.
When leaving his studio after looking around it, Sam gave me a miniature balloon made with his painting. Blowing up this balloon full of pink peony blossoms, I wondered how this young Chinese artist could meet new giants and how he could spread his witty, creative world in the future.
按此處以編輯.
By Shin Bo-seul, Curator of Total Museum of Contemporary Art
Almost nothing was in Sam’s studio, recently returned from his honeymoon. A few paintings were on a wall, a small desk, a notebook computer, and materials on a worktable. Looking around, I saw cola-cans lined up by the window, and recalled a friends’ ambitious project to collect cans from around the world. Such friends have something in common with this unfamiliar artist.
Unlike the bright pink painting on his wall, Sam’s early series material paradise resembles gloomy Northern European still lifes. I consider they are different from his present work. I also found a flask holding plastic flowers, miniature chickens, and manmade butterflies. Looking at them, and the cans, I found it hard not to smile. Sam, who plays with dour European still lifes, seems to know that what is lighthearted and buoyant can also be serious. He makes the provocative suggestion, play as you stand seriously before an artwork!
Sam works with a variety of materials and forms, going beyond conventional time and space. In material paradise for example, he broke away from the historic context of still life, by adding objects onto typical Western still life painting, enabling viewers a new perspective. That is, he presented a forum for the audience to play delightfully and comfortably.
At first glance, Sam’s still lifes seem like painting, which on closer examination, appear replaced with readymade objects. For such work, in his Kaidaotumi 2003 exhibition for example, Sam used Chinese classical paintings, instead of Western still lifes, reproduced in a style akin to contemporary design with luxurious color. They conveyed Sam’s humor, going beyond a mere modernization of classical Chinese painting. In one instance, he dispensed with drawing a bird in a typical setting, by placing the sculpture of a bird sitting on a bough before the painting, so the bird looked like an omission. Elsewhere, Sam puts his drawn profile into the wings of a butterfly.
Though Sam is 32, he has presented a variety of work: two-dimensional, using objects and clothes made in collaboration with an apparel company; photographic, for unreachable blooming in 2007; and monochrome painting of uniform patterns, for shadow in the same year.
During his residency in Goyang, he went to Hong Kong, to complete his project, involving an enormous balloon in peony pattern, set on the roof of a downtown building. Sam is now working on the distortion series at the Goyang studio, reviving aspects of his work from 2003. With it, he represents distortion of a stable, fixed, visual point, by perverting works like huei go go and garden in autumn from yuan dynasty. I asked if he had returned to two-dimensional work, to which he replied, “This kind of work is most proper for this residency period”. I then asked if there was something influencing his appropriation of traditional Chinese painting. He answered, “My work here is influenced by Bibimbap (boiled rice mixed with vegetables)”. Sam said he had learned new background colors and composition from this mixture of boiled rice and vegetables! It was an unexpected answer, but it was serious.
Sam boldly generates appropriations of classical motifs by exploiting them freely with great dexterity. He refreshes the past merrily and liberally, and embraces heterogeneous cultures, absorbing his surroundings like a sponge. What is impressive is that his work appears light-hearted, interesting, and liberal, without being confined to a frame, while maintaining its seriousness. Although his work is easily to enjoy, viewers must look at Chinese classical painting, as his work sits on its shoulder. If we figure out this giant, we can better understand Sam’s work.
When leaving his studio after looking around it, Sam gave me a miniature balloon made with his painting. Blowing up this balloon full of pink peony blossoms, I wondered how this young Chinese artist could meet new giants and how he could spread his witty, creative world in the future.
按此處以編輯.