Figurative Abstraction: An Exhibition of Contemporary Arts : Mind Set Art Center

Written by Mind Set Art Center

Mind Set Art Center is honored to present “Figurative Abstraction”, an exhibition featuring the artworks of Marina CRUZ, QIN Yifeng, Albert Yonathan SETYAWAN, SHI Jin-Hua, SHI Jinsong, WU Tseng Jung. The works span across a wide range of art mediums, including painting, photography, three-dimensional, conceptual and performance art. Further illuminating the collection is the academic research of Professor CHEN Kuang-Yi, the dean of the Fine Art College of the National Taiwan University of Art. Chen sheds light how these artworks exemplify the development of figurative and abstract art in the contemporary art landscape and how the two disciplines are intertwined. The exhibition is set to launch at 2:30 p.m. on April 22 with an opening talk, followed by a reception at 4:30. We eagerly await your attendance. 

Abstract painter Nicolas de Staël once said, “I am not setting abstract painting against figurative painting. A painting should be both abstract and figurative. Abstract to the extent that it is a flat surface, figurative to the extent that it is a representation of space.” In her writing on the exhibit, Professor CHEN has referenced Staël’s words to highlight the interplay between figurative and abstract artworks on display. Each of the six precipitating artists has interpreted the relationship between the two disciplines in a highly personal manner.

The works of SHI Jin-hua, on the other hand, have always exemplified the idea of “the body as mediator”: the body is both physical and spiritual.  SHI’s body serves as the medium between his spirit and the outside world, the pencil an extension of his body, and the residual “artwork” is the trace of his actions. His paintings at the exhibition “Sumeru Mountain” and “Pen Walking #180” both appear to be depictions of mountain at first sight. On the deeper level, however, the paintings represent the journey in which the artist and his pencils make their way up the sacred Buddhist Mountain. The remaining pencil shavings bear witness of the attrition along the way, and the winding lines marks the path to spiritual enlightenment.