Room with a View

Sep 25, 2010-Oct 31, 2010

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Gan Dan, Chu Fang-Yi, Lin Jian-Rung, Minto Fang, Hou Chun-Ming, Yuan Shun, Chen Jun-Hau, Huang Zhi-Yang, Yeh Yi-li, Lu Ming-Te

 

Text/ Gallery100

It is very useful to be able to embark on a journey from the confines of one’s own room. Faced with the chaos and social disruption of 16th century France, philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) withdrew from public life with only books and solitude for companions. While thus confined Montaigne undertook voyages of mental exploration that enabled him to write works of breathtaking excellence on his return.

One of the most appealing aspects about art is its ability to break through the limits of mobility imposed by the human form. As the arena in which imagination is at its most free, art has the power to transport people to the highest heavens or the depths of the deepest oceans. The “Room with a View” exhibition at Gallery 100 mainly showcases works the gallery has added to its collection over the last two years. Together, these map out a journey that is replete with visual and spiritual wonders.

The materials, expressive methodology and forms used by the participating artists are the foundation on which this “journey” is planned. Within the limited space of one room, visitors are presented with an array of journeys, each with its own objective - “light,” “wind,” “mountain forests” and “land.”

For example, Lin Chien-jung is transformed into a light-bulb character stood in a corner of the room generating a sense of disassociation that is both familiar and strange; Yeh Yi-li’s worm person “Little Blue,” shakes its head and emits a brilliant light that is both cute and a parody. In their fantasies people always walk into the light and the use of light in the works of Lin and Yeh can also be seen as depicting a plane that is stripped of earthly desires. Kan Tan is particularly adept at transforming marble into something seemingly soft enough to wrap around one’s fingers, the flowing lines of which capture signs of the wind blowing; Fang Marvin-Minto uses camphor to produce works that are three dimensional shapes, tranquil and harmonious forms imbued with the sweet-smelling fragrance of a mountain forest; Lu Ming-te is skilled at utilizing animal images as semiotics, which combined with plants creates an atmosphere infused with romanticism. Like so many cultural landscapes, his works serve as myths and parables of the world in which we live.

Montaigne embarked on countless journeys from his room, with solitude his sole confidante. In contrast, Gallery 100’s presentation of “Room with a View,” offers visitors the companionship of art, an idea that appeals to the adventurer in all of us, because endowed with the wings of imagination there is nowhere we cannot go.