HSIAO Chu-Fang Solo Exhibition

If life involves accumulating experiences through ongoing practice, then creation is a documentation of these experiences. When I travel or ride a bike, I enjoy observing my surroundings, like viewing through a lens of memory. Then I layer the varying shades and intensities of different moments onto the canvas one at a time. —— HSIAO Chu-Fang

HSIAO Chu-Fang delights in exploring places and drawing diverse inspirations from her travels. She takes pleasure in observing her environment and delving into her inner self through these observations. To her, travel is not just about sightseeing, but a journey of self-reflection, where each sight and sensation invites introspection and enlightenment.

In recent years, HSIAO's painting style has transitioned from flat, simplified, and neat lines to fluid brushstrokes that convey a sense of temporality. Works featuring continuous loops as the background have become a signature hallmark of hers in recent years. When painting, she begins with a draft and employs spontaneous techniques to draw loops that express her current feelings, layer by layer. Each layer represents an exploration of her inner space. Once the painting achieves the feeling she envisions, she then adds on the protagonist elements. Throughout this process, she captures a flowing sense of time. HSIAO sees painting as an ongoing practice, using each piece to explore and express a range of inner reflections.

As an extension of my three-week stay in Fenglin, Hualien at the end of last year, I found renewal by changing my living environment. It was okay if I made no progress in an entire day; I strived to keep myself in a state of standby that could be activated at any time, both in life and in art. Sometimes a painting fails, but by continuing to layer brush strokes, the unsatisfactory elements from earlier can be amended—a principle that holds true in life as well.

Each of HSIAO Chu-Fang's pieces originates from her charcoal sketches, mirroring her state of mind at the time. For example, in Horrible Concert, a person is depicted shaking his head and covering his ears, with eyes squinting into shapes of high musical notes. This painting was inspired by musical sounds that HSIAO found noisy and she sought to convey this feeling through art. HSIAO expresses that she doesn't intentionally overanalyze her creative process. Instead, she relies on the instinctive feeling that the image she crafts resonates with her emotions at the moment. Upon completing a piece, she bestows upon it a title, recognizing this as a means to engage with its viewers. She explains: "Words can create a simple connection with the viewer. Additionally, I aspire for those who encounter my work to grasp its essence through a simple phrase. Art creation isn't meant to be overly serious nor hard to understand.”

This piece encapsulates the electricity and fiery intensity during the initial encounter between two people. To achieve that visual impact, HSIAO opted for the technique of overlapping. During the creative process, she reflected on her encounter with COVID-19 last year, which came with symptoms like loss of taste and smell. She contemplated using painting as a medium to convey that peculiar state. Consequently, she eliminated one color from the primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—retaining only red and blue. "I aim to depict a life devoid of taste and smell. It's eating food where you can feel the texture, but the flavors are almost absent, resulting in a strange and unfamiliar sensation." HSIAO found this experience particularly unique, and she captured its peculiarity through her art, inviting viewers to engage in the oddity and uncertainty of that moment as well.

To me, painting offers a more direct conduit for artistic expression, where I can convey my inner emotions by layering, covering, and building up coats of paint. Lately, I've been using sandpaper to strip away layers of paint. Sometimes a sander acts like a brush, blending tones across different layers, akin to the varied effects of smudging in a sketch.

HSIAO Chu-Fang's art primarily centers on human emotions. Her paintings stem from life observations and reflect her inner world. A significant distinction in the new works showcased this time compared to her previous pieces is HSIAO's new technique of sandpaper abrasion to remove paint, aside from her signature loop drawings. This removal technique resurrects previously applied colors, enabling diverse color levels to merge and create new tones. This imparts a sense of randomness and multi-layered aesthetic intrigue.

The HSIAO Chu-Fang Solo Exhibition showcases 20 new artworks created between 2023 and 2024, all inspired by everyday life. These pieces depart from her earlier works, embracing a softer touch achieved through paint abrasion, which subtly unveils the artist's inner flow within the texture of the artworks. What remains consistent is HSIAO's attentiveness to life's minutiae and her perceptual engagement with her surroundings. Through creation, she endeavors to convey these everyday whispers and reflections on life, striving to connect with and resonate among viewers within our shared world. 

David Hockney once remarked: "Painting is about making people see the world more clearly." As days unfold, each moment is filled with a tapestry of scenes, giving rise to a multitude of memories. Observing the world is essentially delving into the heart, identifying challenges, and seeking solutions or answers. Through this solo exhibition, I aspire to present various expressions that reflect different facets of my heart and to document my life journey. ——HSIAO Chu-Fang