Between Divergence and Convergence: Liú Yung-jen Solo Exhibition

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Liú Yung-jen

 

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In the process of change, things will diverge, converge, and diverge once more. In these processes of dividing one into many and merging many into one, there are gaps that can be ascertained. By perceiving and interpreting subtle changes in the depth of images, I have tried to adapt my past creative concepts of inhaling and exhaling, and crystallization and fusion, to an idealized order in my reflection and practice. 

 

In my exploration of content and visual images, I have always pursued diverse media, such as canvas and paper, including xuan paper and paper with different qualities. In this context of divergence and division gradually moving toward convergence, my state of mind will sometimes linger while transiting the gap between divergence and convergence. This gap is similar to the boundaries between planes in abstract painting, and these boundaries are those that breath can penetrate.

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Art may reveal the state of one's life, and when I paint, I dwell in a place between thinking and not thinking, so that my work naturally reflects the time and space that I am occupying. When my life is flowing, my paintings present those flowing moments. When I am on those journeys searching for something, my art presents my nature concentrated in my arteries. Divergence is freer and more random than division. Whether divergence is found in order or in a space, it is still uncontrollable. It is like interpretation of abstract painting, which extends from the polysemy of images, but that which converges within me is the main axis, and this is echoed in the visual state of my paintings. With its rational refinement and lyrical emotional release, drawing on paper has unique possibilities.

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Divergence is my psychological state or image in my mind's eye at this moment. It is a kind of dynamic balance that fluctuates in my mind. This exhibition is another opportunity to encounter convergence and divergence on paper, which possesses an inherent nostalgia, especially because it is convenient for writing and close to our lives. In the past, I deliberately used paper in non-traditional multimedia approaches to explore its diverse possibilities. As for the series of works in this exhibition, I use a completely different approach, and I feel that the results are both familiar and unfamiliar. However, encountering both paper and the Wisteria Tea House space once again, I have forced myself to bring together the tactile sensations of 30 years ago. This new encounter has initiated a new divergence that will eventually lead to a new convergence.

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These paintings express a marvellous broadness of the mind and imagination. The soft and hard brushstrokes run across the flexible paper to produce meaning, and many symbols formed by these lines and areas of paint represent circulation between divergence and convergence. The exhibition continually flows and changes, and the dialogue this time between the Wisteria House and the works on paper it houses provide an opportunity for the display of artistic divergence, as well as begin a wider visual adventure.

 

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