Mind Set Art Center is pleased to present “Whispering Stream”, the first ever solo exhibition of rising new artist, WANG Hsiang, at a commercial gallery. The show will be held in the gallery’s Project Room and feature a total of 18 paintings, some produced in the field and some in the studios, in acrylic and with traditional ink brush techniques. This unique body of work showcases his pursuit of art through nature. Despite still studying for his master’s at the Taipei National University of the Arts, WANG is able to infuse his work with stunning visual impact and unbridled vigor.
The works in “Whispering Stream” were created in two phases: live drawing outdoors, followed by in-studio painting based on the sketches and memory. The change in state of mind from indoor to outdoor drawing as well as in medium is deeply fascinating to WANG. It serves as a switch in his creative mind that allows him to start from the observation of nature and subsequently rely on a mixture of memory, imagination and the gaze on his own work to create a painting that fuses all the aforementioned elements. The process echoes his artist’s statement, “The two different spaces, by the stream and in my home, are like a whisper and a stream, they stimulate different senses. It’s a lot like paintings in different mediums. Despite the many differences, they often appear more complete when contrasted against each other. The shifting states of creativity is like the states of water. Under normal temperature, water flows in the stream. When the temperature rises, it becomes the steam in hot springs. When it gets cold, it turns into the slow flakes in the air. In the end, all of these manifestations are simply the different states of water.”
Two of his latest paintings, “Waterfall I” and “Waterfall II”, are prime examples of the intertextuality between the outdoor and in-studio elements in WANG’s creative process. “Waterfall I”, painted in a mixture of acrylic and oil pastel, exudes a vigorous energy through its strong colors and free-flowing brushstrokes. The painting leads the viewers into its own realm filled with woods and streams with the fresh vibrance of the early spring. “Waterfall II”, an ink brush painting based on a live-drawing, further develops on the composition. The artist places a waterfall, rocks, trees, stream and sky in a more structure manner within the canvas, and constructs a humanistic landscape that immerses the viewers into a different space and time. With his unique process, WANG has managed to break down the barrier between eastern and western painting and lead us into a realm that transcends time and space to experience the charm of art and nature.
