The Myriad Doors of Existence : Chen Chun-Hao solo exhibition

In the sweltering July of 2024, Tina Keng Gallery is pleased to present The Myriad Doors of Existence, Chen’s first solo exhibition after a four-year hiatus. Curated by art critic Chang Li-Hao, and comprised of 31 meticulously crafted works between 2021 and 2024, the exhibition chronicles the artist’s emulation of Chang Dai-Chien’s varying approaches to the landscape and court lady genres, tracing back to Tang Yin, one of the Four Masters of Ming, Xu Wei of late Ming, Bada Shanren of early Qing, Kao Chi-Feng of late-Qing Lingnan School, as well as Pu Ru, one of Chang Dai-Chien’s contemporaries.

The English exhibition title, The Myriad Doors of Existence, accentuates the artist’s reimagining of works by these revered predecessors as his own artistic vision. The Chinese title, pronounced Dai Chien Wo Men (大千我門), is a witty pun on the Chinese phrase Wo Men, or my door, and the English word “woman,” which share a phonetic similarity. It serves as a playful nod to the artist’s recent focus on traditional Chinese portrayal of court ladies. The key visual design of the exhibition incorporates Chen’s yearslong mentor Lin Chang-Hu’s calligraphic rendering of the Chinese title, foregrounding Chen’s veneration for the literati spirit that is passed down through generations.

In the contemporary discourse that emphasizes decentralization, appropriation refers to the utilization of pre-existing objects, either directly or with slight modifications, to produce a new outcome. By imitating Chang Dai-Chien’s emulation of others, Chen examines the conventional notion of originality in a work of art. He seeks to redefine and imbue the works with a meaning that dissociates them from their previous contexts. His assiduous efforts are evident in the works on view: Imitating Ju Ran’s Summer Mountains by Chang Dai-Chien (2023), Imitating Ju Ran’s Clear Peaks by Chang Dai-Chien (2023), and Imitating Liu Daoshi’s Lake and Mountains in Early Morning by Chang Dai-Chien (2023). Each piece manifests itself in dense, majestic brushwork and grand composition. There are expansive, horizontal works, too: Imitating Pines Upon Hills by Tang Yin, Ming Dynasty (2021), and Imitating Old Man and Crane by Tang Yin, Ming Dynasty (2022). The Ming literati’s pursuit of leisure and grace is encapsulated in the depiction of towering and robust pines, or the serene companionship of a poised crane while immersed in pages and savoring tea.

The court lady series is another highlight of this exhibition. Chen has been deeply inspired by She & Her: On Women and Their Art in Chinese History, an exhibition held at the National Palace Museum in Taipei in 2020 which showcased diverse roles and styles of women throughout history, as well as an eclectic array of works by female artists. It prompted Chen to delve into the trajectory of traditional court lady painting. Beginning with Lady Wearing Flowers in Her Hair by Tang painter Zhou Fang, Chen referenced a plethora of court lady paintings by Tang Yin, Gai Qi, Pu Ru, and Chang Dai-Chien, each depicting women in various postures and styles, before infusing his understanding of feminine beauty into his own work.

Take for example Imitating Lady With Red Whisk by Chang Dai-Chien (2024). The posture and attire of the figure clearly reflect the influence of the Dunhuang murals. Another work Imitating Lotus and Lady Screen by Chang Dai-Chien (2024) departs from Chang’s usual figurative style, emanating a modern, even ukiyo-e sensibility, making it a rarity among Chang’s many court lady paintings. The work’s visual focus falls on a lady on the right side of the composition. Rendered in a single color of the mosquito nail, the woman’s face and flowing black hair come alive as though limed by fluid line, exuding an air of ethereal grace juxtaposed with lotus blossoms.

In Chen’s practice, his starting point diverges sharply from the intention to gain attention through widely recognized imagery. Instead, the artist opts for an acutely disciplined creative process: laboriously arranging mosquito nails with repetition and zero tolerance for error, rendering the image in what could be mistaken as dense printing dots. The result conjures a visual illusion that varies with the viewer’s perspective and distance. As seen in Imitating Peacock by Kao Chi-Feng, Qing Dynasty (2024) upon entering the exhibition space, the intricate brushwork characteristic of the Lingnan School limns the layered wings in a nuanced interplay of light and shadow. Prominent as the cultural underpinnings in technique and subject matter are in The Myriad Doors of Existence, the artist’s playful exploration is not to be overlooked: from brush and ink to mosquito nails, from tradition to contemporaneity, from Chang Dai-Chien to Chen’s own practice, countless nails coalesce into profound ideas. As he reminisces about the distant past, Chen Chun-Hao makes parallels between a practice that traverses the contemporary cultural landscape and an ethereal tether to ancient literati that defies the bounds of time.