陳昭宏：眼 睛
Hilo Chen: Eyes
December 1 – 31, 2021
Each Modern 亞紀畫廊
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Each Modern 亞紀畫廊很榮幸展出「陳昭宏：眼睛」，呈現旅美台灣藝術家陳昭宏由一名東方畫會的抽象藝術家，輾轉從巴黎來到紐約，蛻變為寫實藝術家的初始階段，當中從未發表過的早期作品。其中多件作品經歷超越半個世紀的淬煉，將於本展覽首次公開。
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寫實繪畫的評斷機制，時常建立在以繪畫模仿對象物的相似程度之上。因此，對於寫實藝術家的討論與評價也多融入在作品的「相像」之中。然而，這個針對寫實繪畫的總體想像，經過爬梳陳昭宏的早期畫作，卻得以創建出一個新的評斷可能：是人生際遇的身心圖示，也是一系列積澱於寫實藝術家生命中、私人歷史關係間，所構成的獨特創作追求。
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早在離開台灣前，陳昭宏便清楚人像畫才會是他將要傾心實踐的繪畫領域。於是，他放棄鑽研抽象繪畫。在 1967 年，最後一次東方畫展中，陳昭宏只展出了一張眼睛繪畫。那是一幕藍灰色、屬於他法國女朋友的眼睛。當陳昭宏在巴黎遇到同為藝術家的彭萬墀而熱烈討論繪畫時，驚喜地發現兩人都想畫莫名其妙的眼睛，或是帶有那雙眼睛的人。陳昭宏自述道：「這是我一個東方人來到西方，想要理解世界、甚至看破世界的慾望。也因此後來，我的寫實作品，要畫的不再是二個眼的人，而是二個眼的人所看的人與世界。」
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本次展出的多件作品，為藝術家於疫情期間在畫室中重新尋得。這些都是能重現此轉變期的重要作品：帶有獨特眼睛的人物，與彭萬墀的人像繪畫相互對應。其中一張秦松畫像更是提供了一種觀看、理解與感知，讓我們能窺探當時時空背景下的海外台灣藝術家，其拓展自身繪畫語彙的歷程與軌跡。
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在後疫情的當下，人與人的接觸被大量減少，但我們對於與世界建立連結的渴望依然強烈。如同那件描繪女人矗立在山丘的巨幅畫像：我們和她相距在一種熟識卻又陌生的距離，並且期望著她能像陳昭宏的其他早期畫作般，轉過頭來和我們對眼。「陳昭宏：眼睛」是一個讓我們重新觀看「人」、以及重新理解這一位寫實藝術家的珍貴機會。
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▸ 關於藝術家
陳昭宏（英文名為 Hilo Chen），1942 年生於宜蘭，是國際重要的照相寫實藝術家。陳昭宏接觸藝術創作的初期以抽象畫為核心，曾是首個華人抽象藝術團體「東方畫會」的最年輕成員。1968 年，身在巴黎的陳昭宏見到收藏於羅浮宮的安格爾（Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres）名畫原作「瓦平松的浴女」（The Valpinçon Bather），深受感動，自此由抽象表現轉向具象繪畫。他在 70 年代開始創作《海灘》系列，隨後就在紐約奠定了藝術地位，與照相寫實大師克洛斯（Chuck Close）等平起平坐。陳昭的作品獲紐約索羅門 R.古根漢美術館、美國聖荷西美術館、美國紐波特美術館、台北市立美術館、台灣國立臺灣美術館等重要機構典藏。
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Each Modern is pleased to announce “Hilo Chen: Eyes,” presenting precious works from the early photorealism stage that have never been shown by the New York-based Taiwanese artist Hilo Chen. In a decades-long career, Chen has moved from abstraction to figurative painting, producing works in the contexts of Taiwan, Paris, and New York, his present home. Most of the exhibiting works will be revealed to the public for the first time after more than 50 years.
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With realistic painting, appreciation is often based on how precisely a work imitates and represents its real object sources. With this in mind, the discourse surrounding artists that produce works in a realistic turn is centered on the appearance of said works. In contrast, in Chen’s early paintings, we are able to discover a new means of approaching realism. What we see has the potential to become a symbol of his unique pursuit of aesthetics built around his lived experiences or personal relationships, both physical and psychological.
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Before leaving Taiwan, Chen was certain he would devote himself to portraiture, having gradually relinquished his studies in abstraction. In the last Ton Fan Group exhibition in 1967, Chen showed only one painting, that of a grey, blue eye, which belonged to his French girlfriend. He later met another Taiwanese artist, Peng WanChih, in Paris and found, inextricably, that they were both eager to paint eyes or people with eyes. ”As an Easterner who has come to the West, it is my desire to know the world or even see through it. That is why my later realistic paintings are not about merely a person with a pair of eyes. They are more to do with how these eyes perceive the people and world around them” Chen said.
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In the exhibition, many works were rediscovered by the artist in his studio during the pandemic. These are significant works that represent a transformative stage in Chen’s work; figures with unusual eyes resonate with Peng’s portraiture. Among them, a portrait of Chin Sung, a Taiwanese artist who lived in New York, also leads us to see, to understand, and to feel the histories and the traces of how these Taiwanese artists abroad expanded their own aesthetic and visual language at this integral time.
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In the aftermath of a pandemic which has inhibited our contact with one another, our strong desire to connect to the world remains. Just like the ambiguous distance in Chen’s grand painting of a female standing on a hill, we desire for her to meet our gaze, to turn her head in our direction to perceive us as we are, as do so many of Chen’s other early works. “Hilo Chen: Eyes” offers an invaluable moment to contemplate, to look at those around us and to comprehend the artist once again.
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▸ About the artist
Hilo Chen(b. 1942 in Yilan) is one of the most important living artists working in photorealism. He began his artistic career in abstraction and was the youngest member of the Ton Fan Group, the first Chinese Modern Art group. In 1968, Chen saw The Bather of Valpinçon by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres at the Louvre, an encounter that deeply inspired him. His practice later moved into figurative painting. Chen’s most notable Beach series began in the 1970s. The series established his artistic stature in New York which is on par with other photorealism masters like Chuck Close. Chen’s work can be found in the collections of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, San José Museum of Art, Newport Art Museum, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.