2023 Westbund "OUR STORY – Hidden Gems in the Forests" Solo Exhibition
Along From November 9th to 12th, 2023, Irene Chang Solo Exhibition took place at venue B110 during the 10th Westbund Art & Design Fair. It was coordinated by ARTRUE. This exhibition's main exhibits included the O/X Series, which Irene Chang started in 2022, as well as the Bamboo Series from several years ago. The works, filled with childlike innocence and ethereality, demonstrate the artist’s ability to create vivid illustrations of objects according to their different shapes and forms. Irene Chang’s art resonates with the literati paintings from Imperial China, which present characteristics that reflect the inner soul and unique personal aesthetics.
Irene Chang’s multiple roles and diverse cultural background provide her with rich inspiration and resources. The Surrealism in her work is a result of her own inner debate and a transformation of her aesthetic views. At a young age, Irene started learning painting from SUN Yunsheng, who was a top disciple of CHANG Dai-chien. Her painting skills were slowly honed through the nourishment of Chinese traditional art. During her school days, she was inspired by Western culture, leading to her use of bold and bright colors. Ten years ago, she decided to dedicate herself to art by combining the quintessence of both Eastern and Western cultures, aiming to create a unique language for painting.
Irene Chang Solo Exhibition focused on Practitioner, Philosopher, and Creator to illustrate life. It was a gentle yet passionate experience for the senses with rich tinges of life.
1. Transform Traditional Aesthetics with Modern and Local Narratives
“The mountains, trees and river are tangible, whereas painters embody scenery through their hearts. The complementation between virtuality and reality gives an artwork its aesthetic soul.” FANG Shishu, a painter from the Qing dynasty, thought that art comes from nature; gaining new realizations, developing new ideas, and new presentations beyond nature would help enrich the world and be remembered for a long time.
In fact, an artist tries to integrate modern art mediums and traditional resources in order to reflect on history and create modern narratives. It is a challenge for an artist in terms of incorporating traditional aesthetics into modern society and breaking the mold of tradition while regaining the ability to respond to the current era.
Irene’s art is not restricted to a single theme. It is made with all types of materials and forms. The conceptual methods are all unified in her comparatively liberal and variable art representation. From her solo exhibition Into the Bamboo Forest in 2019 to A Walk in Life - Our Story in 2022, Irene engaged in illustrating concrete objects to events that are testaments to history. Her works are imbued with both meaning and aesthetic pleasure. In recent years, she has focused on the physicality and spirituality of her paintings, making it possible for her to develop a style of her own. In the meantime, with the changes in art mediums, her works of digital art were revealed in 2021 at the Shanghai Jiahe 1st Winter Auction “Digital Symbiosis: Blockchain - Digital Art.”
The artist looks for inspiration in her own surroundings. At the same time, she ensures maintaining the sensitivity and softness of her role as a female artist. In her painting A New Beginning VII, the concrete tree branches are intertwined with symbols that reflect the artist’s inner feelings, projecting the viewer’s own feelings and experience while compelling the viewer to note the meaning of life. The tangled tree roots are either buried deep in the soil or pulled out from the ground, manifesting the tenacity of nature. The trees with tangled roots are like stories in the past; they are the contexts as well as the pathways. WANG Xizhi once said: "What fits me, none is strange." As a part of the O/X series, the artist attempts to trace the origin of things by scattering symbols among the trees; she illustrates an unsophisticated world where trivial and rough symbols create a chaotic world. When the viewer enters this world with rich emotions, he will still be able to find a place to anchor himself while oscillating between concord and discord.
For Irene, the fun of painting is not because it is a superior interest; she sees it as a way to present joy that is authentically based on her personal experience. When asked about life, she said: “I have done various different jobs and eventually I decided to dig into issues worth discussing in my own way to pay tribute to the beauty of life. ”
2. Visual Metaphor for Creating Subtle Effects and Spiritual Strength
Art is made through a liberated self. An artist reflects all things through her mind by incorporating her subjective life perspective in objective natural scenery. The rhythm of life is demonstrated in endless greenery. The gifts of nature contribute to the abundance of all things. Graduated from Harvard, Irene has an exceptional educational background and broad world view. She instills her rich life experience into her art and undertakes a powerful journey of art.
When it comes to creating art, meaningful art pieces are made with individual passion for art and courage.
“Profound images of mountains and valleys are established in one’s mind, and then realized through pen and ink.” This subtleness is only achievable through the artist’s spiritual cultivation in daily life and her own realization. Irene’s work A New Beginning VIII, embodies the process of her transition into philosophical contemplation. Without complicated details, the tree, the main theme, is magnified. Geometrical symbols are used to replace leaves and fruits. The glowing object in the sky not only represents the moon or sun but also symbolizes the glowing stars in the vast galaxy. The tree can represent life and it is surrounded by the eternal debate of right and wrong. A line is used to present a door alongside the tree. However, it is not specified which way it leads to. The details of the work are presented in soft colors coming from the artist’s heart. It conveys pure spiritual strength from a more tolerant angle.
Irene’s works are often filled with innocent colors that are soft and warm. Irene said: “Life can be dealt with a genuine and childlike attitude. We can live in this world like a child because the universe tolerates all things, regardless of right or wrong, everything that is reflected is our true selves after all. ”
“A person’s growth is like nature.” For Irene, humans are like flowers, grass, and trees; we are all composed of DNA, cells, and veins, just like a tree’s nucleus and tree crown. We continue to grow and have legacies passed down from one generation to another. A New Beginning IX-a is an illustration of nature, which Irene is best at: the colorful spring is demonstrated through the colors with joy. In the meantime, A New Beginning IX-b shows the observation of the close connection between the self and nature while depicting a path to coexisting with nature in harmony. These paintings show the female artist’s unique attention to details.
3. “Our Story - Hidden Gems in the Forests”: A Trilogy Unfolding
From “Practitioner” to “Philosopher” and from “Philosopher” to ”Creator,” the expansion of themes is the result of the artist’s deeper understanding of Eastern and Western philosophies and worldview, apart from being motivated by an advanced inspection into languages.
First Part: Practitioner.
The first paintings are luxuriant trees inspired by traditional art. Irene studied Eastern elaborate-style painting at a young age. With Chinese ink washing painting as the foundation, her art in this phase is deeply instilled with the beauty of Eastern culture.
Second Part: Philosopher.
In this phase, Irene’s mindset changed. She integrated Western and Eastern art in her art. While combining different art philosophies, she used diverse art mediums and referred to color science. She changed from ink wash painting to oil painting. In the process of mixing oil and paint, she merged Eastern craftsmanship and Western philosophy in her paintings to achieve a sense of harmony.
Third Part: Creator.
The lake is immensely resplendent, while a forest of kindness is planted. The scenery of the past no longer contains the self. In this phase, the artist and nature are one. The artist’s humility, innocence, and genuineness are reflected in her art, which oversees the universe and life.
Irene Chang Solo Exhibition at the Westbund Art & Design Fair was a brand new beginning for Irene. She was willing to share her honest art and truer views about life. This series of paintings shows the artist’s determination and tenacity despite the challenges of aesthetic inertia. Irene said that her enthusiasm about art is completely self-motivated; she very much enjoys the joy brought by challenges and hopes to comfort viewers spiritually with her new paintings and share with them her subtle realizations. “My paint brush roams across the woods; it combines the abstract and concrete as well as the beauty of both the East and West. I try my best to make art. Even though the future is unknown, I have no regrets with my being in this universe.”
Photos by Irene Chang Studio
