DEMOS CHIANG: Shin-ga
Ginza New Gallery
January 13 - February 4, 2023
INTRODUCTION
Not only a painter, Chiang wears many hats: as a multi-creator, digital art curator, and designer, suggesting a literal “omnidirectional artistic creation”. While familiar with traditional Chinese arts such as calligraphy and ink painting, his Western upbringing has led to his creational core in “the intersecting of East and West” naturally. In the art of Chiang, expressionistic techniques of inscribing fragments of multiple realities and the Eastern aesthetic of “marginality” coexist symbiotically. The art is complete only when the viewer’s imagination brings the work in contributing to Chiang’s creative act. His choice of animals is a key motif to express his beliefs that they are the most qualified to represent human beings without any boundaries. By making full use of radical approaches, he incorporates animals into an exquisite intermixture of poetry, calligraphy, and painting. His works provide a three-dimensional aspect as his animals are “carved out” and coming to life.
For this exhibition, Chiang looks back on his life, in a “succession of encounters between East and West”, choosing two key motifs: the dragon and unicorn－the former symbolizing East, the latter, the West. Both creatures exist only in the imagination but, embody the incarnate cultural characteristics of both worlds. The artist never ceases to pursue the endless romanticism which emerges only from the amalgam of both.
The ‘East and West’ that have nurtured the artist’s innermost being, are reborn under the contemporary vocabulary. We cordially invite you to experience the intensity and vivid metamorphosis portrayed by Demos Chiang.
Exhibition off screen
As an artist, my role is to visualize fragments of my life and reconstruct realities into powerful art pieces. Yet, in these pieces, I dare to leave enough room for “gaps”, the “unfulfilled”, and the “imperfections” in hopes that the viewers can overlay their own experiences. And that moment of integration is when my art is complete.
This exhibition: “Magizoology”(神畫), is a term created to describe the study of fantastic beasts in “Harry Potter”. This will be my first attempt to portray beings that only exist in the world of imagination. Art is mostly a matter of the imagination and an artist, in many ways, are rare fantastical beings.
Echoing my own life, “East meets west” has always been my experience. Hence the choice of the dragon and unicorn as the main subjects for this exhibition. The former, represents eastern tradition and the latter western imagination. They reflect on the preferences in eastern philosophy and western scientific roots. My belief is by combining both, a world of romance appears.
Unicorn and his friends
I explore the large world.
Looking for beauties that moves me.
But than I realize it is the beauties in my little world that touches me. I guess it’s because I care and therefore it’s mine.
We are all born twice.
First is when we existed without a choice and the second is when we choose to exist.
Together we climb the mountains,
cross the lakes and journey the valleys.
Together we imprint us onto the world that is how we make our stories into classic.
Dragon and his friends
As long as the sun still rise.
As long as the rain still fall.
You can breath.
You can always see me, I can always see you.
When we choose to.
I just want to make sure that I am still in this world that I hold dear to my heart.
I am thinking. Thinking about what to do today.
Thinking about how to make today different or perhaps,
today is already different because is today.
Jewelry Collaboration
ABOUT
DEMOS CHIANG: Shin-ga
January 13 - February 4, 2023
January 13 - February 4, 2023
긴자 뉴 갤러리
6-4-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku Tokyo, 104-0061, Japan
전화: +81 (0)3 3574 6161
팩스: +81 (0)3 3574 9430
영업시간: 11:00 - 19:00
휴무: 일요일, 월요일
전화: +81 (0)3 3574 6161
팩스: +81 (0)3 3574 9430
영업시간: 11:00 - 19:00
휴무: 일요일, 월요일
We are born to be different.
Some are born to be king.
But I rather be a prince exploring the world,
to decide rather or not I want to be king.