Portrait: The Infinite and Beyond
2023.06.06 - 2023.07.01
Exhibition Statement
Human faces become blurred or immortal after a passage of time. Did someone trace a silhouette of a person thousands of years ago at the dawn of human civilization, creating an everlasting mural? Can earthly beings, who are bound to perish, be granted the gift of immortality through the eternal, two-dimensional brush of a painting, as they are frozen in time and forever preserved in art?
In the past, portrait art prioritised depicting details and resembling reality as closely as possible. However, in the context of contemporary art, portraits are not just depictions of individual human beings. Instead, artists focus on personal experiences and reflections projected onto virtual images, pursuing to create "symbols" that resonate with audiences in the current era. Nowadays, the concept of portrait art has transcended realism and instead, artists use an abstract but sharp artistic touch to capture the pulse of contemporary culture and social ecology, paying humanistic care to the individual's spirit and soul.
Taiwanese contemporary artist Chen-Dao Lee combines popular realistic symbols, exaggerated movements, and vivid forms to create a dramatic atmosphere, empowering the originally plain images with a brand new impact. Japanese artist Hikari Shimoda reflects on her feelings of contradiction and absurdity in contemporary society through innocent yet slightly bizarre children figures. Jeremy Yamamura uses graffiti as a form of street art practice, while Thai artist Mariko Toey transforms different female images into the shape of a box with her innocent and lively artistic touch, which impresses many collectors and audiences. Hong Kong painter Glary Wu uses a warm and imaginative artistic approach to collect strangers' stories with a gentle art style in her paintings. The character images of Japanese illustrator JARO are bright and vivid, filled with the current trend of childlike innocence and humour. Korean artist Iurum uses a mixed medium as a way of artistic expression, embedding miniature figure paintings into ice cream, leading the audience to a new perspective to re-examine the ordinary but precious moments in life.
Each era has its own portrait style and trend, as does each cultural environment. In the context of post-modernity, every individual can create their own "portrait", and everyone has their own unique “portrait.” This June, Touch Gallery proudly presents Portrait: the Infinite and Beyond Group Exhibition. Showcasing multiple artists’ works from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, which express their own unique interpretation of portrait art. We believe that through the exhibition space, an infinite possibility of portraits and imaginations are contained. We hope the audience can join us in experiencing the infinite charm of portrait art in the contemporary era, resonating with the "portraits" of others, and finding the unique "portrait” of your soul.
