Art as the Philosophy of Emotion and Mind

Art has long been closely intertwined with religion. Early humans used mystical imagination to visualize nature, giving rise to animistic beliefs and primordial art as a means of emotional expression and spiritual exploration. Art extends faith and serves as a crucial way for humans to explore life and understand the mind; education interprets and conveys its spiritual essence.

“Enchanting Enigmas: Yayoi Kusama / Ching-Lung Chen” features works by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and Taiwanese artist Ching-Lung Chen. The exhibition not only continues the narrative of modern art history but also returns to the spiritual nature of art, guiding viewers into the philosophy of emotion and the human psyche.

Yayoi Kusama: A Living Legend of Contemporary Art

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929) is Japan’s most prominent living artist, continuing to create well into her nineties. Showing artistic talent from the age of ten, she works across painting, sculpture, video, installation, performance, literature, and fashion design, spanning styles from Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Pop Art, to Feminist Art, collectively self-defined as “Kusama Art.”

Kusama has long faced neurological and sensory disorders, hallucinations, and suicidal tendencies, openly admitting that art has been a vital lifeline. Between 1957 and 1973, she lived in New York, where she developed her signature Infinity Net series, solidifying her place in art history.

Ching-Lung Chen: Redefining Contemporary Elegance in the French Salon

Ching-Lung Chen (b. 1960) is one of the few Taiwanese artists repeatedly selected for the Salon d'Automne, founded in 1903 and known as a “showcase of 20th-century modern art,” where legends like Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Xu Beihong, Sanyu and Zao Wou-Ki have exhibited.

Abandoning representational imagery, Chen proposed the “Super-string” linear painting theory, challenging traditional brush techniques. Using his body as a brush, his layered lines resemble DNA energy, creating compositions without a central focus or fixed perspective. His works embody free abstraction and drip-painting characteristics, rich with philosophical inquiry and emotional depth. Through his art, Chen explores the unknown of life, conveying a practice of perceiving painting with the mind and expressing meaning through form.