The Stroke
Lee Kuan Lian and Wang Kuan Ya
23 April to 23 May 2024
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ARDEL’s Third Place Gallery
(Thonglor soi 10)
The Stroke exhibition pairs two Taiwanese artists, Lee Kuan Lian and Wang Kuan Ya, together to showcase Chinese ink paintings that present Eastern philosophy through the form of contemporary art. Lee Kuan Lian's Symbiosis is the ink painting series installation with carpet on the floor. The work of art takes up the space from eye level to the ground, inviting the audience to reflect on their standpoint while maintaining balance among the inevitable changes of nature for sustainable living. It is consistent with the philosophy of "Laozi", the Chinese philosopher who invented the "Tao". Symbiosis means the unity of opposites, which comes from the philosophical concept of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, and the pattern of the carpet comes from the concept of Tao in the I Ching. The I Ching and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching are both very important ancient philosophies in Chinese culture. Meanwhile, Wang Kuan Ya's Hot Doooog Cart offers a contemporary take on Calligraphy Arts through her brushstrokes. The required precision creates the beauty that is ordinary, uncomplicated, yet beautiful and poetic. The space of the work functions as much an essential part as the ink lines of Dachshunds, provoking the audience to think about the truth of all things that the human eye chooses to see and give importance to.
Lee Kuan Lian holds a Ph.D. from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). She has had solo exhibitions in Japan and the United States and was part of the artist-in-residence program in Perth, Australia. In 2019, she received the Gold Award from the Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan and the First Prize for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Doctoral Students of Central Academy of Fine Arts from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China. Later in 2020, she earned a Bronze Award from the China Art Design Yearbook in the category of Fine Arts, Outstanding Work Award from the 2021 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Art Biennale held at the Metallurgical Art Museum, Hebei, China as well as being selected to participate in the Chinese Painting category of Jin Shangyi's New Painting Exhibition at the Art Museum of China National Academy of Arts in Beijing, China.
Wang Kuan Ya graduated in Painting and Calligraphy Arts from the National Taiwan University of Arts. She is known for her ink wash technique, which is a contemporary style of Chinese ink brush painting. In 2018, Wang Kuanya received the Judge's List Award in the Ink Wash Painting Category from the National Art Exhibition in Taiwan. Later, she was granted a Judge's List Award in the Ink Wash Painting Category from the Chung-Shan Youth Art Awards in 2019 and continued her stream of success by winning the Judge's List Award in the Eastern Media Category from the Nan-Ying Awards, and the Bronze Medal Award in the Ink Wash 2019 Painting Category from Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition in 2020. Wang Kuan Ya has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and China.