Bustling back and forth over cities across the world, Wu Chi-Tsung dexterously shuttled through the art world,  as if it was a natural practice.  This day we came to Wu Chi-Tsung’s new studio in Tamsui, Taipei. Apart from here, he also has studios in Yuanshan in Taipei, Berlin, and  Ho Chi Minh City. These studios scattered around the world are not only for practical needs but also for Wu Chi-Tsung’s strategy of observing the world. 

A studio space that can accommodate museum level presentation 

“This is the most well-equipped space I have ever had. It’s like working in an art museum.” Wu Chi-Tsung sat in a corner of his new studio, and the sunlight fell through the large glass windows and landed on his shoulders.

This new studio is located in the residential area of Danhai New Town. Facing a wide, neat street, it locates on the first floor with high ceilings. Here, Wu Chi-Tsung drives a scissor lift,  ascending and descending in the spacious space, busy making two huge  “Cyano-Collage Series” to be exhibited at Sean Kelly Gallery in  New York. This will be his first solo exhibition in New York– his new studio coming out of a need for this work. 

The main exhibition hall of Sean Kelly Gallery in New York is the size of a  basketball court. Two large works are required, which are difficult to be accommodated in his old Yuanshan studio. “In Yuanshan, when you want to see the complete composition of  the work, you have to open the iron rolling door on the first floor and retreat  across the road.” One of the new “Cyano-Collage Series” scales three meters by nine meters in size. “It is unlikely that I would create works larger than this anymore. We have already challenged the limits of the new space by creating it” While standing in front of the large “Cyano-Collage Series” work, people would feel as if they are in a real mountain, and would almost lose control to dive in. 

A studio is different from an art gallery. It is a place where the artist lowers his head and sweats to work. However, Wu Chi-Tsung planned his new studio according to the specifications of an exhibition hall, aligning the working environment with the exhibition conditions. Therefore, “Before I arrive in New York, I can already accurately foresee what the work looks like on-site.” He said that the most difficult aspect of space planning is to master good scale and proportions. For example, some exhibition spaces have very high ceilings, but the proportion between the work and the space as well as between viewers and the space may be weird. Having spacious space and high ceilings do not necessarily bring enjoyable visiting experiences. 

During his creating process, Wu Chi-Tsung skillfully uses scaffolding and scissor lifts to move across the work, like playing with a toy.  “Compared to see the completed work at the exhibition site, where everything is neatly presented, sometimes the creative process is more interesting.” Wu says, looking up at the “Cyano-Collage Series”, the upper part of which has not yet been completed. Xuan papers are selected to be mounted on the aluminum plate, blowing under the fanlike ocean waves. ” Normally audiences won’t have the chance to see this kind of scene of the Cyano-Collage Series.  The nature of this work is actually a collage of randomnesses formed by wrinkled pieces of Xuan paper.” 

Wu Chi-Tsung said that interacting with materials and technology is what he finds the most interesting. With a large high-ceilinged studio and the help of scaffolding and scissor lifts, he is able to change the way of interacting with his works. “When people see what is behind-the-scene, they can understand how the work is created step by step and will have a completely different understanding to the work.” Chi-Tsung and his team have moved to the new studio for less than a month, and there is already a thin layer of paper scraps and glue on the ground underneath the work. “This is a habit of mine in the studio. Basically,  everyone is not allowed to clean up the ground.” 

Everything that happened in the studio left traces. When the artist picks his brush, the glue drips along the way and leaves marks. When piles of Xuan paper soaked in photosensitive solution generally turn into different shades of blue, they would dye the floor on the ground.” In contrast,  I will feel a  lot of pressure if the space is too neat and tidy, so I will have to be constantly aware of not to mess the space up,  and my  attention will be distracted.” In the artist’s studio, randomness can also be a precious inspiration. ‘

Physical and spiritual polished by trainings of rock-climbing 

“I also plan to install a climbing wall here.” Until now, Wu Chi-Tsung still always recalls the training time when he was in the rock climbing team back in high school. He shared with us the three-day round of intensive training routine at that time. Back then, he only wanted to be stronger and freer. Rock climbing is all about the present. Wu  Chi-Tsung said “Sometimes you will find yourself in a tricky stage seven or eight stories above the ground. You may fall at any time.  And this is time you have to think about nothing but to concentrate on every action at the moment.” Rock climbing and art creation are similar things, both require your spirituality and physicality to be present. When you challenge the limitations of your body, you may find the essence of your existence. “It’s a kind of freedom.” 

“Freedom” has always been a keyword to Wu Chi-Tsung: the freedom to exceed the limits of the body when exercising, the freedom to imagine when creating.  “However, freedom does not mean to do anything without rules, but something that I, the materials and tools in my hand conform to each other and develop  together in the most natural and comfortable state of each other.” 

Looking at the half-completed “Cyano-Collage Series” on one side of the studio and the wall with only aluminum panels on the other side, Wu introduces, “These two huge works are like marathons. They are very tiring and require strong organizational skills and concentration, but I enjoy this unprecedented  challenge a lot.” After this, he jumped on the scissor lift again, taking the time to finish the ‘clouds’ on the aluminum plate. 

Awakening the Study on Materials of Traditional Media

Wu Chi-Tsung has received art training from both Eastern and Western sources, which is a common upbringing in Taiwan. “We actually grew up bilingual, and it is unlikely that a Western artist would have practiced calligraphy and ink painting since childhood, but Asian artists are generally trained in Western art, and this is obviously our best characteristic and competitive advantage.” This has prompted him to reexamine the classic as well as learn from the West, to explore personal, regional, and contemporary particularities, and to try to mend the gap between East and West, tradition and modernity.

Wu Chi-Tsung believes that it will be a hard act to follow what has been achieved by the ancient people, so he has taken a different path by replacing ink and brush with other media and using experimental photography to continue the landscape tradition. He said, “After all, the ancients could not be possible to climb onto the rock wall and observe them as I do. “

For the “Cyano-Collage” series, Wu Chi-Tsung conducted research on Xuan paper, learning about the material.  

In 2018, he established a studio in a residential building with a rooftop in Yuanshan. The daily  routine of this studio was almost revolving around “paper” and the four floors of the building each has their own function:the rooftop for exposing cyanotype-treated xuan paper, the fourth floor for “washing” the paper and other machinery works, the third floor for the creation and presentation of the works, and the paper scraps and traces of glue on the floor of the second floor have reached the thickness of snow…“In order to find the most suitable type of xuan paper for the cyanotype process, we have experimented on dozens of types of them. By countless research and experiments, we get to understand the material better”. This is also what he differs from painters and calligraphers from the past.  To Wu, xuan paper is the paper with the most complicated and sensitive quality among all. With different manufacturing methods, they are capable to carry out broad color variations of ink that are extremely delicate. 

The cultivation of the two cultures of the East and the West gave Wu Chi-Tsung a broader mind and vision, and his works that combined Western contemporary media and the spirit of Eastern aesthetics translated the world they were not familiar with to Western audiences. “Through my work, xuan paper is able to be noticed by more people. For example, when I was exhibiting in Europe when the audience learned about the production process of the “Cyano-Collage Series”, they were all amazed by the outstanding resilience of the xuan paper after being crumpled, flattened, soaked, and dried. If in this way, more artists from other countries will also start to become interested in this material and begin to use it in their creations, can this traditional eastern media breathe a new life in the contemporary art world? “If 20% of the artists working with paper in Europe adapt xuan paper, the  whole industry will be resurrected.” 

Wu Chi-Tsung believes that the overall consideration and management of art from the stage of the production of materials is a practical matter. “I spend so much time researching materials, of course, I hope that it will continue to be produced.  People tend to think that art is something remote and abstract. In fact, it IS such a practical thing. Interacting with materials and technology is part of the creation.”

Be natural, be harmonic

Behind the huge Cyano-Collage landscape, the research and application of materials also embody Eastern philosophies and fundamentally establish the aesthetic tone and value orientation of the works.  “Western paper was developed for a high degree of control, while Eastern paper  has a high degree of variability in aesthetic values.” This is the so-called  “naturally.” When creating, Wu Chi-Tsung thought about how to make the material develop. For example, rice paper is thin and tough. When crumpled, its characteristics can be expressed naturally. But if you make origami, expect it to  have a specific shape, “I will do it very painfully, and the paper will probably be  very uncomfortable.” The idea of control arises, and the characteristics of paper cannot be unfolded, so the more you create, the more limited it becomes. 

It is necessary to minimize control and allow the integration of materials and technologies to occur naturally. Only then can the underlying “own being” unfold. He showed us the pottery he made in his spare time during the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that while making pottery,  you also need to learn to interact with the clay, not attempting to control them. “Every material  has its own character, just like people, we can only follow it to dig out its unique texture, or the unique chemical reaction between me  and the material.” 

International studio across Europe and Asia 

Speaking of his life as an international artist, Wu Chi-Tsung introduces, “If it weren’t for the Covid-19, I would be spending maybe only one-third of the  year in Taiwan, and other times I would be living, creating, finding inspiration, or conducting research on materials and technology in my studios around the world.”  

The two huge “Cyano-Collage Series” on the wall of the Tamsui studio will be sent to the United States immediately after completion. While being asked why not consider establishing a studio in New York? Wu Chi-Tsung replied, “New York is too charming for anyone to dislike. But it may not be suitable as a base for  artists to create.” In 2013, Wu Chi-Tsung was granted by the Asian Cultural Council  (ACC) for a half-year residency program. It is when he realized that the high cost of goods and intense competition made it a difficult place to live and work in as a young artist. “It’s not a place where people can calm down and be focused.” 

“I like Vietnam very much. Compared with New York, it is a jungle where everything is in a very initial and chaotic state.” It is an art world that is growing and forming its shape, and the experience here is unprecedented. “For example”, Wu Chi-Tsung said,  “if you hold an open studio in Saigon, half of the Saigon art circle will show up, and the art ecology here is a close community. ” Berlin is an intermediate value for Wu  Chi-Tsung. The historical background and economic structure of the city have brought artists from all over the world into the city, forming another spectacle full of life. “Berlin has changed a lot. My studio is the place where the secret police  gathered in the old East Germany.” The history of political prisoners and the political atmosphere of the East German era are still there, but at the same time, it is an inclusive city “Why there can there be so many interesting things happening in Berlin? The relatively low price is absolutely the key.” Because the space cost is low, you can try as much as you want without the pressure to succeed. 

Free artistic spirit 

He added that as an artist, he is very lucky. He travels around the world and communicates with different people. Through traveling and working in various cities, he accumulates the experience of interacting with different people. He sees that people have very different imaginations towards what it means to work with art.  

“Most people consider that artists are people who make works, which is incorrect. The creation of works is only part of the work. What we do is ‘the whole thing about  art’.” Wu Chi-Tsung said. “Including academic research, art market operation,  international relations, and even thinking about the production of materials. The international studio layout allows him to integrate information and resources most efficiently, and to re-recognize himself from the perspective of others so that he can really know himself and understand his uniqueness compared to others.  “When I was in Taiwan, I didn’t think there were any problems; after I left Taiwan, I  could see its characteristics and limitations.” 

He chose to transcend limitations. He is exploring to make use of his studios in Berlin, Ho Chi Minh City,  Yuanshan, and Tamsui. In each of them, an aspect of Wu Chi-Tsung’s personality dwells. Shuttling between the past and now, east and west, his personality and creativity never stop growing. 

The settings of these studios seem to be rational and full of logic, but they actually more of a natural result of Chi-Tsung’s career development to fit his need than a deliberate arrangement. . And the fundamental reason that drives him to bravely cross the border may be just the kind of spirit he has experienced in many years of rock climbing training, that is, beyond the limits, the spirit of freedom.

Editor Nicole Lee
Text by Jing

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在隔著海陸的城市間忙碌來回，吳季璁靈巧地穿梭藝術世界，仿若修行般的自然而然。這天我們來到吳季璁位於淡水的新工作室，除了此處，他在台北圓山、德國柏林和越南胡志明市，都還有工作空間，這些散落世界各處的工作室，不僅只為了創作需要，更是吳季璁觀看世界的策略。

美術館規格的創作空間

「這是我用過最高級的空間，簡直是在美術館裡面做東西一樣。」吳季璁坐在淡水新工作室的一角，陽光穿過大片玻璃，落在他肩上。

這個新的工作室座落在淡海新市鎮住宅區，街道寬闊，一樓挑高氣派。吳季璁駕駛著高空作業車，在偌大的方正空間中上升下降，忙著製作即將前往紐約 Sean Kelly Gallery展覽的巨幅《氰山集》系列新作。這將是他首次在紐約的個人展覽，而這個新工作室基本上也是為此誕生。

紐約 Sean Kelly Gallery的主展場有籃球場這麼大，需要兩件大型作品，原有的圓山工作室空間受限。「在圓山，要看作品完整構圖時，得把一樓的鐵捲門打開退到馬路對街，才能看到整體。」新工作室挑高五米七，主牆寬度十米，牆面上一幅創作中的《氰山集》，尺寸是三米乘九米。「應該很少會有比這個尺幅更大的作品了，已經用到這個空間的極限。」巨幅的《氰山集》像一座巨山真的矗立於眼前，稍一走神就想往作品裡面奔去。

工作室和美術館不同，那裡是藝術家低頭流汗工作的場所，但吳季璁以展場的規格規劃工作室，把工作環境與展覽條件拉齊。還沒到紐約，就能準確掌握作品在現場的模樣。他說空間規劃最困難的是掌握好的尺度和比例，像很多展覽空間，高度過高，反而觀看的距離感未必合適，大的確有很多好處，但不見得大就是好。

配合拍攝，吳季璁靈活地攀上鷹架，展示高空作業車上升下降，像在玩玩具。「比起展覽現場看到完成的作品，所有東西收得工工整整，有時候創作的過程反而更有趣。」抬頭看《氰山集》天際線的那一道還沒有完成，已經挑好的紙浮貼在鋁板上，冷氣吹拂它們像海浪飄動。「一般觀眾大概不太會有機會看到這樣的畫面氰山集其實是在一堆隨機偶然的皺褶碎片中，慢慢交織而成。」

吳季璁說和材料、技術互動是最有趣的，有了大工作室，高空作業車和鷹架，改變了他和作品互動的可能性。「如果大家可以看到這樣的東西，你可以理解作品是怎麼一步一步創造出來，對它的想像會完全不一樣。工作室啟用不到一個月，在作品正下方的地面已有一層薄薄的紙屑和殘膠。「我工作的空間有個習慣，地面基本上不准大家清理。」

所有發生在工作室的事情都留下痕跡。刷子舉起來，膠是沿路滴，不同的氰版相紙在地上累積不同的深淺的藍色，「回頭去看這些髒亂的痕跡，都是每一段時間工作的記憶，反過來說，如果工作空間非常乾淨整潔，我會覺得壓力很大，得時時擔心弄髒環境，注意力一直被分散。」在藝術家工作室，不修邊幅的隨意也是一種記載歷史的方式。

攀岩訓練中打磨的身心狀態

「我還打算在這裡弄一塊攀岩牆。」到現在，吳季璁還很懷念高中時作為攀岩選手的訓練，他分享當時三天一輪的訓練菜單，當時一心只想讓自己變強， 心無雜塵。攀岩是一件徹底當下的事，吳季璁說：「有時在一個離地面七、八層樓高的難關，去挑戰自己能力極限的動作，隨時可能墜落，只能心無旁騖專注在當下的每個動作。「攀岩和創作都是，你的精神性和身體性是一致的。超越你身體、物質各方面的侷限，那個東西是人存在的重點，那是一種自由。」

「自由」始終是一個關鍵詞：運動時超越身體極限的自由，創作時想像馳騁的自由。「然而自由並不意味著毫無章法地任意而為，而是我與手中的材料、工具一起相互順應、彼此在最自然舒展的狀態下共同發展出來的東西。」

望向工作室一面完成過半的《氰山集》和另一面還只有鋁板的牆面，「這兩件巨幅作品是超級馬拉松，非常累，需要極強的組織能力與專注力，可是我很喜歡這個前所未有的挑戰。」說完，他又跳上牆面，抓空檔刷起鋁板上的雲朵。

喚醒傳統媒材的材料學研究

吳季璁從小在美術班，接受著東西方兩種脈絡的藝術訓練，這樣的養成在台灣是常見的。「我們其實是學雙語長大，西方的藝術家不大可能從小練書法，畫水墨，但亞洲藝術家的養成普遍也受西方藝術的訓練，這顯然是最好的特色跟競爭優勢。」這促使他觀望古人，也與西方相比較，挖掘個人的，地域的，和當代的特殊性，試圖在東方與西方，傳統與現代之中修補斷裂。

吳季璁認為，古人在書畫技法上達成的成就他永遠無法望其項背，才另闢蹊徑，以其他的媒材取代筆墨，用實驗攝影的方式去延續山水意境。談及優勢，他則笑說「古人可沒法像我這樣貼在岩壁上觀察」。

在《氰山集》系列中，吳季璁從材料學的角度對宣紙做足了研究。2018年，他在圓山找到一整棟透天民宅作為工作室，這間工作室的日常幾乎是圍繞著「紙張」展開的：四個樓層，每一樓都有各自的功能，頂樓曬紙、四樓有洗紙台和機械室，三樓收藏與創作，二樓地板上的紙屑跟殘膠已達積雪厚度⋯⋯「為了找尋合適氰版的紙張，我們嘗試過數十種宣紙，廣泛的研究，大量製作試片去實驗，瞭解其材質特性」，這也是傳統書畫家少見的研究方式。他認為宣紙是所有紙張中擁有最複雜工藝的紙類，為了表現不同的墨韻層次變化，它的抄法、材料都有講究，而宣紙呈現顏色的效果亦極為細膩、豐富、而敏感。

而東西方兩種文化的養成帶給了吳季璁更廣闊的思維與視野，而他結合西方當代媒材與東方美學精神的作品則向西方觀眾轉譯了他們所不熟識的世界。「通過我的作品，宣紙這種材料能有機會被更多人注意到。例如我在歐洲展覽時，當觀眾了解到《氰山集》的製作過程，都驚歎著宣紙在揉皺、攤平、浸泡、晾曬之中顯現出的驚人韌性。如果通過這種方式，更多其他國家的藝術家也開始對於這種材料產生興趣，並且開始在創作中使用，是否能令這種充滿特色與可能性的傳統媒材在當代煥發新的生機？「假如整個歐洲有兩成紙上創作者用宣紙，這整個產業就復活了。」

吳季璁認為，對藝術進行長遠到材料的生產的全盤思考與關注是一件再實際不過之事。「我花這麼多時間研究材料，當然希望它持續生產。大家都把藝術想得太遙遠、抽象，其實就是這麼實際的東西，創作是在跟材料、技術互動。」

順勢而為的自然而然

在巨幅氰版山水背後，吳季璁對於材料的研究與運用也無處不體現著東方哲思，在根本性上奠定了作品的美學基調與價值取向。「西方的紙張是為了高度控制發展出來的，東方的紙，裡頭的美學價值觀有高度的隨機性。」也就是所謂的「自然而然」。創作時，吳季璁想的是如何讓材料發展。例如宣紙薄且有韌性，揉皺它，它的特質能自然抒發出來。但去如果摺紙，期待它有特定的造型，「我會做得很痛苦，紙大概也會很不自在。」控制的念頭產生，紙的特性無法被舒展開，如此越創作反而越侷限。

「要把控制減到最低，讓材料、技術的整合自然發生，那個時候，才能讓潛在的真實自性舒展開來。」他展示疫情期間閒暇做的陶藝，他說做陶也是一種和土的互動，而不是駕馭。「每個材料都有它的性格，跟每個人一樣，只能順勢而為，去挖掘它特有的質地，或者說我和材料間特有的化學反應」。

橫跨歐亞的國際工作室

「若不是疫情，一年中可能只有三分之一的時間待在台灣，其他時間則會在各地的工作室中生活、創作、尋找靈感，或進行材料與技術的研究。」話鋒一轉，吳季璁聊到他在世界各地的創作場域。

淡水工作室牆面上那兩幅巨大《氰山集》，完成後就要立刻飛往美國，被問到為何不考慮在紐約也設立工作室？吳季璁回答：「紐約是一個太有魅力的城市了，沒有人會不喜歡它。但未必適合作為一個藝術家創作的base。」2013年吳季璁到Asian Cultural Council (ACC)駐村半年，發現其發展階段並不合適紐約這個城市，高物價成本，機會和競爭抗衡抵銷，對起步的藝術家來說難以消化。「它不是一個可以讓人安靜、專注的地方。」

「我很喜歡越南，和紐約比起來它就是一個叢林，在叢林一切東西都是很初始、混亂的狀態。」它是正在成形的藝術世界，這裡的體驗是前所未有的。吳季璁舉例，在西貢舉辦一個open studio，半個西貢藝術圈都來了，這裡的藝術生態是一個緊密的社群。柏林對吳季璁來說則是一個中間值，城市的歷史背景和經濟結構，使世界各地的藝術家傾城湧入，構成另一種充滿生命力的奇觀。「柏林的變化很大，我的工作室是舊東德聚集秘密警察的地方。」關政治犯的歷史以及東德時期的政治氛圍都還殘留，卻同時無奇不有。「為什麼柏林可以有這麼多有趣的東西，便宜——絕對是關鍵。」因為空間成本低，可盡情嘗試，沒有非成功不可的壓力。

自由舒展的藝術精神

他補充，作為藝術家是很幸運的，雲遊四海和不同人交流，透過旅行與在各城市工作，累積與不同人交手的經驗，他看見每個人對「藝術這一整件事」都懷抱著不同的想像落差。

「大部分的人都搞錯了，他們對藝術家的想像就是『做作品的人』。作品創作只是我工作的一部分，我們做的是『藝術這一整件事』。」吳季璁說道。包含學術世界、藝術市場運作、國際關係、甚至是創作材料生產的思考，而國際化的工作室佈局令他能夠最高效地整合信息與資源，以他者角度重新認識自己，才能真的知道自己與對方的差異。「我在台灣時，不會認為它有什麼問題；而在離開台灣後，才能看到它的特質及限制」。

文/ Jing
編輯/ Nicole Lee

Stand D15, Sean Kelly New York
VIP Preview days October 13-14, 2021
Public days October 15-17, 2021 
Venue The Regent’s Park, London, UK

Sharing sceneries of mountains and oceans that were either captured in Taiwan or from his imagination to yet another continent,  Works of Wu Chi-Tsung’s will be showcased at Frieze London 2021. They will be presented along with creations of other young artists of Sean Kelly Gallery. The visually dynamic group of works will mark the gallery’s inaugural participation in the show. 

It is noteworthy that the Drawing Study Series will be presented overseas for the first time. The Drawing Study 001 – Seascape LongDong captures actual real-time sceneries, the reprocessed videos show visual variations to create a perceptive confusion suspended between moving and static images. Although they originate from reality, what the artist offers are sceneries that can never happen in the phenomenal world. Meanwhile, three aluminum boarded Cyano-Collage Series will be presented.

About Frieze London

Frieze London is one of the world’s most influential contemporary art fairs, focusing only on contemporary art and living artists, and takes place each October in The Regent’s Park, in the heart of London.

Frieze London was founded in 2003. The fair is one of the world’s key contemporary art fairs, focusing only on contemporary art. The 2021 edition of the fair showcases over 160 of the most notable galleries from around the world.

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Stand D15, Sean Kelly New York
VIP預覽 2021年10月13~14日
公眾開放 2021年10月15~17日
地址 倫敦攝政公園內

吳季璁作品即將在本週開幕的倫敦弗里茲藝術博覽會的尚凱利畫廊展位中展出，將來自台灣與他腦海中的山景與海景分享給另一個大陸的觀眾。此次，由吳季璁與其他幾位優秀的年輕藝術家的作品所組成的精心策劃、視覺生動而豐富的展覽將是畫廊於該博覽會的首秀。

值得一提的是，本次將是吳季璁2021年新作《寫生習作》系列在海外的首次亮相。出展的《寫生習作001-龍洞海景》拍攝於台灣北部的龍洞，真實的現實景象通過技術處理而出現了視覺上的變異，製造出介於動態與靜態之間的感知迷惑。儘管本於現實，作品提供的卻是現象界不可能真實發生的圖景。同時，三幅鋁底板《氰山集》新作將在博覽會中展出。

關於倫敦弗里茲藝術博覽會

倫敦弗里茲藝術博覽是世界頂尖當代藝術博覽會之一。會與大多數其他博覽會不同，弗裏茲倫敦和大師展的舉辦地「攝政公園」位於主辦城市的中心地帶，這也構成了倫敦充滿活力的文化結構和國際藝術景觀的一部分。

弗里茲藝術博覽會是少有的幾個聚焦當代藝術和在世知名藝術家的藝博會之一，展現了當今一些最令人耳目一新的藝術家，從新興藝術家到現象級藝術家都有，展會由獨立策展人組成的團隊為特色展區提供建議。

Installation Views 展覽現場

Recently, Wu Chi-Tsung’s new solo exhibition “Seeing Through Light” at Tao Art Space was reported by Living and Design Magazine.

The article introduces, ‘In this exhibition, Wu Chi-Tsung retraces his initial interests and continues his exploration of visual expressions, and once again develops a different video shooting technique.

For Wu Chi-tsung, it is not necessary to pay too much attention to the individual works themselves. What is more crucial is to develop a unique Weltanschauung and to establish the form, language, thinking and perspective of viewing art in the process of developing the works. The value of the artwork as a “thing” is not high, but as a starting point to lead into a certain spiritual journey, in which the artist gives the object to verify the existence of the journey, giving it an “intangible” value.

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前言：

  在海外發展多年的現代藝術家-吳季璁，除了香港世界畫廊正在進行中的個展-《現》外，回到故鄉台北，由策展人王嘉驥老師在Tao Art Space策劃今年另一個展「照見」，少時在傳統學院派的藝術薰陶浸淫多年的吳季璁，自大學開始才進入當代藝術的領域，發展如影片、攝影、光影裝置等新媒體的創作方法，新舊衝突下的斷裂與拉扯中，成就自身的藝術方向，而場地為去年成立的Tao Art Space，因一張委託的《氰山集》系列作品，經介紹認識業主及收藏家Vicky，而開啟了這次展覽的緣分。

修行即為創作  作品驗證藝術旅程

   西方藝術受到東方思想衝擊較大的時期，為佛學禪宗大師-鈴木大拙到美國與歐洲講學開始，影響並啟蒙許多現當代藝術家的創作方向，而日本當時擁有最完整的禪宗傳播系統，教義上相比藏傳佛教更類似哲學探討。

   對吳季璁來說，不需要給予個別作品本身過多的關注，如何發展發展作品的過程中，建立其世界觀及形式、語言、思考以及觀看藝術的角度更為關鍵，如只專注在單一作品本身，容易錯失背後更大的思維起點。藝術品做為「物」的本身的價值並不高，而是做為一個出發點導引進入某段精神上的旅程，其中，藝術家賦予物品驗證旅程的存在，使之擁有「無形」的價值。談到外界對於藝術家認知的謬誤，以為作品是創作者自我傲氣與任性下的產物，然而在真實的藝術創作中，需要先放下自我，順勢作品發展。吳季璁在藝術的修行過程，時常面對佛家思想中如何放下「我執」的命題，相信某些材質會因宿命而出現在生活中，過於控制作品容易畫地自限，然自我的執念越輕，而創作的可能性會帶領你到意想不到的境地，以上透過佛家與禪宗談到許多，與創作相關的思維模式。

 重現傳統攝影技術  擷取「無常」中的真實

   本次展覽《照見》也特別呈現了幾件吳季璁早期作品， 2004年的《自畫像》詮釋人是不斷變動的一種生物，如佛家談到的「無常」，也是時間流中的一部分碎片，利用攝影技法捕捉流逝的「剎那」，在暗室中面對鏡頭，使用手電筒描繪臉部，長曝後呈現不完全的面部狀態，並透過幻燈片與暗房沖洗，反映影像的可能性與有別於傳統自畫像命題的樣貌。當年度正是傳統底片攝影逐漸式微，數位影像抬頭興起的階段，藝術家以作品自身作為一份傳統攝影的紀念，呈現衝突且看似失真的真實紀錄。

   實驗攝影的技術發展到2012年，吳季璁感於數位攝影的便利性與單一性，嘗試回到技術本質的探討，在《皴法習作》與其後的《氰山集》系列，運用與攝影術幾乎同時發明的氰版藥劑和無相機攝影方法，在揉皺傳統中國書畫的宣紙後，塗上感光藥劑置放在陽光下進行自然曝曬，充分水洗即顯影出藍色的影像，自然如同岩石山景般的層次，意像呈現傳統水墨千山連綿的壯闊之景。

超脫時間的完美狀態  放下「我執」重新導引

  許久未在台北發表作品的吳季璁，經介紹了收藏家及展場業主，Vicky 和父親都熱愛收藏，父親偏愛以佛像和宋元瓷器為主的古美術及台灣現代藝術，而 Vikcy 則是以國內外當代藝術為主。Tao Art 獨有的兩代收藏經歷，揉雜古今正好與吳季璁的創作路線不謀而和，成就了這次吳季璁和 Tao Art 胡不堂佛像收藏的合作。

  「照見」在佛典中言意為「指向開悟成佛的透徹與超脫」，佛學中的修行，與藝術創作有極為相似的精神軌跡，雖然其過程有所不同，卻有相同的內化反應，與自我掙扎下的拆解體驗。本次展覽中，吳季璁重新回溯最初的創作思維，延續從自畫像時期開始的影像探索，再次發展出有別以往的影像處理技巧，在新作《寫生習作》拍攝初期，原本想以破碎的形式呈現捕捉胡不堂所藏佛像「剎那」下的真實，當他注視著這經歷千年的佛像，反思面對自己或人皆是變動不定的命數，而佛像卻擁有超脫其中的完美狀態，使他放下了當初設定的詮釋方法，透過光影重新測試、觀察引導，內化佛學與藝術的相互印證，重新理解「照見」的命題。

Written by 文/ Erin Song

Public Dates  Jul 13 – Oct 2, 2021, Tue – Sat, 11 am – 7 pm
Venue  Tao Art Space, 8f, No.79-1, Zhouzi St., Neihu Dist., Taipei city

 On Jul 13, “Seeing Through Light: Wu Chi-Tsung Solo Exhibition” opens at Tao Art Space in Taipei. Curated by renowned curator Chia Chi Jason Wang, the exhibition marks the premiere of a series of experimental video works, the Drawing Study Series. Applying a special video-filming technique, Wu Chi-Tsung offers an alternative way of looking at reality through the work.

Tao Art Space is jointly founded by art collector Vicky Chen and her father.  Parallel to their collection and presentation of contemporary art, Tao Art Space has also established a remarkable collection of antiques under the name “Hu Bu Tang.” Both believing that Art could transcend time, Wu Chi-Tsung and Tao Art started this collaboration. The artist presents a special feature of ancient Buddhist sculptures from Tao Art’s Hu Bu Tang Collection as part of the Drawing Studies Series,bringinga modern “exposure” to the antiques. Alongside, early works such as Rain and Self-Portrait will be exhibited to ‘pan across’ Wu Chi-Tsung’s artistic journey with video and photography. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tao Art Space is limiting the number of people in the Gallery at any one time and is open by appointment only. Meanwhile, the Gallery has introduced a number of measures to keep the visitors and staff safe. Please click the button below to RSVP and enjoy your visit.

Seeing Through Light: Wu Chi-Tsung Solo Exhibition

Curated by Chia Chi Jason Wang

Once during nightfall, sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) held a lamp and led art critic Paul Gsell (1870-1947) to see an ancient Greek statue of Venus in the dark. With the dim lamplight, the sculptor turned the movable platform that held the statue, and made the critic look closely at the torso of Venus, illuminating the complex and intricate projections and depressions. This way, Rodin helped Gsell to discover the beauty of flesh represented by artists in the Classical period.[1]

During his youth, Wu Chi-Tsung was still exploring creative possibilities, and had also seen himself through light. In the dark, he replaced paintbrush with a flashlight, and pointed it at his face to capture his own portrait, while also setting the camera on long exposure (B mode) to allow the trail of light to simultaneously develop on the film. The printed and enlarged images became his earliest “Self-Portrait” series (2004). Based on this, “seeing through light” is not just a metaphor of Wu Chi-Tsung’s personal enlightenment and self-discovery, but also his unique creative means.

Before the “Self-Portrait” series, he tried to capture the scenery outside his home window using high shutter speed (1/8000 second) for “Rain” (2002). In the video, the constantly skipping raindrops are a sharp comparison to the seemingly stationary landscape of the Tamsui River far away, especially the Guandu Bridge that spans over the river, as well as the roads and surrounding woods. Between those things moving at a high speed and remaining stationary are the endless traffic on the bridge and the road. Through camera and video camera, Wu Chi-Tsung repeatedly reverses and topples human’s daily vision, as well as their perceptive experience of reality. Consciously, Wu Chi-Tsung manipulates the “moment” in time by stretching and slowing it down or rapidly accelerating and speeding it up, through which he offers an alternative way of looking at reality.

“Seeing through light” is a common term in Buddhist scriptures, referring to the thorough understanding and transcendence of enlightenment. In May 2021, Wu Chi-Tsung holds a solo exhibition at TAO ART Space. In response to the gallery’s collection of classical sculptures, Wu has specially selected five Buddhist statues from different dynasties that have unique aesthetics and spiritual significances, including: “Gilded and Colored Limestone Head of Buddha” from Eastern Wei to Northern Qi (6th century), “Limestone Head of Buddha” and “Limestone Standing Bodhisattva” from Northern Qi (6th century), “Limestone Head of Bodhisattva” from Sui (6th-7th century), and “Wooden Standing Venerable Ānanda” from Song (10th-13th century), as the source images to develop a series of videos. The title, “Seeing Through Light,” not only reflects the curator‘s observation on Wu Chi-Tsung’s art from the past to present, but also echoes these Buddhist statue-themed new works featured in this exhibition.

Like a brush made of light, the artist points a flashlight at the Buddhist statues and sketches; a video camera is fixed on the side to record the movements of the light beam in the space, as well as the end results of the manifestation of the Buddhist statues through the trail of light. The recorded videos, in the post-production process, are retouched using a digital program developed by the artist. Targeting each frame (30 frames/1 second), Wu Chi-Tsung sets for each layer a brightness parameter, so that it increases as the layers pile up. This way, the videos processed through the computer algorithm not only preserve the original temporal linearity, but also intensify with the piling up of layers to create a stunning visual effect, as if physical thickness were added to time.

Back in 2003, Wu Chi-Tsung was already experimenting with video creations of the same principle. The difference is that, back then, digital computing was still in the cradle, and he could only possess and access limited post-production tools, and make use of inexpensive equipment he had around to layer the pictures a frame at a time, completing “The Self-Portrait of 71 Frames.” Today, nearly 20 years later, with more advanced digital equipment and programs to assist his shooting and computing, the artist carries on and expands this concept that he was unable to thoroughly realize early on, achieving further development.

Early on, Wu Chi-Tsung completed many works simply titled “Self-Portrait” through exploring and experimenting on his own. From knowing self to observing reality, image tools were the core media he used to probe into the authenticity of phenomena. Contemplating on the nature of video and viewing, he often started from the rhetoric of suspicion and rhetorical question to establish the problematic. Paradox within suspense was almost an indispensable aesthetic quality of his video works.

Continuing the existing style and video thinking, Wu Chi-Tsung’s seeing the Buddhist statues through light is obviously an exploration of artistic creation, which is concretely different than the Buddhist notion of enlightenment and seeing through reality and illusion. Despite this, the images of the Buddhist statues have been converted by him to gradually become illuminated in the dark, from partially to entirely, allowing audience to really witness the beauty of “seeing through light.” Wu Chi-Tsung conjures the embodied spiritual power of the statues to manifest its mysterious nature, while also turning the viewing experience into an enriched journey of discovery.

Wu Chi-Tsung continued to apply the same video post-production technique to the selected coasts and cities he shot, creating the “Drawing Study” series (2021). Regardless of the oceanic scenery at Longdong in northern Taiwan, or the urban landscapes of Taipei City, which are all actual real-time sceneries, the reprocessed videos show visual variations to create a perceptive confusion suspended between to be or not to be. Whether it is natural landscapes or urban crowds, they are all consistently changing to begin with; however, through the artist’s unique digital manipulation, they instantly consolidate into solid scenic spectacles, leaving everyone in awe. Although they originate from reality, what the artist offers are sceneries that can never happen in the phenomenal world. The artificial fabulation of Wu Chi-Tsung exists in-between reality and fiction, expanding for the works room of philosophical and aesthetic dialectics, and allowing viewers to ruminate on the notion of noumenon ( or thing-in-itself) and truth.

Matching the new videos created by Wu Chi-Tsung using the archived Buddhist statues of TAO ART Space as the source images with the spatial utilization, “Seeing Through Light: Wu Chi-Tsung Solo Exhibition” arranges for the original Buddhist statues seen in the videos to also be exhibited, hoping to trigger intriguing dialogues for the unexpected encounter of ancient and contemporary arts. Also, at the entrance of the first gallery, a special display of hand-puppet and hand-puppetry stage is specially organized—these are also unique items in the collection of TAO ART Space. The stages and puppets exude distinctive qualities of human drama, and the special display aims to welcome the guests of the exhibition, and usher them into the exhibition space.

As mentioned above, “Seeing Through Light: Wu Chi-Tsung Solo Exhibition” gathers works of the artist starting from his younger days of self-exploration, including “Self-Portrait,” “The Self-Portrait of 71 Frames,” and “Rain,” which are highly experimental, to all new works created in 2021, which include serval videos and photographic outputs using Buddhist statues as the theme, as well as two videos entitled the “Drawing Study” series that depict the oceanic scenery of Longdong and urban sceneries of Taipei. Comparing his earlier and new works not only helps audience to understand his latest works through learning about his past, but also allows audience to see Wu Chi-Tsung’s creative path and aesthetic preferences over the past 20 years.

[1] Auguste Rodin, Art: Conversations with Paul Gsell, trans. Jacques de Caso & Patricia B. Sanders (Berkeley and Los Angles: University of California Press, 1984), pp. 22-26.

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日期 2021年7月13日 – 10月2日, 週二至週六11am – 7 pm
地址 Tao Art Space，台北市內湖區洲子街79-1號8樓

由策展人王嘉驥策劃的吳季璁個展《照見》，今日起於台北Tao Art Space開展。展覽將首次呈現藝術家使用新的拍攝技術完成的實驗影像《寫生習作》，展現其另類觀照現實之道。

TAO ART 由 Vicky Chen（陳薇捷）和父親共同創立，除了致力於當代藝術的收藏與展覽外，亦還建立了名為「胡不堂」的古物收藏，因其收藏路徑與吳季璁的創作方向不謀而合，本次，吳季璁特別與胡步堂合作，在《寫生習作》系列中，呈現了胡不堂收藏的佛像藏品，以現代之眼為古物賦予了全新的詮釋空間與觀看可能。此外，《雨景》、《自畫像》等早期影像作品也將展出，從而「全景」呈現出藝術家十餘年來對於實驗影像的思考與探索歷程。

受疫情影響，展覽將採取時段預約制，並嚴格遵守相關防疫規範，請通過下方鏈接進行預約後安心來館。

以下為策展人王嘉驥為本次展覽撰寫的介紹文章，文中將回顧吳季璁的影像創作生涯，並細緻介紹了本次《寫生系列》中所探索的數位影像技法。

照見：吳季璁個展

Seeing Through Light: Wu Chi-Tsung Solo Exhibition

策展人／王嘉驥

雕塑家羅丹（Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917）曾經趁著黃昏入夜的時間，持燈引導藝評家葛賽爾（Paul Gsell, 1870-1947），在黑暗之中欣賞古希臘的維納斯雕像。透過幽微燈光的映照，雕塑家同步推移承載雕像的轉盤，讓藝評家的目光緊盯愛神像的軀體，照見細膩有致的凹凸變化。藉此，羅丹讓葛賽爾發現了古典時代藝術家再現的肉體之美。[1]

年少時期的吳季璁，仍在摸索創作的可能，亦曾借光自照。在黑暗中，他以手電筒替代畫筆，對著自己的臉部捕捉肖像，並將相機設定為長時間曝光（B快門），讓光跡同步顯影在底片上。沖印放大的影像，成為他最早期的《自畫像》（2004）系列。就此而論，「照見」不僅是吳季璁個人啟蒙與自我發現的隱喻，也是他用於創作的獨特手段。

在《自畫像》系列之前，他嘗試過以高速快門（1/8000秒）攝錄自家窗外所見的《雨景》（2002）。動態影像裡，跳動無歇的雨滴對照遠處看似凝止不動的淡水河地景，尤其是橫跨河面的關渡大橋，以及路面和週遭的樹林。介於高速運動和凝結靜止之間，則是橋上和路上川流不息的車潮。透過相機和攝影機，吳季璁一再地反轉並顛覆人類日常的視覺，以及對於現實的感知經驗。有意識地操作時間中的「剎那」，予以延遲放慢或激烈加速，吳季璁提供了另類的觀照現實之道。

「照見」也是佛典常見常用的語彙，指向開悟成佛的透徹與超脫。2021年5月，吳季璁在Tao Art Space發表個展，特別因應此一機構的經典雕刻收藏，選擇了五件別具美感與精神意涵的歷代佛像，包括：東魏至北齊（6世紀）的灰石貼金帶彩佛首像、北齊（6世紀）的灰石佛首像和菩薩立像、隋代（6-7世紀）灰石菩薩首像，以及宋代（10-13世紀）木雕阿難尊者立像等，作為文本，發展出一系列的錄像作品。借「照見」之名，除了反映策展人對於吳季璁過往以來的藝術觀察，也對應他此次以佛像為題的這些新作。

手電筒猶如光筆，藝術家對著佛像寫生；攝影機固定在旁，紀錄光束在空間中的移動，以及佛像在光跡下顯影的結果。錄製完成的動態影像，在後製的過程中，經由藝術家研發的數位程式，重新加以處理。針對每個影格（1秒30格），吳季璁為畫面的圖層設定明暗度的參數，令其逐層疊加。如此，電腦運算過後的錄像畫面，除了維持原來的時間線性，卻因為影格圖層的累加而強化，塑造出一種令人驚異的視覺效果，彷彿時間增加了物理性的厚度。

相同原理的錄像創作，吳季璁早在2003年已有嘗試。差異在於，那時還是數位運算方興未艾之時，他能擁有和取得的後製工具極為有限，只能運用手邊拮据的設備，逐格疊加圖層，完成了初階的《71格的自畫像》。將近20年後的今天，有了更先進的數位設備和程式協助拍攝與運算，藝術家延續並擴充早期還無法徹底實踐的觀念，如今有了進一步的發展。

早期的吳季璁多半憑藉自我摸索與實驗，完成不少直接以「自畫像」命名的作品。從認識自我到觀察現實，影像工具是他觸探現象真實性的核心媒介。思考影像及觀看的本質，他經常從懷疑和反詰的修辭開始，建立問題意識。懸疑中的弔詭幾乎是他影像作品不可或缺的美學特質。

延續先前已有的風格與影像思考，吳季璁借光照見佛像，明顯是出於藝術創作的探索，與佛家參悟虛幻現實的依歸具體有別。雖然如此，經他轉化的佛像形影，在幽暗中逐漸轉明，從局部到全部，倒是讓觀眾如實目睹了「照見」之美。吳季璁召喚佛像內蘊的精神力，顯現其神祕性，也使觀賞變成一趟豐富的發現過程。

吳季璁繼續將相同的影像後製技術，運用於他選景拍攝的海岸和城市，成為《寫生習作》（2021）系列。不管是北臺灣的龍洞海景，或是都會區的臺北市景，雖然都是再真實不過的現實即景，重新處理過後的動態影像，出現了視覺上的變異，製造了懸宕在是與不是之間的感知迷惑。自然景觀也罷，城市人潮也罷，本來都是變動不居；然而，經過藝術家特殊的數位操控以後，卻在轉瞬間凝結為固態的風景奇觀，著實讓人嘖嘖稱奇。儘管本於現實，創作者提供的卻是現象界不可能真實發生的圖景。吳季璁的人為擬造，存乎現實與虛構之間，擴延了作品的哲學暨美學思辨空間，觀者得以反芻本體與真實。

搭配吳季璁以Tao Art Space所藏佛像為文本的影像新作，「照見：吳季璁個展」在空間的運用上，也安排影像中所見的各尊佛像原作一同展出，期盼增添古代與當代藝術不期而遇的對話趣味。同時，第一展廳的入口處，特別安排了掌中劇的舞臺及戲偶展出──也是Tao Art Space的特別收藏。戲臺與人偶帶著鮮明的人間戲劇特質，也藉此迎賓，引領觀眾進入展場空間。

如前所述，「照見：吳季璁個展」集結藝術家年少時期以自我探索為起點的作品，包含《自畫像》、《71格的自畫像》、《雨景》等，具有濃厚的實驗氣息。2021年的全新之作，包含多件以佛像為題的錄像和攝影輸出作品，以及兩件分別以龍洞海景和臺北市景為題的《寫生習作》錄像作品。藉由早期作品與新作的對照，除了提供溫故知新之感，也讓觀眾得以觀照吳季璁20年來的創作路徑與審美偏好。

[1] Auguste Rodin, Art: Conversations with Paul Gsell, trans. Jacques de Caso & Patricia B. Sanders (Berkeley and Los Angles: University of California Press, 1984), pp. 22-26. 亦參閱《羅丹藝術論》，羅丹口述，葛賽爾筆記（臺北：雄獅圖書股份有限公司，1992），頁45-51。

At the entrance of Wu Chi-Tsung’s exhibition “Exposé” (2021), curated by Ying Kwok at Galerie du Monde, stood a six-part folding screen depicting blue mountain peaks. The work was made from cyanotype-treated Xuan paper (Chinese rice paper), a laborious process derived from early photography whereby Wu translates the markings of light and time into shades of blue.

The folding screen ushered visitors into the main exhibition space, where the eye-catching, three-part Cyano-Collage­­ 095 (2021) evoked a great mountain range across an entire wall. Its wrinkled texture mimics the contours of majestic slopes and valleys, while the contrast between its deep indigo shades and its misty white layers recall the subtle ink-control seen in Chinese shanshui painting. Wu is heavily inspired by traditional Chinese landscapes, although he eschews the traditional medium of ink in favor of cyanotype. Trained from a young age in Chinese calligraphy, ink painting, and watercolor, Wu turned to cyanotype as a way to simultaneously pay homage to and reinvigorate classical ink aesthetics. 

Wu started experimenting with cyanotype in his Wrinkled Texture (2012– ) series as a means of reinterpreting the cun fa (texturing method) of Chinese landscape painting. Wu’s creative process is a strenuous one. To start, he soaks Xuan paper in a photosensitive solution. Then, he crumples the paper and exposes it in the sun for 30 minutes. Strong sunlight results in dark indigo hues, while cloudier days bring lighter blues. The paper is subsequently washed and flattened in a water tank for an hour to set the final image; it is during this step that Wu first sees his work. After selecting a section he finds interesting, he crops and mounts it on a canvas or scroll. “My creative practice is filled with endless experimentations. Every step along the process, I am constantly exploring the possibilities within, and always failing too,” Wu said in an interview with Obscura magazine. Even with limited control over the final image, Wu still manages to capture the essence of shanshui painting through his strategic cropping and framing of the work. In Wrinkled Texture 107 (2021), for instance, the placement of darker blues at the bottom of the frame grounds the image against its overexposed counterparts, and creates an illusion suggestive of shanshui’s classic peaks.

In his Cyano-Collage (2015– )series, Wu harnesses the uncontrollable aspects of this process—the weather, light intensity, wrinkle patterns—by collaging multiple sheets of paper on a canvas and sealing them with several layers of matte acrylic gel. In Cyano-Collage 086 (2020), for example, he adds layers of white rice paper on top of dark blue pieces to create an illusion of mist wavering between valleys. Paper fibers can even be seen in some white layers, highlighting its soft, nebulous quality. Such fine details achieved through his delicate craftsmanship create an impressive dimensionality. Meanwhile, Cyano-Collage 096 (2021) overlays treated Xuan paper in a blue gradient onto an unexposed paper background, a nod to the traditional Chinese painting technique liu bai (leaving areas blank) that creates breathing room. 

“Exposé” demonstrated Wu’s ability to reconcile seemingly contradictory qualities. The depth and elevation created by the textures in his works belie the flatness and smoothness of their surface. The illusions of ink mountains are reconsidered on closer inspection. What was unintentional—colors and patterns dependent on natural forces—transforms into intention through Wu’s meticulous arrangements. Wu’s inventive practice reinterprets the traditions of Chinese art, and invokes hidden depths beneath the works’ surface.

Written by Judy Chiu, an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.

Wu Chi-Tsung’s “Exposé” was on view at Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong, from March 24 to June 13, 2021.

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近日，《ArtAsiaPacific》雜誌發表專稿介紹吳季璁於Galerie du Monde的個展《Exposé現》。ArtAsiaPacific雜誌成立於1993年，是世界領先的介紹亞洲、太平洋地區與中東地區當代藝術與文化的英語媒體。

文章介紹了展覽的構造、《皴法習作》與《氰山集》系列的發展簡介並對吳季璁的創作進行了簡要評述。其中，作者評價道：

「《Exposé現》展現了吳季璁將看似矛盾的元素進行調和統整的能力。他的作品中，紋理所創造的縱深與平面性相結合。稍加觀察，原本隨機、無意義的自然產生的顏色與圖案在藝術家的精心安排下具有了意義，變成了想象中的水墨風景躍然眼前。吳季璁創造性的實踐重新詮釋了中國的藝術傳統，令他的作品更具有厚度與豐富性。」

Date May 21 – 23

Venue Convention & Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

From May 21 to 23, First Cyano-Collage Series work applying aluminum panels will be premiered at Galerie du Monde’s booth in Art Basel Hong Kong. As a substitute to wooden baseboard, aluminum panels create a distinct reflection that leaks through the Cyano-Collage landscape. The revealed base board, a.k.a the blank-leaving(留白), embraces traditional aesthetics of Chinese painting and enhanced the sense of space hence created new possibilities of interpretations. 

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日期 2021年5月21日 – 23日

地址：香港會議展覽中心，香港灣仔港灣道1號

本月21日至23日，首次應用鋁製底板創作的《氰山集》系列作品將於巴塞爾藝術展香港展會的世界畫廊展位首次發表。相較於之前使用的木製底板，鋁製底板獨特的金屬反光從氰版山水中透出，照應了傳統繪畫中「留白」的概念，為作品帶來了縱深感與更為豐富的意境。

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Installation Views 展覽現場

現於世界畫廊（Galerie du Monde）展出的《現 Exposé》正是把吳季璁近年的實驗作品《氰山集》（Cyano-collage）向大眾呈現出來。2019年時，他在台北舉行的個人展覽《東橋西照Echo》也有展示《氰山集》系列，同樣是穿越詩意山水的概念，但展示方式卻是截然不同。《東橋西照Echo》把作品展示在一所有歷史感的殘舊大樓裡，部分畫作更是隨意地貼在石灰剝落的牆上或是放在檯的邊緣，任由它懸垂在地上。這次在方正、潔淨又優雅的畫廊裡展出，又是另一種體驗吳季璁作品的方式。「我們刻意地把一幅大型六聯屏作品放置於展場入口，令觀眾必須要繞過這作品才看到其他展品，如行山一樣，攀過一座山才看到其他的風景。我們希望觀眾能夠一層一層地發現和探索，如中國山水畫強調的『可行、可望、可游』；吳季聰塑造他作品中的風景時， 也是懷着這種精神。」展覽的策展人郭瑛說。她在佈展時意外地發現六聯屏的板子間透出了光束，若隱若現光線正是呼應著中式園林中的影壁，讓觀眾開門見山地看到仿若懸浮空中的作品，並擴闊了對空間的想像。

「無論我創作什麼媒材的作品，我的思考方式與投射的世界都是繪畫的、山水的。 只有在傳統與現代、東方與西方之間遊走，才能讓我更意識到其中改變的東西是什麽、共通的地方是什麼，而不變的又是什麼。」吳季璁說。從小喜歡繪畫的他，在大學時代開始嘗試各種媒材，但他始終鍾情於影像本身。今次展覽除了《氰山集》，也有較早期的《皴法習作》（Wrinkled Texture），這兩個系列都是源於吳季璁對數位攝影的不滿足。「數位攝影生成影像方式只有一種，也就是說當代彷彿只剩一種方法做攝影，於是我想回到攝影的本質去紀錄光線本身，讓材質與技術更開放，並結合不同紙張去實驗。因而回到更古典、時間性更強、更不可控的氰版。」他這次的實驗方式使用了古老的氰版攝影法，來創建紙上的紋理——把中國宣紙浸泡於塗布感光藥劑之中，透過直接曝曬於陽光下和過程中不斷調整重塑紙張的皺折，創造了美麗的質感與層次。陽光猛的時候，紙上會呈現深藍色，陰天時藍色會變得淺一點；深淺也會因曝曬的時間而有所不同。在反復的嘗試後，吳季璁挑選喜歡的部分，並放在捲軸上，成為《皴法習作》。《氰山集》則是在這基礎上加上拼貼及繪畫，把雲霧裡的群山峻嶺立體地呈現出來。這不但蘊含著中國傳統水墨畫裡的山水意境，還記錄了當下的時間、光影明暗和身體姿態的表達。

中國的山水畫表現的是情景合一，那麼吳季璁創作時又寄喻著怎樣的情感呢？「《皴法習作》和《氰山集》系列通過將筆墨置換為攝影，探索的是「山水」的可能性，在試圖拓張山水的邊界與想像空間。我們對於創作的每個環節都進行過無數次實驗，這個實驗的過程可能不太是感性與抒情的，而是在辯證地探索。」吳季璁說《氰山集》系列在今年之前都是控制性很強的作品，他一直追求技術上的極致，例如為了處理畫面中的留白與雲霧，在技法上將宣紙的纖維搓到極薄。即使技術已近乎極致，但他卻感到似乎失去了追求的意義。「近期比較大的突破在於創作狀態更為放鬆，更接近『自然而然』。除了構圖時讓氰版相紙自然地發展，也同時讓我的某些內在的東西自然地抒發出來，這與古人繪畫山水的狀態很相似。在創作《氰山集》時，我漸漸地把自己的意識放在他處，例如收聽廣播節目，讓手無意識地動作，越是這樣越能進入到一種類似冥想的狀態。 」吳季璁說創作這兩個系列時，他思考和追求的都是「形似」，像回應某幅經典的山水畫；但現在則進入了不那麼表象的思考，從而展開更多的可能性。「能夠將自己全然投射進入到一個『可觀、可居、可游』的想像空間，反而更契合水墨的內在精神。」

遊歷在眾多的作品之間，眼睛不禁停留在捲軸的《皴法習作》之上，近看時是一張擁有漸變色彩、皺摺了的紙張，遠看時卻浮現出山水的景象。加上，以最經典的東方書畫形式去結合西方的氰版攝影技術，在現代的語境中延續了傳統的美學。打開卷軸時更會有一種如走到大自然裡或行山時所感受到的柳暗花明，是對那未知景色的興奮和期待，難怪吳季璁笑說他也是私心地偏愛捲軸的《皴法習作》呢。

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“My creative practice is filled with endless experimentations. Every step along the process, I am constantly exploring the possibilities within, and always failing too. As the saying goes, ‘Successes are coincidental, while failures are essential’,” Taiwanese artist Wu Chi-Tsung said with a laugh. Sometimes the act of creating resembles an experiment, with its incessant attempts and failures after more failures; one awaits a coincidence to create a “successful” work. Amid a sophisticated and fortuitous creative process, Wu’s recent works the Cyano-Collage series struggled against, adapted to and interspersed with time and light to realise one experiment after another.

Currently exhibiting at Galerie du Monde, Exposé is a public display of the experimental series Cyano-Collage Wu created in recent years. In 2019, his Taipei exhibition Echo also exhibited the Cyano-Collage series, following the same concept of going beyond shan shui (landscapes), but with a completely different curatorial approach. Echo showed the works in a dilapidated building that exudes heritage. Some of the works were attached arbitrarily on walls with lime peeling off it, or lying around the table edge in suspension. Exhibiting the works in a four-square, clean and elegant gallery this time presents another way to experience Wu’s works. “We deliberately placed a large 6-part work at the entrance of the exhibition space, so that visitors must make their way around this work to see other exhibits, much like hiking, where one must overcome one mountain to see other scenery. We hope that visitors may discover and explore layer through layer, as Chinese shan shui paintings often emphasised in the quality of being ‘passable, discernible, navigable’; Wu shaped the landscapes in his work in the same spirit,” said Ying Kwok, the curator of the exhibition. While setting up, Kwok chanced upon the light that seeps out of the spaces between the panels of the 6-part work. The obscure rays echo the ying bi (screen walls) in Chinese gardens, such that visitors are given an uninhibited view of the work that appears suspended, and imaginations about space expand.

What Chinese shan shui painting presents is the union of sentiments and scenery. As such, what kinds of sentiments were bestowed by Wu when he was creating? “The Wrinkled Texture and Cyano-Collage series swapped the ink and brush for photography, and what they explore is the possibilities of ‘shan shui’. They attempt to expand the boundaries and space for the imagination of shan shui. We conducted countless experiments in every stage of the creation. This experimentation was perhaps not so much as sentimental or expressive, but more of an exploration grounded in reasoning.” Wu said that the Cyano-Collage series was still very much a controlled work before this year. He has been pursuing perfectionism in techniques, such as in the treatment of liu bai(leaving areas blank) and misty clouds in the composition, for which he rubbed the fibre in the Xuan paper to an extreme fineness. As his techniques neared perfection, however, he felt at loss somehow with the meaning of the pursuit. “The biggest breakthrough lately was when the state of my creative process grew more relaxed, and closer to ‘natural spontaneity’. That not only allowed the photographic paper to develop naturally when I worked on the composition, but also enabled certain things in me to be released naturally. This is similar to the state wherein ancient people painted shan shui. In creating Cyano-Collage, I gradually placed my consciousness elsewhere, such as in listening to radio programmes, as I let my hands move unconsciously. The more I do this the more I was able to enter into a sort of meditative state.” Wu also said that while creating the two series, his thoughts and pursuits were “figurative”, like a response to a certain shan shui painting classic; whereas now his thoughts have entered into less literal realms, opening up more possibilities, “To be able to project oneself entirely into a ‘discernible, habitable, passable’ imagined space is more in keeping with the spirit of ink art instead.”

Roaming around so many works, my gaze lingered on the Wrinkled Texture on the scroll inadvertently. Seen in close proximity, it was a gradient, creased paper; seen from afar, the shan shui landscapes came through. Not to mention using the most classic Eastern art forms to fuse with Western cyanotype photography technology is a continuation of traditional aesthetics within the modern vernacular. Rolling out the scrolls, there was even a sense of optimism as one feels when entering into nature or hiking, that is, the excitement and anticipation for the unknown. No wonder even Wu said laughingly that he held a personal preference for the Wrinkled Texture in scrolls.

Write by/ ELVA PANG

TRANSLATION / GABRIEL SO

Lately Wu Chi-Tsung has donated his new work Wrinkled Texture 096 to theAsia Society for the  2021 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards Art Auction. Proceeds of the auction will be supporting Asia Society’s global Arts & Culture initiatives. The auction is now live and will close on May 5, 2021 at 8:30 PM (ET).  

Please click here for the Online Auction.

About Asia Society

The Asia Society’s purpose is to navigate shared futures for Asia and the world across policy, arts and culture, education, sustainability, business, and technology.

About the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards

The Asia Arts Game Changer Awards is a signature event honoring the Asia Arts Game Changers. Every year, major art collectors, artists, gallerists, dignitaries from the art world, and Asia Society trustees and patrons gather to celebrate contemporary art in Asia and honor artists and arts professionals for their significant contributions to contemporary art.

Past honorees include: Cai Guo-Qiang, Hon Chi Fun, Abir Karmakar, Krishen Khanna, Bharti Kher, Kimsooja, Lee Ufan, Liu Guosong, Nalini Malani, Nyoman Masriadi, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Rashid Rana, Shahzia Sikander, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Do Ho Suh, teamLab, Wucius Wong, Xu Bing, Zeng Fanzhi, and Zhang Xiaogang.

All proceeds from the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards support Asia Society initiatives worldwide.

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近日，吳季璁向位於美國紐約的亞洲協會捐贈了新作《皴法習作之九十六》以支持2021年Asia Arts Game Changer Awards 線上藝術拍賣，所得款項將支持亞洲協會的全球藝術與文化項目。拍賣現已上線，並將於2021年5月5日美國東部時間20時30分結束。

請點擊此處進入拍賣頁面。

關於亞洲協會

亞洲協會總部位於紐約，是美國一個非牟利組織，創辦宗旨是向世界傳播亞洲文化。

關於Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
Asia Arts Game Changer Awards旨在表彰在亞洲藝術界做出突出貢獻的人士。每年，著名的藝術收藏家、藝術家、畫廊經營者以及亞洲協會的受託人和讚助人匯聚一堂，慶祝亞洲的當代藝術的發展，並表彰藝術家和藝術專業人士對當代藝術的重大貢獻。

Works of Wrinkled Texture Seriesand Cyano-Collage Series will be showcased in Frieze New York represented by Sean Kelly Gallery. Parallel to the physical fair at The Shed, Manhattan, May 5 – 9, 2021, an Online Viewing Room will open from May 5 – 14.  

About Frieze

Frieze Art Fair is an international contemporary art fair in London, New York, and Los Angeles.Frieze London takes place every October in London’s Regent’s Park. In the US, the fair has been running on New York’s Randall’s Island since 2012, with its inaugural Los Angeles edition taking place February 2019.[2][3] The fair was launched by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, the founders of frieze magazine, and is led by Victoria Siddall, global director of Frieze Fairs. Frieze Art Fair features more than 170 contemporary art galleries, and the fair also includes specially commissioned artists’ projects, a talks programme and an artist-led education schedule.

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《皴法習作系列》與《氰山集系列》將由尚凱利畫廊代理，參與紐約弗里茲藝術博覽會。除了2021年5月5日至9日於曼哈頓The Shed進行的現場展會外，線上博覽會也將於5月5日至14日舉行。

關於弗里茲藝術博覽會

弗里茲藝術博覽會是在倫敦、紐約和洛杉磯舉辦的國際當代藝術博覽會，紐約弗里茲博覽會自2012年起在紐約的蘭德爾島舉辦。博覽會由Frieze雜誌的創始人Amanda Sharp和Matthew Slotover發起，並由Frieze Fairs的全球總監Victoria Siddall領導。 弗里茲藝術博覽會擁有170多家當代藝術畫廊，該博覽會還包括特別委託的藝術家項目、會談項目和藝術家主導的教育日程。

Opening  Mar 24, 6 ~ 8 p.m., 2021
Public Days  Mar 25 ~ Jun 13
Zoom Talk  Mar 31, 8 p.m. HKT
Venue  Galerie du Monde, 108 Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong

HONG KONG – Galerie du Monde is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Wu Chi-Tsung: Exposé, curated by Hong Kong based Ying Kwok. Wu’s work explores light and time, and ways to recreate traditional art forms and aesthetics without losing the spirit. In Exposé, curator Kwok leads us on a journey to discover the correlation between Wu’s Cyano-Collage series and these concepts.

Born in Taipei in 1981, Wu received his BFA in 2004 from the Taipei National University of the Arts, where his training from an early age in the practices of Chinese calligraphy, ink painting, watercolor and drawing were furthered. After decades of creating experimental ink paintings, Wu turned to photography, video and installations to apply his aesthetics in classical landscapes.

Wu created his first Cyano-Collage in 2015, a further development of the earlier Wrinkled Texture series which he started in 2012. Both series explore the process of “recording light” on Xuan paper (Chinese rice paper). From Wrinkled Texture to Cyano-Collage, Wu showed he could somehow manipulate the unpredictable, creating beautiful illustrations of the relationship between man and nature.

Wu began the Wrinkled Texture series with the intention to reinterpret the traditional Texturing method (Cun Fa) of Chinese landscape painting. Instead of using ink and brush, Wu utilizes a classical photographic technique – Cyanotype, to treat his Textures. Wu first soaks the Xuan paper with a photosensitive solution, and then exposes them to sunlight for 30 minutes, while at the same time crumbling and shaping the paper into various forms and wrinkles. This exposure process is random and uncontrollable as the light intensity and the sun’s angle is different every day, at every hour.

The paper is then flattened and washed in a water tank in the studio for an hour to fixate the exposed textures. This is the most intriguing part of the entire process, as it is the moment when Wu sees the outcome – the different textures and possibilities. The treated paper becomes a record of time, light, and human gestures that is marked with folds and different shades of blue.

One out of dozens of treated Xuan paper is selected by the artist. At the beginning, Wu was focused on creating a dialogue with traditional Chinese landscapes. Thus, in that period, Wu selected images that remind him of classical landscape paintings by Chinese masters. Gradually, Wu developed other references – real life landscapes, nature, or abstract paintings. It could be anything. As Wu’s practice evolves, his imagination of this series of works transforms.

Rather than limiting himself to a single sheet of Xuan paper and uncontrollable compositions, Wu discovered a new way to create his imaginary scenery on a bigger scale through experimental collages. Each Cyano-Collage is composed of many pieces of Xuan paper, individually pasted onto the canvas by Wu, and then sealing each layer with acrylic gel before adding a new one. Sometimes, Wu adds plain white Xuan paper to create depth or to erase part of an image, leaving large areas of blank space in order for the subject to leap from the painting – this is one of the most important techniques in traditional Chinese painting, termed “Liu Bai”. Wu then finishes the painting with a UV-protection varnish for long-term preservation.

Xuan paper, also known as Chinese rice paper, is a very unique medium. Compared to drawing paper or watercolor paper, Xuan paper is much thinner, more absorbent and versatile. Hence, the artist could make lots of textures through repeated crumbling. Over the past decade, Wu has studied and experimented with several dozen types of rice paper, from different origins, with varied thickness, textures, and paper making process. Wu has saved all these testing papers in his studio, and he revisits them from time to time to “read” them again and find new inspirations. A selection of these raw materials will be presented to the public for the first time in Exposé.

Exposé, the second solo exhibition of Wu Chi-Tsung at Galerie du Monde, unveils the complicated and unpredictable process behind his Cyano-Collage through an immersive viewing experience. Whether it is a painting, an installation or a video, there is always a transparent aspect in Wu’s work. It is this honesty that is so inviting, allowing for such powerful bodies of work to be fully experienced by the audience. Wu’s practice also inspires us to carry on traditions and recreate new readings of classical techniques and aesthetics. Ancient or contemporary, they shall continue to cross-pollinate and together grow into a new realm.

On Mar 31st, an online artist talk was held between the artist and curator Ying Kwok when the duo shared their first meeting at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art in Manchester back in 2011, and how they brainstormed, developed and presented this new project together at Galerie du Monde.

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開幕  2021年3月24日晚6~8時
展覽日期  3月25日~6月13日
線上對談  3月31日晚8時
地址  香港中環都爹利街 11 號律敦治中心 108 室 世界畫廊（Galerie du Monde）

香港 － 世界畫廊（Galerie du Monde）將舉行台灣藝術家吳季璁於香港的第二場個展「現」。策展人郭瑛將引領觀眾揭開《氰山集》背後既繁複又偶然的創作過程，探索吳季璁與時間和光線之相搏鬥、磨合與交融的靜態作品。對吳季璁而言，光是他創作中的催化劑，而時間則是他的暗房。他以「時光」為手段，探索東西方傳統技法和媒材的可能性，以當代的視角延續中國水墨的美學精神，創造出連接不同文化、過去和現在的獨特藝術語言。

1981 年生於台北，吳季璁從小便兼具傳統書畫與素描水彩的藝術養成，於 2004 年畢業於國立臺北藝術大學。骨子裏受東方傳統美學影響深刻，多年來堅持實驗水墨藝術，大學時期開始探索攝影、錄像及機械光影裝置等新媒介，去微觀宏偉的山水詩意。

《氰山集》於 2015 年面世，此系列作品源於吳季璁於 2012 年開創的《皴法習作》，發想自水墨畫中的「皴法」概念。皴法是傳統中國文人繪畫中的核心技法，以書法的筆墨精神，對山石紋理概括描繪，畫家藉此投射個人內心的山水景物，寄情其中。吳季璁以宣紙為媒介，運用古老的氰版攝影沖印技術藍曬法替代筆墨。

吳季璁先將感光材料塗在紙張上，在陽光下曝曬約三十分鐘，過程中不斷重塑紙張皺摺，壓平後再經一小時的水洗程式，將皴法定影。水洗步驟非常重要，不單是要停止陽光與宣紙的化學反應，也是整個程序中最有趣的一環，皴法的色調和紋路首次顯示於藝術家眼前。此刻，時間、陽光的線條、和人類觸感都被記錄在海藍的宣紙上。陽光和天氣隨著時間一直在變化，所以吳季璁每一次曬紙都是一次偶然，最終呈現在紙上的皴法紋路變幻莫測。

曝曬後的宣紙被壓平和風乾後，吳季璁會仔細「閱讀」每張宣紙上的皴法紋路，從而進行篩選。一般在數十張宣紙中，吳季璁能選出一張裁剪為《皴法習作》作品。創作初期，吳季璁強調重現中國山水，與古代書畫大師產生對話，所以該時期選出的紙張都帶有山水詩意的皴法紋路。隨著時間的推移，吳季璁想要表達的語境也在變化。真實的風景、大自然、抽象藝術等，世間上所有事物都能成為吳季璁的靈感，從《皴法習作》到《氰山集》的突破見證他思想及想像力的蛻變歷程。

經過三年對宣紙和藍曬法的研究，吳季璁於 2015 年創作出第一件《氰山集》作品，擺脫了畫面大小的局限和佈局的偶然性，將曝曬過後的紙張在畫布上拼貼成叢山萬嶺景象，進一步探究傳統繪畫的美學。宣紙質感柔薄，可讓吳季璁隨心貼附在畫布或木板上，用刷子刷平，再塗上五、六層壓克力膠進行固定。每次加上新的一層紙，吳季璁都會加進白紙，以中國傳統繪畫中的「留白」技法來調整構圖。最後，吳季璁會在畫面塗上防紫外線的保護漆。

宣紙的材料屬性是吳季璁創作初期的一大挑戰，其變化性和複雜度遠大於一般氰版攝影中使用的相紙。多次實驗後，吳季璁逐漸發現宣紙是格外特殊而精彩的材料。西方常見的紙張，像水彩紙，表面有塗層，無論多厚重的顏料都只會停留在表層。東方沒有放礬的生紙，雖然很薄，卻能夠將顏料吸收在紙纖維裏，把時間的變化記錄在紙上，創造出更多的可能性。

郭瑛於「現」中帶領觀眾探索吳季璁在過去九年的成長，揭開《氰山集》的創作歷程。不論是畫作、裝置或影像，吳季璁的作品中都在演繹時間的流動性，從曝光到拼貼，它不是單純靜態的東西，而是記錄著動態與韻律。吳季璁借助攝影來思考與表達，對攝影、繪畫、山水、空間作出提問，無止境地尋找新的可能，在跨文化的語境中開發東西方藝術傳統新的火花。

3月31日，吳季璁與策展人郭瑛還進行了一場線上對談。兩人分享了2011年在曼徹斯特中國當代藝術中心的第一次相遇，以及本次他們如何在世界畫廊的支持下集思廣益，構思、設計以至於呈現出本次展覽的種種細節與趣事。

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Installation Views 展覽現場

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Media Coverages 媒體報導

10 Must-See Art Exhibitions In Hong Kong In April 2021, Tatler Hong Kong, April 2, 2021

A Comprehensive Round-up of the Best Art Exhibitions to Visit this Month, Lifestyle Asia, April 8, 2021

Art of Chance and Coincidence, *CUP, April 1, 2021

Time, Light, and Experiment, OBSCURA Magazine, April, 2021

On the Limitless Imagination in Wu Chi-Tsung’s Interdisciplinary Arts, Heyshow.com, May, 2021

Beneath the Surface: Wu Chi-Tsung, ArtAsiaParcific, June, 2021

Wu Chi-Tsung’s ‘Exposé’ was recommended by Lifestyle Asia in their article “A comprehensive round-up of the best art exhibitions to visit this month” published on April 8th. Editor Joey Wong introduces the exhibition as below:

“A perfunctory gaze will perhaps write off Wu Chi-Tsung’s ‘Exposé’ exhibition as a simple series of mountainous landscapes; this perfunctory gaze would be wrong. Curated by Ying Kwok, ‘Exposé’ deep-dives into an extraordinary wrinkled-paper technique that mimics that of valleys, troughs and crevices; minute, natural-appearing details that would happen upon any geographic rendering. The textured cyano-collage process used, however, is completely randomised, with each fold and crease on Xuan paper a happy accident.”

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在Lifestyle Asia報導《關於本月最佳藝術展覽的全面介紹》一文中，吳季璁個展《EXPOSÉ現》被收錄其中，編輯Joey Wong對展覽介紹如下：

「若只是敷衍了事地匆匆一瞥，人們會對《EXPOSÉ現》中展示的作品當作尋常的山水畫，而這無疑是錯誤的。在郭瑛的策劃下，展覽深入研究了用宣紙的皺摺去呈現山谷、谷底與裂縫等自然中的細節。然而，塗布試劑的宣紙在陽光下曝光後呈現出的紋路的結果卻是隨機的，每一條折痕、每一條紋路的出現都是一次令人驚喜的意外。」

Wu Chi-Tsung shares his daily musings about working and staying motivated during this difficult time from his studio in Taipei, Taiwan as he participates in the #inthestudio program launched by @seankellyny. 

In this abstract yet frank video, Wu Chi-Tsung presents a poetic duet dance with one of his favorite material, the light. Together they’ve challenged the boundary between moving and static images. Once again, Chi-Tsung explores how joyful and imaginative the relationship between an artist and his studio could be.

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受尚凱利畫廊發起的#inthestudio項目之邀，吳季璁通過影像與觀眾分享了他日常工作的靈感源泉，以及他在這段特殊時期在台北工作室的生活。

這段抽象而坦誠的影像堪稱吳季璁與光共同呈現的雙人舞，而光一直是他在創作中最喜愛的媒材之一。「他們」共同挑戰了動態影像與靜態圖像之間的界限。影片中，吳季璁將工作室稱為「所有故事的起源」，並分享了他在創作中從迷茫無措到不斷嘗試再至捕獲靈感的過程。藉此，吳季璁又一次思考了藝術家及其工作室之間建立愉悅、動態、相互激發的關係的可能性。

HOW ARTISTS ARE DEALING WITH THE PANDEMIC: INTERVIEWS WITH WU CHI-TSUNG AND HSI SHIH-PIN AT THEIR STUDIOS

Recently, Wu Chi-Tsung was interviewed by Artco on ‘how artists are dealing with the pandemic’. He shares that the studio is taking this opportunity to optimize the administrative and production management, as well as start reserving materials and equipment in advance in case there will be a further lockdown in Taiwan. Also, Wu Chi-Tsung is grateful that his studio has been in a healthy financial status thanks to the help and suggestions of their accountant, which ensured the normal operation studio during the special time.

Besides, Wu Chi-Tsung also stressed the importance of health to an artist. He has been working out in his studio during the closure of public gyms.

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藝術家的防疫策略——吳季璁與席時斌工作室專訪

吳季璁工作室三樓工作現場除了全面戴口罩，同時保持社交距離。

全球化以來世界沒有任何一個時刻如同今日般隔絕。世界各國幾乎都處於封閉邊界的情況，商業貿易陷入停頓，各個企業在力圖生存的同時，也為了生命的存續而採取作業分流與居家工作的模式，全方位的影響令每個人都無法置身事外。視覺藝術產業面對的，除了全球各博覽會、拍賣會紛紛取消與延遲，美術館、基金會、畫廊等相關營利非營利場所的展覽也紛紛無限期延後。

在交易趨緩甚或停滯，藝術家複合收入減少（比如授課、演講等），英國藝術家馬修．伯羅斯（Matthew Burrows）在Instagram發起了自救計畫，邀請藝術家展售單件售價在英鎊200元以內的作品，標誌計劃標籤#artistsupportpledge（藝術家支持誓言），並承諾成功售出1,000英鎊作品後，會花200英鎊購買其它藝術家的作品。伯羅斯的想法是希望藝術家以互助的方式，同心協力共度難關。並認為作品要夠便宜，才能「以慷慨創造慷慨」。整個活動也採用自主、開放性的參與，並在契約精神下約束藝術家實踐「誓言」。受伯羅斯啟發，台灣藝術家王建揚則在臉書平台開啟台灣版，以「藝起加油」為題響應。活動在短時間內聚集了大量的作品與人潮，堪為台灣藝術市場少見的現象。然而或許也正因為中心化的操作，讓質疑聲浪也隨之排山倒海而來。無論如何，「疫情之下藝術家如何自處？」，成為藝術產業關注的話題。為此，我們特別採訪了擁有正式工作室，近期在國際與亞洲穩定成長的藝術家吳季璁與席時斌，邀請他們與我們分享各自工作室在疫情下的因應之道。

空閒是種救贖——那些想做未做的

從2017年開始成立工作室以來，吳季璁經歷了不少波折。期間曾因廠商施工不良，導致工作室蒙受巨大損失，不得不輾轉搬遷，直到第三次才搬到今日位於大龍峒的空間。然而這幾年，吳季璁無論在美術館或博覽會的展覽都很持續固定安排，有時反而因為供不應求而呈現不斷在趕製作品的狀態。工作室的壓力一直是「如何解決眼前的緊急項目」。也因此，疫情的突然來臨，雖然導致上半年的展覽全部取消，下半年的展覽則還狀態未明，但對工作室而言，反而多了喘息的機會，得以好好整理過往一直沒時間處理的事務。想做還沒做的從硬體上的工作區域重整，將使用上不順手、空間利用不理想的地方重新設計，到軟體上的資料庫重整、備份與作品製作流程優化。從製作過程、作品記錄、展覽紀錄……各樣形式的所有檔案到底要如何存檔、歸檔？可以最有效的搜尋、提取？吳季璁與工作室夥伴花了一個多月重新架構、整理，對吳季璁而言，「這是超級重要的一步」，可以讓本來就運作還不錯的工作室進一步系統最佳化。而吳季璁工作室經理朱莉安也表示，疫情對工作室的影響就目前看來其實正面多過負面。除了讓工作室得以好好重新整頓規劃，過去幾年吳季璁其實都忙於眼前的展覽計畫，而沒有充裕的時間沉潛新的作品。「這對藝術家不大健康。」因此原就計畫在今年減少展覽計畫的工作室，反而獲得了一段完整的休息時間。

同樣獲得喘息的，還有本來預計在六月份推出個展的席時斌。「其實畫廊本來很緊張我的進度，我自己也很緊張，但現在就是無限推延。」約莫兩年辦一次個展，席時斌一直有很穩定的市場支持。因此對席時斌而言，每次辦展對自己或對畫廊而言都很重要。如果此刻辦展風險太大，那麼稍微停頓一下，專心於創作，反而是比較理想的狀態。由於作品特性，席時斌的展覽一旦進入製作期就是金錢快速燃燒的時間，「所以現在我會把思考時間拉長，主要放在紙上、模型作業」。多餘的時間就用來研究新項目，比如立體書的結構等，探索如何將其與作品結合，開啟下一個可能的創作階段。

體質好，衝擊小 藝術家工作室就是一個中小企業

疫情衝擊下，人們第一個想到的便是金流的衝擊，這也是文化部紓困方案緊急在第一季便推出的原因。不過吳季璁與席時斌工作室對此卻都顯得較不擔憂，甚至目前最主要的創作工作，都還是消化去年的訂購與委託製作。另一方面，念過兩年應用數學的席時斌其實一直很喜歡會計的工作，也很習慣以整體社會的狀態來思考藝術與經濟系統的連動，因此工作室的財務、金流也一直控制得宜。「我最大的損失衝擊反而是我的投資。」對席時斌而言，藝術產業、藝術家本來就不是每個月擁有固定收入的族群，他們的收入從來就是複合型以及來自作品販售。然而，作品沒被交易並不影響其作為資產的存在，因此若真要論「損失」，其實來自無法提列虧損，業績下滑、沒賺到的部分。

因為習慣用企業的角度思考工作室的營運，面對疫情衝擊，席時斌的態度也傾向以商業運作的模式來因應。比如延後作品實際製作的時間，減少金流壓力，一如部分餐廳、店家的預防性歇業；工作室原計畫補充的人力則先遇缺不補，以減少開支，維持固定成本在自己與全職助理2個人力與工作室租金等基本開銷。將藝術家放在「生產者」的角色，席時斌認為：「藝術產業真正受影響最大的可能不是藝術家，而是裝裱、沖洗、運輸等周邊產業。」當然他也認為，如果疫情繼續，六、七月開始藝術家們應該要注意違約率與違約金的問題，風險大的案子也應盡量保守以對。

相較於席時斌個人對會計觀念的嫻熟，吳季璁工作室則有賴盡責的工作室經理與合作的會計人員。吳季璁說工作室很幸運地在成立之初就被教導正確的金流觀念，並從其獲得許多經營管理的建議，「事實上，最早發現我們問題的常常是他。」比如工作室曾經花費過多金錢在材料實驗，但如果前期的研究與樣品足夠就能避免不必要的浪費。年度會計會議便是逐項檢視哪裡提升、降低，獲利比例的差異等，同時確保工作室擁有足夠的儲備金。朱莉安也表示，會計帶給大家最大的觀念是：不會因為今天製作的是單一件的藝術品而改變原則，它的架構依舊是企業的經營與運作，也因此遇到危機時不會那麼快產生影響。吳季璁更認為：「我們常常把創作者放到太高的位置，以為藝術行政只是做雜務，這是不對的。營運管理最核心的部分與知識跟藝術創作完全不一樣，這是創作人很需要的部分，但也是他們最大的盲點。可是藝術圈卻常常不重視，甚至搞錯重點。」因此吳季璁也希望能以自己的經驗建立一個足以分享給其他藝術工作者的模式，減少不必要的冤枉路。

財務槓桿低、預備金充足、維持組織在一個足夠靈活但不過度龐大的規模，成為吳季璁與席時斌工作室在疫情衝擊下穩定的基礎。一如一場瘟疫讓我們看見各國行政系統的弱點，或許疫情也只是讓我們可以清晰檢視藝術家各自藝術體質、經濟體質的引爆點而已。

配合政府防疫對策，吳季璁工作室準備了充足的防疫物品。

死亡才是藝術家事業最大的風險

雖然身邊好友常取笑之所以愛運動的吳季璁是因為「怕死」，但藝術家的生命確實才是藝術家生涯志業中最有價值的資產。

面對此次疫情，席時斌不斷在觀察、思考企業對「風險控管」一事的想法與作為，不禁表示：我們常常計算很多風險，但我們都忽略了藝術家有一個其它企業沒有的特點，就是一旦藝術家死亡、無法再製作新作品，就只有「剩餘價值」。因此藝術家其實是個高風險職業，而最大的風險就在藝術家本身，所以避險要素其實是：避險自己。尤其成熟的藝術家大部分都在35、40歲以上，若同時考量罹病的死亡機率等，真的「不要出來辦個展覽就過世了」。也因此，席時斌認為毋須過度在意展覽被取消，某方面而言，主動取消都可以說是一種風險控制。也因為思考到藝術家消亡所衍生出的後續財產處理等問題，席時斌表示近期已約好律師，想把遺囑的訂定、物權的後續使用等，趁機理解清楚，不要造成繼承者的負擔，或自己還要擔心他們是否會被騙等。

因為脊椎曾經受過傷，吳季璁一直保有運動的習慣，不管是慢跑、重訓、體操等，疫情影響下，因為避免再進出人群密集的健身房，也在工作室兼住家的空間裡安裝了單槓，讓自己維持運動的狀態。除了非必要的會議跟聚會都取消，進出工作室的人員也都盡量單純化並予以管制，防疫措施完全依據勞動部、衛福部公布的中小企業防疫準則施行，彈性上班時段、每日清潔消毒環境……，並著手規劃一旦疫情惡化，如何分裝各自的工作，採行遠端工作的模式。

隨著可以回去柏林的時間變少，吳季璁也將位於柏林的公寓退租，僅留下工作室，並將節省下來的費用拿來聘雇另一位兼職的助理。「口罩國家隊給了我很大的啟發。」因為過往工作室常常耗費許多時間處理大型博覽會期間龐大的工作量與挑戰，但這些廠商卻能迅速投入這麼多人力與資源應對危機，中衛的「七三法則」令吳季璁重新反省工作室的運作，並希望藉由每週工作三天、拉高單位時薪，來提高彼此工作的效率與品質，同時提升應對突發狀況的儲備彈性。

對於未來，很久沒在台灣待那麼久的時間，吳季璁開始有一些對作品的新想法，預計接下來將逐步著手嘗試。席時斌也認為經濟上自己並不擔心，未來還是會把能量保留在個展與中、大型的製作上。也因為過去的節奏太快速，「我是否在精神面、深度上可以做更多的探索？」因此想把投資放在開發自己與新作品上。

思考自己的定位，審慎評估各自的優勢與劣勢。時間，或許才是成熟藝術家對自己最好的紓困。

文/ 朱貽安

載於《典藏．今藝術&投資》雜誌2020年5月刊

On May 4th, Wu Chi-Tsung was invited by Taipei Dangdai and held a virtual tour that allows audiences to have a close look at his Taipei studio.

The live stream program is part of the ‘Taipei Connections’, a digital platform launched by Taipei Dangdai in partnership with Ocula aiming to nurture ongoing connections between the Taiwanese arts community and galleries at this time of limited travel and in-person meetings. Bringing together a diverse mix of galleries from Taipei Dangdai’s latest edition, the inaugural Taipei Connections will showcase a series of richly contextualized artworks for the public to explore.

During the 55-minutes-long live stream, Wu Chi-Tsung and Taipei Dangdai Co-Directer Robin Peckham showed people around his studio and talked about Wu Chi-Tsung’s internationally-minded prospects of the studio. 

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直播回顧

5月4日，吳季璁受台北當代的邀請，通過直播帶領觀眾在線參訪台北工作室。

本次直播是台北當代與線上藝術平台Ocula合作呈現的新數位計劃「Taipei Connections」的一部分。這一線上平台不僅為畫廊提供機會與區域內乃至全球藏家進行互動,更呼應台北當代構建開放性平台的使命以突破傳統分享藝術及創意的藝博會模式。

台北當代聯合總監岳鴻飛(Robin Peckham)表示:「我們與 Ocula 合作開展的線上項目希望能為畫廊在台北藝術周之外的時間也能繼續提供平台,為其加深聯結和重新聯結台灣的收藏家群體。儘管親身會面所帶來的效果無可替代,但我們想藉由這個時刻再次思考如何作為橋樑去聯結畫廊和藏家,共度時艱。」

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Wu Chi-Tsung’s video installation works Still Life 007 – Daffodil and Still Life 012 – Buttercup Tree were recently collected by the Nguyen Art Foundation.

Established in 2018, the Nguyen Art Foundation was born from a desire to better serve the artistic community of Vietnam. It was founded by Quynh Nguyen, under the advisory of Cam Xanh (pseudonym of Thanh Tran Ha), artist and founder of MoT+++. Since its conception, the foundation has worked to build an alternative infrastructure for the arts in Vietnam, and construct the base for what it hopes will form Vietnam’s first museum of contemporary art. The foundation aims to expand the possibilities for contemporary art in Vietnam by facilitating global exchange that enriches not only individual practices, but engages the overall growth of the Vietnamese art scene.

The Still Life 012 – Buttercup Tree was shot during Wu Chi-Tsung’s residency at MoT+++ in 2019, and was inspired by the local culture and nature of Vietnam.

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吳季璁錄影裝置作品《小品之七 水仙》《小品之十二 彎子木》日前被越南Nguyen Art Foundation典藏。

Nguyen Art Foundation成立於2018年，由MoT +++藝術家兼創始人Cam Xanh（Thanh Tran Ha的藝名）協助創立。自成立以來，基金會一直致力提供越南當代藝術創作的替代空間，並希望未來在此基礎上建立越南第一座當代藝術博物館。

本次被典藏的兩件作品中，《小品之十二 彎子木》是吳季璁2019年在MoT+++駐村期間完成，記錄了藝術家對於越南自然文化的觀察與啟發。