Space•Time Cross - His Chi WU＆Wen Jui TSAO

Space•Time Cross: Encountering the Original Heart

Painting unlocks the treasure chest of childhood memories, awakening the purest and most stirring inner voice. Through the imaginative act of creation, artists weave the courage of their earliest dreams, rediscovering the emotional force of their original inspiration.

His Chi WU, deeply drawn to the rhythms of nature, grew up in Jinguashi, Ruifang Township. After years working in the design industry, he left his career at age 33 to dedicate himself fully to art, relocating to Puli at 35 and pursuing his ideals for over a decade. A chance opportunity to teach art in an Indigenous community reintroduced him to oil pastels, rekindling the pure joy of childhood mark-making. The tactile, intuitive friction between pigment and paper began to trace the emotional path of his spirit, echoing an inner spiritual journey. His “Silent Valleys” and “Human Cages” series mark a renewed perspective in his visual language.

Wu’s inspiration comes from his observations of the environment and his emotional responses to life. While residing along the coast of Yilan last year, he began to document the sun-drenched landscapes of Taiwan’s eastern shore, channeling a pursuit of joy and innocence into works that expanded his previous series. Using high-saturation fluorescent pigments, he conveys dazzling sunlight, the breeze of ocean winds, the grandeur of mountains, and the depth of gorges. His expressive use of line and color field deconstructs nature’s forms while subtly referencing the modern entrapment of humanity by external digital signals. The resulting compositions resonate with metaphor, offering a reflective dialogue between humanity and the natural world.

Wen Jui TSAO, a lifelong anime enthusiast, was born in Taipei. After earning his MFA in the United States, he returned to Taiwan for a career in arts administration. At 45, he transitioned to full-time painting, rekindling the visual memory of his childhood and youth. Through surreal narratives and imaginative concepts, he uses refined classical oil painting techniques to reconstruct theatrical scenes—a fusion of fantasy and realism rooted in his own inner cartoon world.

In his “Spiritual Window” series, iconic anime characters stand by imagined viewing frames, as if witnessing a serendipitous journey through space and time. In the “Virtual Theater” series, these characters step out of their framed confines into a world they now question, reflecting the artist’s own uncertainties and hopes about society and the environment. In the “Museum Plan” series, TSAO cleverly replaces figures from historical artworks with contemporary characters, re-contextualizing them in whimsical museum displays that offer both humor and critique. Like a stage director, he designs intricate narratives that invite viewers to share in his fantasy realm.

Lived experience gives authenticity to artistic reflection. These artists return to their inner beginnings—exploring life’s landscapes beyond digital pixels, and choosing instead to gaze sincerely at the real world. In doing so, they uncover breathtaking beauty and reconnect with the emotional roots of their art.

【時空際遇】吳熙吉&曹文瑞雙個展

時空際遇·遇見初心
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繪畫開啓了童年記憶的寶盒，喚醒最純粹也最觸動的心靈聲音，藝術家藉由想像力的創作，編織了最初夢想的勇氣，找回最初內心感動的力量！
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嚮往大自然創作的吳熙吉成長於瑞芳鎮金瓜石，期間歷經社會工作洗禮考驗，33歲辭去設計師正職，專職繪畫創作，於35歲移居埔里生活十多年，努力實踐夢想與理想。偶然於部落講堂分享繪畫技巧與理念時，再次接觸油性粉彩的顏料，彷彿回到童年時期最單純塗抹的繪畫力量，運用顏料與紙張反覆直覺性地磨擦，注入刻畫了藝術家的情感軌跡，如同內在修行的意念與心靈追求的聲音是不謀而合的，創作了「靜默丘壑」&「人形牢籠」系列，重新開拓了繪畫的心視野。吳熙吉喜歡觀察環境、感受生活來做為創作發想題材，於去年旅居宜蘭沿岸開始紀錄東海岸熱情陽光的景緻，追尋那最純真快樂的景象，延續創作了「人形丘壑」與「靜默丘壑」系列，以螢光高彩度飽和的色彩顏料，讓人直接感受到陽光的耀眼、海風的吹拂、山陵的壯闊、溪谷的幽長，藉由「線條」與「色面」拆解了自然風景的面貌，呼應出人類身處天然美景卻被外在的科技訊號線所禁錮干擾，畫面構成是協調呼應讓人有多方醒思隱喻，是藝術家在一直探索人與環境的關係，尋求心靈與自然對話的根源。
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從小就是個動漫迷的曹文瑞生於臺北市，畢業國立藝專美術科後，遠赴美國攻讀藝術碩士，之後返臺從事藝術行政職場生涯多年，於45歲開始重拾畫筆專職走上藝術創作之路，將童年、青春累積記憶圖像，以超現實概念的敘事、天馬行空的想法，運用精緻寫實油畫古典的技法，將畫面虛構與重組一幅幅的「真實」舞臺劇幕，滿足內心幻想的卡漫遊戲世界。在「心靈視窗」系列中，挪用形象知名的卡漫人物佇立在不同觀景窗旁，如同觀看跨越時空的一場奇遇旅程。在「虛擬劇場」系列中，玩偶公仔角色已走出觀景窗的自由世界，好奇的對世界的變遷產生質疑，隱喻出藝術家內心對世界環境的期待。在「謬思計畫」系列中，以虛實拼貼、替換藝術藏品的角色，轉換至博物館陳列中，打造出具趣味性的當代觀感。藝術家如同扮演著舞臺上的導演，虛構擬定角色、巧妙編排內心的異想世界，使觀者的產生共鳴。
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「生活體驗」讓藝術家有了真實的感悟，喚醒內在初心，探索人生風景，離開科技虛擬的畫素視窗，用心凝視大自然的真實世界，會有令人驚嘆的美麗的景緻。