Abstract reality

Huang Hsiao-yen (黃小燕) has done all the things that a young woman does to be a chic artist -- dye her hair, smoke cigarettes, drink, and live in Paris. Yet when you meet her, and see her wide-eyed gaze and naive smile, it seems that the 35-year-old artist has remained genuine and closer to real life than her attempts at being en vogue indicate.

Huang's collage is a reflection of this dichotomy. On the surface, it is abstract in nature; however, a close look shows it is embedded with concrete bits of reality. Faded black-and-white pictures from the past recall places that Huang relishes in her "memory" collages. We see places she has traveled, sentimental objects that kept her company, such as a teddy bear, and icons, such as a foot, that reveal the restlessness of a traveler.

Huang likes to travel so she's always on the move, shooting photos or writing along the way. On a flight from Paris to Taiwan 10 years ago, she wrote in her journal: "We can be far away from here, rebuild our lives under another sky." Her romantic inclination turns her abstract works into pictures that seem fluid, light, poetic and far away.

"Memory is about sketches in life," says Huang -- it comes in bits and pieces. When it is laid down on the canvas, it is manifested by chunks of color, random lines, words and symbols. Huang's nine-piece combination work "Les Codes de la Memoire" is one example.

Huang's sensitivity makes her artwork look delicate and gentle. This exhibit is her first solo outing since her return from Paris in 1997, and it shows a more mature and complex expression. The 20 works on display were completed during the last three years and are drawn from recollections of her life in Taiwan or from nostalgic thoughts about her life in Paris.

The different personalities of the two places are reflected by differences in coloration, Huang says. The subtropical climate of Taiwan is shown through bright, solid colors, which in this case, can be seen in her oil paintings. Europe, on the other hand, tends to be neutral and grayish, as revealed in her memory series.

Collage is not a popular art form in Taiwan and some of those who have excelled in it are abstract artists, such as Chuang Che (莊吉吉). Huang found collage to be a challenging hybrid of two dimensional and three dimensional presentations, a good way for her to manifest her artistic ideas beyond traditional methods, such as painting or sculpture.

Currently teaching at National Taiwan College of Arts, Huang lives in Taoyuan. She continues to travel, paint and write. Her column on art regularly appears in the e-paper Tomorrow Times.

A study in jade The exhibition of Sophie Kuo's (郭淑惠) jade collection is proof of the profound influence the gemstone has in Chinese culture. From excavation sites across China, jade articles have been discovered among various other things that were passed down from generation to generation. As early as the Neolithic period, jade was used in religious ceremonies, as burial objects in royal tombs or as material for household decoration. During the past 20 years, Kuo has amazingly collected more than 700 pieces of jade. For the museum show, about 280 objects were chosen, dating from the Neolithic Age to the Ching Dynasty. Deng Cheng-ching (鄧成清), an antique art dealer who took up the task of selecting the exhibit items, chose those that are representative and typical of their time period. Most are very simple, yet interesting pieces, which are easier to authenticate than extraordinary and extravagant works. Deng suggests this show for beginning jade collectors because they will find it informative and easy to understand. The exhibits are well categorized according to their time, forms and functions and make for a good review of the basics. Most jade collectors read books about jade to get to know some of the typical forms of antique jade, such as bi, a piece of rounded jade with a hole in the center, and cong, a long hollow jade piece with rectangular sides. The age of jade does not necessarily determine the price, according to Deng. Some of the Ching Dynasty jade is actually more expensive than pieces dated earlier because of the high quality carving work. In general, though, most antique jade costs quite a bit. For instance, a Yuan piece 5cm in diameter and 3.5cm in height could cost about NT$250,000. Fortunately, looking will only cost you NT$20, the price of a ticket.