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A trip dowm Modernist lane

By Susan Kendzulak
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Thursday, Apr 06, 2006, Page 15

Up the Hill, Down the Slope by George Ho. PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE HO

When encountering avant-garde art for the first time, viewers often complain and spout uninspired comments such as, "my child could do better than that."

So for a refreshing change of pace, today's art journal features exhibitions of paintings that look like paintings, and sculpture that looks like sculpture. The theme that runs through the exhibited art is Modernism and in these collections shape, line and color take precedence over content, thus allowing viewers to delight in a purely visual feast.

The JiArt Gallery features the work of two artists. George Ho (侯玉書), who studied art at the New York Studio School, presents several paintings created over the past four years. Ho's lyrical, colorful acrylic paintings on lutrador (a durable surface that resembles handmade paper) are a blossoming world of text and flowers.

Kun (郭弘坤), mixes paintings and objects. The works' surfaces are heavily impastoed with creamy paint and accents of hand-written text or dabs of bright color. In one canvas, a cuckoo clock emerges from a painting while a small painted diagram shows a hand using a screwdriver.

The facade of Jun Youn Sculpture Gallery's second branch. PHOTO: SUSAN KENDZULAK, TAIPEI TIMES

Jun Youn Sculpture Gallery's first branch exhibits small sculptural pieces made of wood and bronze by Ju Ming (朱銘), Taiwan's indisputable master of modernism. His well-known works are heavy bronze figures designed for public plazas.

Ju Ming, who was born in 1938, has his own museum in Chinshan (金山). He successfully merges shape and form with the gestures of taichi, creating an expression that is a seamless combination of East and West. The gallery caters to the private collector, so if you happen to have NT$1 million spare you may want to pick up one of his table-top wooden sculptures.

Garden of Longing by George Ho.

It is as rare as it is difficult for a son to follow in his famous father's footsteps. However, Ju Ming's son Ju Jun (朱雋) enjoys his father's unconditional support as an artist, so much so that the second branch of the Jun Youn Gallery recently opened with an exhibition of Jun's work. It is only a few doors down from the first branch.

At the first branch, shelves housing small tea pots act like room dividers, while Ju Ming's multicolored wooden sculptures are displayed together in groups. Unlike austere gallery spaces that leave an excess area of empty space around an art work, this space feels cozy with its grouping of figurative sculptures, antique furniture and ancient ceramics.

By contrast the son's space feels lighter and airier. Designed with a cool sleek interior, the place is calm and Zen-like. Not only are the spaces different in tone, so are the art works. On the surface, one can discern a slight similarity in that the same materials such as bronze and wood are used and that there is a similar handling of mass, but the similarities end there. Ju Jun favors certain motifs such as the resting Buddha and objects containing zippers.

For your information:

What: Jun Youn Sculpture Gallery
Where:
Ju Ming's exhibition is at 12, Lane 362, Songjiang Rd (雋永一館, 台北市松江路362巷12號)
Ju Jun's exhibition is at 34, Lane 362, Songjiang Rd, Taipei (雋永二館,台北市松江路362巷34號)
Telephone:
(02) 2581 5486 for Ju Ming's exhibition;
(02) 2581 1280 for Ju Jun's
When: Ongoing

What: George Ho (侯玉書) and Kun (郭弘坤)
Where: JiArt Gallery, 30, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei, (中山北路3段 30號1樓)
Telephone: (02) 2595 2449
When: Until April 29
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