All Solo!

〈ALL SOLO!〉 Liang Gallery | Dadaocheng Art Project

Chief Planner: Chen Jingying

Curator: Weng Shuying

Executive Director: Yao Yuxuan

First Period - Exhibiting Artists: Chen Shuli, Chen Kuiyan, Zeng Qingqiang, Lan Zhongxuan, Xu Ruiqian, Natsuko Shibata, Fan Wei, Lin Zhi'an

Second Period - Exhibiting Artists: San'ao (Hua Jilin, Yang Yunying, Yang Denglin), Wang Meiling, Hong Yuwen, Ma Lian, Lian Xinyu, Chen Yichun, Zhan Wenfu, Yang Li

Under the brush of Taiwanese senior artist Guo Xuehu, Dadaocheng becomes a birthplace of human rights, culture, and art in Taiwan, where many artists have left their vibrant marks.

In July, Liang Gallery launched the "Dadaocheng Art Project" open call, selecting exhibition proposals from 16 artists. In August, the "ALL SOLO!" exhibition will be held at "OrigInn・Space," a heretage  building in Dadaocheng.

This exhibition aims to combine the richness of group exhibitions with the focus of solo exhibitions, presenting contemporary art with a sense of the times to art lovers in the historically profound Dadaocheng, showcasing Taiwan's artistic vitality!

Through three informative sessions and a 28-day call for submissions, a total of 105 proposals were received, and after careful review and discussion by the appointed curator, external judges, and the team at Liang Gallery, 16 artists/groups were selected to showcase their unique artistic styles, which encompass diverse media such as oil painting, acrylic, ink, mixed media, video, sculpture, textiles, and conceptual installations.

As a private gallery nearing its 30th anniversary, the two directors of Liang Gallery contemplate how to promote the development of contemporary art in Taiwan through flexible curatorial directions, seeking to discover more outstanding artists and provide them with platforms to present and exhibit. Thus, the "Dadaocheng Art Project - ALL SOLO!" was born. This exhibition is just the beginning, as the Liang Gallery plans to continue holding "ALL SOLO!" exhibitions throughout Taiwan, featuring different regional artistic styles through open calls in the future.

"Spring to Love" Series

The "Spring to Love" series, composed of copper wire sculptures, imagines love in different stages. It also questions the notions of fate and free will within the collective consciousness. Does love have a predetermined fate, or is it a choice of free will? Facing the changes and uncertainties brought about by life and the COVID-19 pandemic, artist Julia Hung spent more time with herself, experimenting with different media to rethink the originality of art and the free will of being human.

Through visualizing my life experiences, I created a new series of copper wire woven sculptures. The free and unrestrained wires, woven together, form a subtly interwoven network of sculptures. Similar to genes, environment, and subconsciousness, we are shaped and restricted amidst the interplay of constraints and freedom. Comparing copper wire to time, pulling it out from the axis, repeatedly outlining loops, breaks the rules of points, lines, surfaces, and bodies, gradually revealing a network-like, interconnected, and permeable time in space, exhibiting a translucent simultaneity.

The woven sculptures concretize non-linear time and the duality of freedom and restrictions in free will, further exploring the existence of free will. Julia learned the crochet technique from her grandmother during her childhood. Her grandmother is originally from Dadaocheng's Dihua Street and married her grandfather, who lived opposite her. During a period of business setbacks for her grandfather, her grandmother supported the family by crocheting lace, helping the economic situation through difficult times. The artist is influenced by her grandmother. She believes female is like flowing water, seemingly soft, its yet resilient nature silently shaping the world. Hence, her artworks often present the dual characteristics, using materials perceived as cold and rigid, like metal, to create warm and organic forms through weaving. The series also revolves around the theme of love, questioning its autonomy.