“Time Traveler II: A Play on Classic Paintings” is Lu Fang’s newest solo exhibition at MOT/ARTS. Three years ago, in 2010, his first exhibition, entitled “Time Traveler: Mr. Big Nose in Wonderland,” presented a series of paintings in which Lu reinterprets classic European masterpieces by inserting into them a humorous caricature named Mr. Big Nose, a character modeled from his self-portrait. His paintings reveal an artistic style that is both contemporary and classic. The 2013 exhibition “Time Traveler II: A Play on Classic Paintings” carries on the theme of the “Time Traveler” series, as Lu continues to challenge his own classic painting techniques and deepen his research in painting materials.
In this new exhibition, the conflicting, contradictory, and out-of-place presence of Mr. Big Nose that was characteristic in his previous works gives way to an embracing integration of life in modern-day Taiwan. Lu’s creations have always been inspired by the dialogues between the East and the West, the classic and the contemporary. After living in the Western world for many years, Lu returned to Taiwan, and while experiencing and adjusting to life there, Lu began to contemplate his own identity, culture, and artistic taste—personal qualities that have always drifted between the East and the West. Lu’s love for the painting, music, and architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque era have allowed him to continue to immerse himself in a European atmosphere as he transforms himself into Mr. Big Nose in his reinterpretation of classic paintings. After a period of struggle between the new and the old, the self and the environment, Lu began a journey in which he would imitate the Renaissance painter Bruegel, who is one of Lu’s favorite Dutch artists. With an artistic style that is likened to the images one finds in picture books, Bruegel’s work focuses on the daily lives of ordinary people. When we look at his 500-year-old works today, we see that Bruegel’s paintings break free from the power and religion of his time and possess a historical significance that transcends time and space. Interestingly, Bruegel’s style is echoed in Lu Fang’s personal and non-mainstream artistic style in the contemporary art scene.
With his brushes and strokes, what Lu Fang has created for himself is a path destined to be different from contemporary artistic norms, and therefore also a difficult path. Lu’s choice for Bruegel’s paintings also reveals the current state of his inner world, as well as his desire to bring his artistic style and techniques to a whole new level. Similar to Bruegel’s focus on the lives of ordinary people, the new works by Lu Fang also depict life in Taiwan through his eyes. His paintings touch upon the urban policies of the government, the marginalization of people living at the bottom of society in early downtown areas of Taipei, local wedding customs and religious beliefs, as well as the multiplicity of ways of living. The artist is no longer in a state of dislocation and conflict with his environment. After a period of time living in Taiwan, the artist has slowly reached a harmonious connection with the local land. By tracing the creative footprints of the artist, we find that Lu is becoming more comfortable and ready to face and embrace his homeland.

*image (left)
© Lu Fang
courtesy of the artist and MOT/ARTS