Nearly every artist gets inspiration from everyday life, however, to sublimate life philosophy into art works is not achievable for everyone. In this July, Lin & Lin Gallery presents the richest life testament－Great ALL, Hsiao Chin 2013 solo exhibition. As artist has stated, “My art has always presented spiritual growth.”
The title, Great ALL,infers the limitless energy of the universe which supplies Hsiao Chin with myriad of inspiration. Though the artist emphasized that his creative thinking is based on Laozi and Zhuangzi, also with the blending of religions, still, one should never disregard the power of universe is the main source of Hsiao’s inspiration. A backward glance, the life story of the artist is a legend. The rather dramatic life could be distinguished from different phase of works. Form the early period series Zen and Chi, to To the Eternal Garden, till recent series La nascita del nuovo mondo, they all reflect the mindset of Hsiao at the time. Art for life is merely as a vehicle, for Hsiao, who is about to turn eighty, the Great ALL is based on the bigger picture: life is eternal. It doesn't just stop here at the end of this life or in this world, but rather after passing over that decisive boundary between life and death, we find ourselves on another sunny shore.
As the artist emphasizes, hemanaged to grasp oneness but then later turned that into allness. Having blankness on canvas is the greatest feature of his new series. The blank symbolizes the infinite of the universe. Lo Scontro, a lump of royal blue color spreading across the canvas causes a star trail. The perfect radian gradually vanished into colorful spreading dots. Aggression and delicacy overlap, causing the dramatic tension. The limited canvas has stretched into universal-like limitless. The series of paintings is composed by broad brush stroke and casual spots. Red Wave, Tornado and Lo Scontro …etc, the work title of this series has revealed the spontaneous nature of the artist. Through the Great ALL exhibition, the artist will lead viewers through his thought-through life philosophy.
Hsiao Chin, whose ancestral home is in Zhongshan county in the province of Guangdong, was born in Shanghai in 1935. In 1949 he followed his father’s sister and her husband to Taiwan, then in 1956 went to Spain as a student, afterwards travelling to Italy and New York to create and teach for the next 40-odd years. In year 2005, he was conferred the Knight of Italian Star of Solidarity by the president of Italy. In becoming a successful artist, Hsiao Chin, along with others, slowly began to set into motion the ‘Movement of the Modernization of Chinese Art’.
Courtesy of Lin & Lin Gallery
