Stillness Consumed
Taiwan-based artist Zheng 郑元德 Yuande’s first solo on sculptures is stunning, writes Sarah NH Vogeler
IT’S been a while since we’ve seen a Zheng Yuande solo. His first, Otherworld-Glimpses Of Chinese Opera in 1988, was held at The Australian High Commission, curated by Datuk Ramli Ibrahim.
The works on his studies of Cantonese Opera were compelling, gripping — seizing the resonances, the ensigns of stage and the narrative, the schematic guises and powder and paint, the emblematic movements.
In 1994, he held another, The Echo of Light and Shadow, in Rimbun Dahan, this time helmed by photographer and writer Chu Li. Notes from the writings read: “The echo between light and shadow isn’t an unfamiliar language in art. Through the years, Zheng Yuande has developed this language in his paintings and sculpture by manipulating inter-personal space, feeling, mood and the body language of his subjects. His topic remains the same — the backstage drama of Chinese opera, the rarely seen moments of tension and release of the actors and actresses backstage, though Yuande is no longer interested in capturing the ‘real face’ of the Chinese opera.”
Accolades for Yuande are many. His works on Cantonese Opera, He Who Was the Hero Just Now! earned him the National Art Gallery Young Contemporary award in 1985, and in 1994, a Petronas Art Salon Young Contemporaries Prize.
Yuande studied at Malaysian Institute Of Art for two years, and then at Kuala Lumpur College Of Art for another two. He says: “I left MIA because, at the end of my second year, I was the only one studying Fine Art, and being the best in a classroom of one is ridiculous. The other classmates opted for courses more commercial, lured by the promise of a steady income upon completing a degree. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just wanted something else, to go past what I see and what I can know. I wanted a life that had much hope but at the same time that need to gamble overwhelms and KLCA set the foundation for that chase.”
His years spent in KLCA under the careful tutelage of founder-principal Cheah Yew Saik set the artist on a course that changed his life. Cheah understood all too well the struggles which came with the decision of making art one’s lifelong pursuit and was much involved in shaping Yuande’s future.
Not long after that, Yuande appeared to have dropped out of sight, existing just below the radar, continuing his works in a much quieter vein. Along the years, he participated in several art shows, a solo in 1997 at NN Gallery, but for the most part of the last decade, went to Taiwan to further his knowledge of art under a professor he greatly admired.
Yuande’s boyish charm, that Peter Pan impish disposition coupled with sudden bursts of delighted laughter, his hands clapping together, eyebrows furrowed when making a point, is like “rain” on an afternoon that is oppressive and draining.
It is also a remarkable coincidence that the photographer who climbs to the rooftop to capture Yuande’s image, camera precariously poised, is artist Nirmala Karuppiah, herself more than well-known for intimate studies on Cantonese Opera.
THE WORK
Stillness Consumed is a body of work which took almost a year to emerge and 12 pieces of studies in charcoal, and 12 to 15 sculptures concentrated in bronze and stainless steel, all cast in a foundry in Taiwan. Yuande brought out some of his monochromatic drawings, yet to be framed, of the body postulated in unending gesticulations, torsos twisted, bent, in reverie, all uninhibited and wandering in a dream-like state.
At our meeting, three of his sculptures are on display on the dining table, stunningly askew, each appearing to be in deep tete-a-tete with one another, the rest waiting to be shipped in from Taiwan, a trip he is eager to make, to bring home the rest of his remaining ‘progenies’ for their world debut.
Of the three, only one is titled — Street Dancer — a stainless steel silver effigy postured in a flawless split, the arcs and contours magnified splendidly by skilled hands. The other two, equally salient bronze works of limbs lengthened, manipulated in such a way to give an impression of endlessness, a dancer who whirls to a refrain perfectly his/ her own. This is Yuande as few have ever seen before.
Eva Hesse wrote in 1969, (Art in Process IV): “I remember I wanted to get to non art, non connotive, non anthropomorphic, non geometric, non, nothing, everything, but of another kind, vision, sort. From another total reference point. Is it possible? I have learnt anything is possible. I know that. That vision or concept will come through total risk, freedom, discipline. I’ll do it.”
Yuande is doing exactly this — pushing the precincts of possibilities and in doing so, Stillness Consumed is a body of work entrenched in powerful symbols of kinesis, very personal, the edifices strikingly visual, romantic and adorned with just the right hint of poetry.
Stillness Consumed by Zheng Yuande
WHEN: Until Sept 16
WHERE: Kamaria, 6 Jalan 16/7, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
www.sutrafoundation.org.my or
Tel : 603-4021 1092
Artist’s much-anticipated solo exhibition explores the human figure
Art collectors and aficionados were buzzing with excitement at the opening night of Yuande 郑元德 Zheng’s new solo exhibition titled, Stillness Consumed.
Zheng at the opening night of his solo exhibition titled Stillness Consumed.
It was understandably so, as it has been more than 15 years since the Malaysian-born artist and sculptor had a solo exhibition in the country.
In Stillness Consumed, Zheng’s exploration and admiration of the human figure takes on a new angle as it highlights the human figure, suspended in motion, in his own minimalist style.
“Stillness Consumed cannot be explained in words. The human figure in motion is something that you have to see and feel for yourself,” said Zheng. Zheng utilises only two mediums in this particular series — charcoal drawings on paper and sculptures, using a mix of bronze and stainless steel.
“For the drawings, I created a special kind of charcoal to get the hues and shades that I needed,” he added.
His drawings capture not the details of limbs and muscles, but the way in which they bend and twist in order to form creative, sometimes almost acrobatic poses.
The sculptures depict many of the same lines and gestures in the same abstract, minimalist style, as seen in the lack of a torso or feet in some pieces. “I intentionally excluded certain parts of the body in some of the sculptures if I think they are not needed in order to highlight the figures formed by specific limbs.
“The anatomy does not need to be complete because my work looks not at the human anatomy, but the movements and poses that the human body is capable of,” said Zheng.
A few visitors had already expressed interest in obtaining his latest works at the opening night of his exhibition that was presented and supported by the Sutra Foundation.
Art collectors and enthusiasts who are interested in Zheng’s works can arrange for a private viewing until Sept 16 at Kamaria, a residence-cum-art gallery in Section 16, Petaling Jaya.
To inquire or make appointments, call 03-4021 1092 during office hours.
Yuande is a distinguished artist with a notable career since the 1980s. He is perhaps most known to collectors for his Chinese Opera series of paintings from the 1980s and 1990s. In the years since then, Yuande has ventured to concentrate more on 3D molded metal art works, which are unique in that they focus on the fluidity and movement of the human body, rather than concentrate on static beauty and aesthetics.
The renowned playwright and stage director Chin San Sooi had this to say about Zheng Yuande:
“Of his works thus far, Yuande has depicted intimations of the human soul. Now, in his sculptures, in 3-dimensional figures, in song and dance he calls for a celebration of that soul.
In the toughness of steel and bronze
Matted or polished sinewy lines
Breathe elegance and grace
A breathless beauty emanates
Imperceptible and still
Eons of eternal Presences.
Reclining or standing
Provocative or inviting
The sculptures tease
One
To take flight of One Thought
To excite One Imagination”
Zheng’s drawings, such as this piece called ‘Reclining I’, capture the way limbs and muscles bend and twist in order to form creative, almost acrobatic poses. — Photos by SHAARI CHE MAT
The Echo of Light and Shadow - ZHENG 郑元德 YUANDE
Catalogue notes for Yuande's 1994 exhibition at Rimbun Dahan by Chu Li, Malaysian writer and photographer.
The echo between light and shadow is not an unfamiliar language in art. Through the years, Zheng Yuande has developed this language in his paintings and sculpture by manipulating inter-personal space, feeling, mood and the body language of his subjects. His topic remains the same: the backstage drama of the Chinese opera, the rarely seen moments of tension and release of the actors and actresses backstage, though Yuande is no longer interested in capturing the 'real face' of the Chinese opera.
More than ten years ago, he was painting the shifting faces of this unique art form. His passion for the opera has taken him through three artistic phases. He started by capturing the sound , the colours of the stage and the story line, the stylized masks and make-up, the symbolic gestures. This phase did not last long, and he moved o to paint the hidden colours in the life of the performers backstage. The third stage is a deeper study of is subject matter in attempting to express on canvas the silent thought so the actors just before or after a performance. 'He Who Was the Hero Just Now!' won for the artist the National Art Gallery's Young Contemporary award in 1985. In 1994, Yuande was awarded a Petronas Art Salon Young Contemporaries Prize for his painting, but Yuande knows that an artist does not paint merely for awards as the involvement in his art is total. In the early days, he was more concerned with the psychology behind the movement of every character by understanding subtle hints of colour and plays of light and he has now moved onto more subtle challenges in his art evolution.
The language of Silence is the language of Light and Shadow. Every artist knows that Light, the giver of presence, casts a shadow belonging to Light, and in between this Light and Shadow is the realm of Silence: in the heart of Silence is the Echo. This is the art of Yuande in his current Chines opera series. One cannot help feeling that the young artist is using the opera more and more as a metaphor, for he is no longer interested in painting the real facial expressions, emotions or psychology of movement; these languages have give n way to the language of Echoes between Light and Shadow.
Echoes mirror their resonates loudly in Silence. Yuande's is a spatial language of inter-relationships between forms. and he uses it to convey his feelings, building up dark sombre tones of shade, concealing markings between layers of shade and maneuvering light within the space of shadows.
His opera figures have taken on a universal quality of old world romanticism, its mystique rested in a more mature and challenging manner. The mastery of his medium, oil on canvas, is more complete and he cites as inspiration Rembrandt and Turner with Pre-Raphaelite colours, but he has also returned to draw upon the dynamics and ideas of Chinese calligraphy to build his paintings.
In sculpture as in painting, Yuande's approach is minimalist in essence and calligraphic in style. His challenge in this current series of works is to express in minimal strokes the vastness and fullness of space, rich layers of feeling and the intense resonance of echoes between Light and Shadow, paring back unnecessary strokes and colous by going back to the basics of solid and void instead of colour and tone.
His intention is to wield understatement and restraint, drawing the viewer closer to his works, so that they may discover themselves within them. He is more aware now of forging a closer bond with his audience by withdrawing his dominance as artist, and allowing his work to declare its own presence.
Powerful silence, whose echoes speak of tone, colour, nuance and innuendo, is sure to score an impact in art as it does in life. For the artist, this language is a challenging search for basic breathing and release, and to hold the mirror of art to the echo of Light and Shadow. Zhang Yuande's journal of Chinese opera is this Echo.
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Solo Exhibitions
2002 “In Between The Light“, Sunjin Gallery, Singapore
1999 “Uncoloured Path“, NN Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1996 “Colours of Shadow“, Civic Centre, Petaling Jaya
“Stories Behind The Door”, Concord Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
1988 “Otherworld – Glimpses of Chinese Opera”, solo exhibition of oils, watercolours and photographs, Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur
Group Exhibitions
2013 “Art Show Busan 2013”, Busan, South Korea (with Dahlia Gallery, Singapore)
“Asia Hotel Art Fair (AHAF) 2013“, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong (with Artemis Art)
2012 “Asia Hotel Art Fair (AHAF) 2012”, Hong Kong
“Seoul Open Art Fair (SOAF)”, Soeul, South Korea
“SPOON Art Fair”, Hong Kong
“Taipei Art Fair”, Taipei, Taiwan
“Art Expo Malaysia 2012”, MATRADE Exhibition & Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur (with Artemis Art, ArtDoor Taipei, and Dahlia Gallery)
COLLECTION AND ACCLAIM
His works were featured in ‘The Album of Works by Overseas Chinese Artist and Foreign Artist of Chinese Origin’, published in China, in 1995.
Through the years, his work has attracted a distinguished list of discerning private and corporate collectors, chief among them:
Bank Utama, Kuala Lumpur
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Malaysian Institute of Arts
British Council, Malaysia
NN Gallery
Shell Malaysia
Australian High Commission
Petronas Gallery
His private collectors can be found in Australia, Germany, Thailand, Hungary, Canada, UK, USA Taiwan and Spain.
2011“Art Expo Malaysia 2011”, MATRADE Exhibition & Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur
2010“Garis”, Metro Fine Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
2003“Infatuated”, Sunjin Gallery, Singapore
2002“Menjejak Kembali”, Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur
1999“AKU Potret Diri”, Petronas Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1998“Art for Nature”, NN Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1997“Asian Art Fair”, Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
“The 6th Singapore Art Fair”, Singapore
“Art for Nature”, NN Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
“Malaysian Drawings”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
“Pekan Seni Ipoh II”, Ipoh, Perak
“Young Contemporaries In Review”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1996“Reflective Kaleidoscope”, KLCA Faculty Show
“Pekan Seni”, Ipoh, Perak
1995“Mind the Gap”, two-man show, Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur
“Visual Essence”, MIA Faculty Show
AWARDS/RECOGNITION
1987“The Young Contemporary”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1985“The National Open Exhibition”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1983“The first Asean Youth Painting Workshop and Exhibition”, Bangkok
1980 – 85 “The Young Contemporary”, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1980“Group of Six”, Singapore
1984“The Young Contemporary National Art Gallery“, Kuala Lumpur
1994“Malaysia Art Open ’94“
“Resident Artist“, Rimbun Dahan
1995“Malaysia-Asean Art Award,Philip Morris“, (Honorable Mention)
1997“Malaysia-Asean Art Award,Philip Morris“, (Honorable Mention)
1998“Malaysia-Asean Art Award,Philip Morris“, (Honorable Mention)
ART EDUCATION
1997-78 Malaysian Institute of Art
1979 Kuala Lumpur College of Art
1988-89 National Institute of Art, Taiwan
1997-78 “The Aesthetics of China” one-year program in drama, fine art and history
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