Exhibition Period｜2019/12/07～12/29

The joint exhibition "Images and Icons" showcases the compelling works of three distinct contemporary artists: Su I-chung, Cho Hsiu-tung, and Li Hsin. Hailing from entirely different backgrounds, the trio bonded over their shared passion for the arts and connected through the Taipei Beautiful Life Association (BLA), founded by Su. This showcase brings them together under one roof, weaving three vastly different artistic tapestries into a harmonious dialogue. Su I-chung is perhaps best known to the public by his corporate title, Chairman of Hotai Development (Daikin Taiwan). Yet, the business world is far from the only fertile garden in his life. Drama, literature, cinema, music, fine art, and even magic tricks—anything possessing pulse, raw emotion, and aesthetic flavor—have constantly commanded a generous slice of his busy life. While traditional Chinese phrasing might call this an "elegant hobby," the labels of high or low culture matter very little to Su. It is the pure, unadulterated life energy within art that captivates him, drawing him to dive in headfirst. Su began painting around 2014. Though a late bloomer on the canvas, his deep cultural literacy, sharp intuition, aversion to conformity, and fiercely independent mind—coupled with a burning passion for practice—allowed him to rapidly master different mediums, internalize art movements, and forge a signature style. His prolific output and sharp technical leaps over a five-year span prove that he can wear a heavy corporate crown while masterfully wielding a vibrant brush. Within this brief timeline, the breadth of his subject matter is staggering, traversing East and West, ancient and modern. From Journey to the West and Buddhist sutras to Beethoven, Sun Yat-sen, the annual pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey in the White House, and the glove puppetry master Chen Hsi-huang, his sweeping intellectual curiosity serves as his canvas. These are no mere superficial glances; every brushstroke is a voice, and Su's art always speaks with distinct volume. The Red Box reveals his deep engagement with cultural heritage preservation, while After Praying for Blessings turns a sharp, observant eye toward the ironies of hypocrisy. On a personal note, pieces like Photobomb capture delightful, candid slices of life that only an untamed, childlike heart could cherish. His experience as an entrepreneur enriches what he sees, but it is his empathy for life's many flavors and his enduring, witty affection for the world that truly fills his canvas, keeping his art beating to the very pulse of human life. Cho Hsiu-tung operates masterfully as both a fine artist and a dedicated educator, moving seamlessly between the lecture hall and the gallery. Her creative repertoire spans oil painting, porcelain art, ink painting, and calligraphy, and she frequently travels across the Taiwan Strait for major exhibitions and cultural exchanges. In her glazed ceramic works, she inherits the stylistic lineage of masters Wu Rhanga-nung and Li Mao-tsung, while her abstract canvas philosophies are inspired by the legendary Chen Zheng-xiong. The pieces on display highlight a beautiful synthesis of these two worlds, utilizing points, lines, and planes to compose a vibrant rhapsody of form and color. Within her abstraction, one finds both the effortless playfulness of spontaneous pigment and the poetic lyricism of traditional Chinese ink art, underscoring her mastery over diverse artistic origins. Cho is particularly enamored with the unpredictable transformations of yaobian (kiln transmutation). The sheer surprise of facing a newly fired piece—imbued with absolute uniqueness and unpredictability—is what drives her deep love for ceramics. In education, her course "The Beauty of Taiwanese Ceramic Art" received special grant funding from the Ministry of Education to champion the heritage of clay. Li Hsin began her career as a dentist before leaving medicine behind to pursue the arts full-time, dedicating herself to both contemporary dance and painting. As a self-taught practitioner, she is already a seasoned fixture in the art world, with her footprints found at Art Taipei, the Salon d’Automne in France, and the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. Her paintings are anchored in Neo-Expressionism; turbulent emotions, distorted figures, and dancing color blocks ripple with a distinct choreographic momentum, exploring the boundaries of gender, desire, and power dynamics between the abstract and the concrete. Cultural critic Tsai Shih-ping describes her work as "the roaring surge of fluid consciousness," while contemporary art critic Tsai Zhi-rong notes that her creation "feels like staging a theatrical play between the concepts of shadow, physicality, and fine art." This year, beyond oil on canvas, Li expands her vocabulary by incorporating wire mesh and large-scale dramatic film still prints. This venture into mixed media showcases her continuous breakthrough and self-transcendence—a perfect reflection of a life spent constantly breaking new ground. Though these three artists possess highly divergent styles and subjects, their works do not compete for dominance. Instead, the gallery offers a dazzling convergence where different tones of life illuminate one another, fueled by a singular creative passion. Whether formally trained or self-taught, they warmly invite the audience to share in this shared feast of aesthetic delight.

Performance Highlights