2017 Solo Show RichmanTouch,Taipei,Taiwan

Rich Man  No.112/07/2012 

Author:​ Li YiYi

Li spent a year in France as an exchange student in university. Soon after graduation, she worked as an editor in art magazines. She spent one year in Beijing in 2007-2008. She worked as a copy editor for Artist Magazine and Editor-in-Chief for “Art Collection”. She was also Editor-in-Chief for Taipei Post and later for Focus Art Magazine.

In 1983, Liang Ping-Cheng won the Eighth Lion Art New Artist Awardwhilst he was studying in Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University. This was great encouragement to his creative journey.

At his personal exhibition upon graduation, he locked himself in the gallery and engaged in improvisational painting on the floors, the walls and the ceilings. This shows his nearly “wild” energy and momentum in his creative subconsciousness. He taught briefly and studied in New York University in the U.S. His encounter with wood sculpture seemed destined. He floated around for a few years after returning from the U.S. and came to Sanyi by chance. He picked up the wood pieces discarded by local sculptors and artisans and tried painting and carving on wood. Although he did not formally learn from a master, he came up with his own techniques by following his intuition and sensitivity. At that time, the wood sculpture industry in Sanyi was more of a handicraft, and the designs were based on traditional styles, without much innovation. In fact, the industry was struggling due to price competition from China.In contrast, Liang’s wood sculptures rose above his aesthetic foundation and creative trainings. Soon, his works became famous for his highly personalized style.

Liang’s wood sculpture is known for flows of lightness, transformed realism and personified pragmatism, and later the combination of heterogenous materials. Every artistic working with wood will be first overwhelmed by the sturdy and thick tree trunks. Wood carries a sense of heaviness that is difficult to resist. It is so substantial that it could crush a person with low spirit. On the other hand, wood is the material to “get it all out”. Liang uncovers a different kind of beauty on wood with a technique called “flows of lightness”. He removes a large area and sets free the seldom noticed beautify of wood with curves and square cavities. In this process, the artist lets go of emotional burdens and alleviate the astuteness of pain. After the series Gravity Release, Liang’s wood artworks are so slim and light that they can take flight. He later created Wings (飛行),Book & Illegible Book, Utensil & Anti-Utensil.

We all play different roles in the journey of life, as if we wear different masks from time to time. This was how his “Mask” series came into being. The integration of metals such as gold and stainless steel into wood sculpture provides a visual contrast, eye-catching but not overpowering. The series “Mask” is in fact a stateless face. Being stateless can be interpreted as a state. 

Liang’s artworks speak of his mastery of materials and his passion for materials. From existence to void of wood, the process is letting go and gouging. From void reverting to existence, the process is imagination and integration.

Liang only uses wood from Taiwan. This gives his works a sense of belonging.

Through sculpturing and selection of materials, Liang expresses his ingenuity in three dimensions. His works are more than a visual delight. The fragrance of the wood sends off the bliss and love of Taiwan.