Solo Show
1~ 1985 Solo Show ''Improvised Painting-I''.
Jen-Chen Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1985People's livelihood
Journalist Huang Paoping 黃寶萍
Improvisation Until Satisfaction
Liang Ping-Cheng Becomes Artist-in-Residence in Jia-ren Gallery
Liang Ping-Cheng, the winner of the EighthLion Art New Artist Award, had a high-profile relocation of his studio to Jia-ren Gallery today. He continues his improvisational painting on the walls, the ceilings and the floors until he is happy with the works. From today to the 11th next month, he will be painting over all Jia-ren Gallery, as his whims take him to. Liang said that he will paint by living the most liberal lifestyle, day and night. This creative process is open to all the lovers of art.
Liang indicates that everybody has his own personality and creative art can be done in different environments. He is currently on improvisational painting, revealing his studio and living by painting. At this juncture, he is not sure what he is able to come up with. This totally depends on the environment and the moment of thinking. He said that painting is a risky endeavor and success is in no way guaranteed.
However, Liang believes his odds of success are 70-80%. He was graduated from Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University in June this year. Many of his classmates are involved in improvisational painting. The trend is going for bigger sizes. Sometimes he has troubles understanding his urge to fill the whole wall with painting. However, he thinks the current attempt may be a better style. It is said that Liang’s improvisational painting on the walls and floors of an art gallery is the first ever in Taiwan. During this period, Liang also showcases his past works so that people can better understand his creative process.
How to Paint. What to Paint. All for Your Eyes.
Both the Process and the Outcome.
Art workers can choose what and how they create, but Liang seems even more different in how he does it. He said that improvisational painting on the walls, on the ceilings and on the floors take on a different meaning for him. Some people would lock themselves up to painting, away from other people. Others choose to hide away in the mountains and forests in order to think and create. However, Liang takes on a worldly approach by openly displaying his creative process. After all, creative art needs to speak and connect with the outside world. He had the idea long time ago about painting on the walls of an art gallery. A classmate of his suggested that they should paint on the school bus, but Liang believes that he needs to be responsible for his own behavior. Spray painting graffiti on New York subways and playing hide-and-seek with the police is not a good idea. Finally, Jia-ren Gallery allowed him to “evade” their own walls. This gives Liang a creative space. For him, painting is an absolute express. It feels good and smooth. Impulsive beauty is more captivating than rational painting. Liang compares the process of painting to the pulse of cultural heritage. The circulation of artworks to the future generations is nothing but a visual intuition across generations. Therefore, he wants to discard the preservation of his works but focuses on the process of creation. That said, this does not imply the process is more important than the outcome. His improvisation must come to fruition, and he needs to accomplish this creative endeavor. Of course, the process of painting is an adventure and a challenge. He is ready for it. The more ordeals, the better. Some may say, “This is probably following an arty trend overseas” when they hear about Liang’s exhibition. In fact, he was astonished when he saw graffiti in the undergrounds overseas. How come the works are so familiar! He had no prior knowledge or information about it. “This is probably because I received the formal training in Western arts. After all, all roads lead to Rome.” Liang emphasizes the differences in nature despite the similarity in forms. This is because of different cultural backgrounds. “Painting is nothing complicated. Just paint it. Think it.” Liang is putting his foot down for this exhibition. He hopes the public pays less attention in how he does it. What matters is what he achieves.
Bèn niǎo Painting Club
The solo exhibition of spontaneous painting at Jia-ren Gallery was not a traditional art exhibition, in which paintings were hung and displayed. Instead, the whole gallery space was turned into one painting. According to Liang himself, he took a couple of Kaoliang and a few boxes of paint, and locked himself in the gallery. When doing spontaneous artistic creation, one had to be freewheeling first. A bunch of reporters came to the site, hoping to know more about this artistic precedence. They stood behind the artist to watch the "performance." There were no references or preliminary sketches for the spontaneous painting. His only idea was to fill the entire exhibition space with painting, from the first inch to the last. The floor, walls, and ceiling would be covered in painting; one could not tell the beginning from the end, the left from the right, the ceiling from the floor. The entire space was one giant work. Liang's "spontaneous sculpture," which he was to fully develop later, could already be detected here. He used twenty-seven days to complete this massive work. It took nearly one month to create, and was on view for one month. On the opening day, the same group of reporters came back to report on the exhibition and its repercussion. It was a special case that the exhibition was covered twice by media. From the second group exhibition of Ban Niao, in which the trans-avantgarde began to take effect, to the maturing spontaneous painting at Jia-ren Gallery, which was still not counted as climbing to the top of the world, to the third and fourth Ban Niao group exhibitions at Nan Gallery and Taipei Culture Center, which were merely two of the "hundred peaks," the solo exhibition of spontaneous painting at Jia-ren Gallery hinted at the fact that Liang was close to complete the "hundred-peak test." After conquering the challenge of the three-thousand-meter mountains, he now was confident enough to take on the five-thousand-meter challenge.
I just graduated from college that year, and held an exhibition of spontaneous painting at Jia-ren Gallery. I did not rely on any single picture or sketch but my own imagination. In twenty-seven days, I freely painted the entire space of the gallery, including the floor, walls, and ceiling, which was more than 231 m2. Decades later, I now make wood sculptures, and am still do it without reference or sketch. Instead, I follow the nature of the wood and create a dialogue with the life the wood used to have. Humbly speaking, such an approach to carve according to the nature of the wood is unique and forms personal characteristics.
The last "hundred-peak challenge" in Taiwan was the solo exhibition at the American CulturalCenter. The showcased works included seven No. 240 paintings, one No. 480 painting, and dozens of paintings in various sizes. These works were painted when he was teaching at Fu-Hsin Trade and Arts School, and could be taken as a conclusive result of Liang's painting as well as an end to his teaching career. From the winning of the New Artist Award to this moment, what was left for Liang was to face himself. The hundred peaks he had conquered over the years were leftbehind now. There were higher mountains that awaited him in the world, quietly calling his name on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Ended his teaching career at Fu-Hsin Trade and Arts School and accompanied by his wife, Liang took whatever possession he had and entered New York University to start another challenge in the US. All the best and most talented people have always been going to New York. Without spending time there, one could not claim that he knew art and had seenChhogori, the peak of K2.
2~1987 Solo Show ''Improvised Painting-II'', American Institute, Taipei, Taiwan
3~2001 Solo Show of ''Gravity Release'' series, Original Art World , Sanyi, Miaoly, Taiwan
Liang moved to and away from Sanyi three times. From the glamorous world to the simple, mountainous town immersed in the scent of wood, he not only hoped to retrieve the truth, goodness, and beauty of art, but also contemplated upon the meaning of being an artist and the purpose of artistic creation. This was a transformation and transition for him. Apart from the pure sense of beauty and the exploration of aesthetics, what meaning did artistic creation convey?
In mid-1997, Liang had an opportunity to visit Sanyi. He looked just like what everybody would imagine an artist look like, sloppy and careless about his appearance. He would wander on the streets of Sanyi with a bottle of wine in hand, breathing alcohol. The lowest point of his life coincided with the depression of Sanyi, whose wood sculpture industry had fallen to the bottom from its peak for quite some time. Local artisans gathered together all day, drinking tea and chatting, trying to find a new possibility for Sanyi through "discussing about it." Liang's arrival simply offered them a new perspective: what could an academically trained
artist who had studied abroad do in Sanyi? Aside from his decadent lifestyle, what else could this group of wood sculpture artisans, who started their career as pupils after graduating junior high schools or vocational schools, see in Liang? Through this opportunity, instead of diving directly into sharpening his woodcarving skills, Liang took his time to reflect more and see the bigger picture. After all, he had survived living in the Big Apple. Not only had he diagnosed the symptoms of Sanyi's woodcarvingindustry, he also "lectured" theseartisans about Sanyi's potentiality, which he had foresaw.
Liang had always been relatively quick in making his work, now he was producing sculptures even faster since he was not distracted. In no time, he held his first solo exhibition in Sanyi at Original Art World at the end of 2001, which also marked the official beginning of the Gravity ReleaseSeries.
Gravity Release was the first series that Liang set out to develop. The title did not merely refer to release physical weight but psychological burden as well. People living on this island have not only been burdened by living and financial pressure, they also pressured by the task of making the country stronger, establishing its historical position, resolving conflicts between ethnic groups, and finding solutions for political differences. Every Taiwanese, from politician to ordinary citizen, was buried under pressure since birth; and each household was faced with difficulties of its own. Therefore, every person carried weight on his or her mind that needed to be released. Through Liang's Gravity ReleaseSeries, each piece of wood block became light and thin with a sense of levitating beauty. Upon viewing the series, the body and mind became weightless to the point that one felt to be able to fly. This was undoubtedly the psychological freedom that Taiwanese people needed the most.
The solo exhibition at Original Art World did not just showcase wooden sculptures but also avantgarde art installations that incorporated lighting and digital technologies. Mixed media installations were not uncommon or groundbreaking in Taiwan; however, it was new to the people in Sanyi. In this exhibition, one could already see works that possessed characteristics of void spaces and hairpins, which would eventually lead to the series of Integral and Taiwan Matrix.
4~2002 Solo Show of '' Flying '' series, Unique Art Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan
In 2002, Liang soon presented the FlyingSeries at Galerie Pierre in Taichung. It was the first time he showed works of thin structure and laid down the foundation for the husk and pod structure in the Integral and Taiwan Matrix Series that were to come later. The FlyingSeries originated from Gravity Release, and through the approach adopted in this series, Liang was able to release the heaviness in wood to create a sense of lightness, thinness and floating beauty. As a matter of fact, Liang observedand detected the tremendous pressure of modern people in New York, Kaohsiung, and Taipei. The phenomenon was universal in modern society, and required a sort of psychological release. The power of Gravity Release lay in the fact that each carving and removal of wood that rendered the wood thinner andlighter would create a sense of gratification. It was a unique experience, and Liang believed that viewers would have the same feeling when seeing his works.
5~2006 ''Fertile Soil'' series, crossover cooperation with Herb24, Eslite Xin Yi Store, Taipei, Taiwan
Nonetheless, Liang did not hold many exhibitions during this prolific period. The only exhibition that took place was Fertile Land at the store of Herb 24 in Eslite Xinyi Store in 2005. The exhibition title was inspired by two pieces showcased in the exhibition, Fertile Land I and Fertile Land II. The surface texture of these two works reminded the viewers of fields. Sanyi was surrounded by fields, and the earth nurtured all kinds of crops as well as different insects, worms, birds, and animals. Liang also grew up in the countryside and had a deep understanding of what earth meant to farmers. Fertile earth was a basic element to harvests, and these two works were like terraced fields observed from an aerial view.
That was why they were named Fertile Land. Many of the works displayed in this exhibition embodied similar vocabulary that was reminiscent of field landscape. Later, this vocabulary would gradually become the diamond pattern and other morphed shapes in Liang's work. In addition, more than two third of the sculptures showcased in the exhibition had "legs"; they might have four or three legs, making them look like tables, chairs, or benches. However, they were not made to be "furniture." This dialectic concept was typical of the Post-Sanyi Period, and was embodied in series such as Non-Objects and Non-Books.
Although Fertile Land was not an "official art exhibition" in a gallery space, it delivered a significant meaning. It was like an overture announcing Liang's return to the art scene in Taipei and foretold his Taipei Period. After this, his climbing challenge in artistic creation no longer started at three thousand meters but five thousand.
6~2011 Solo Show, InSian Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Possibility of Wood・Imagination of Carving
It was on a day in 2007 that a "coach-like" figure, who later became rather influential in Liang's career, came to his tiny studio on Houweng Street in Sanyi. He was the owner of InSian Gallery, Mr. Ou Hsien-cheng. The crowded space occupied by wood material and sculptures only allowed people to stand, but this did not obstruct this legendary figure and diminished his interest to see the art. In fact, not many words were needed. Mr. Ou had already perceived the preciousness of these artworks. They enjoyed a pleasant conversation, and before he left, Mr. Ou said something that eventually led to Liang's third departure from Sanyi: there was not one artist that was "brave and audacious enough" south of Taipei. This statement sounded a thunder and lured out the ambition in Liang's mind. He was resolute to go to Taipei and take up this challenge even before finding a place to live. He simply packed his carving tools and arranged the wood material to be transported to Taipei. It was as brave and audacious as Liang could be. He would get there first and figure out his next step then. With help from his friends, he quickly found a place to live in the scenic Sanzhi known for its community of artists. Here, Liang started his Taipei-InSian Period and the journey to the peak of his career.
In 2011, Liang held his first solo exhibition, Possibility of Wood・Imagination of Carving, at InSian Gallery. Being represented by the gallery, it was a "standard activity" to hold solo exhibitions as well as a "peak" that needed to be conquered. Symbolically speaking, this solo exhibition summed up Liang's time in Sanyi. Among the showcased six series, except Gravity Release, Non-Books, Non-Objects, Whisper of the Wilderness, Mask were all displayed for the first time and fell into the dialectic discourse of the Post-Sanyi Period—the books were not books, the objects were not objects, the species were not of this planet, and the masks were not really masks.
In 2012, Liang's collaboration with InSian Gallery ended. With everyone's blessings, he once again worked as an individual artist, and Mr. Ou even predicted Liang's future achievement. He said, "Liang Ping Cheng will create a new milestone for Chinese people, which no one else could ever reach. Only he could do that." With the blessings of Mr. Ou, Liang now had more confidence to conquer higher mountains.
7~2014April to May, Solo Exhibition at Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum
By the time ofevery April, the season of tung blossoms would reach its end. Following nature's feast, Liang's solo exhibition continued the mesmerizing beauty of the falling snow of the tung blossoms. Having spent ten years in Sanyi, Liang felt that he was a local from the area. He felt incredibly honored and happy to be invited by Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum. The exhibition showing the results of his Sanyi period started at InSian Gallery in Taipei, and it was his deepest hope to end it in Sanyi. When Liang first arrived in Sanyi, the old artisans were eager to see his contemporary artworks, and Liang had hoped to show them what he could do. Therefore, the solo exhibition at Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum held a special meaning in his heart. He not only produced six series of works, but also influenced several young wood sculptors to attempt in making contemporary art. It was his hope that the exhibition would inspire these artists to carry on in the future.
8~2015 Contemporary Art and Fashion Collaborative Exhibition at MOMA
Good contemporary artworks could be shown in museums, galleries, on the street as well as in fashion stores. Liang has always been a very competent artist; whether it was art or fashion, his work all seemed to fit perfectly without any problem of compatibility.
At the end of 2014, Liang collaborated with the female clothing brand, MOMA, and displayed his sculptures in the windows of the brand's four flagship stores in Taipei. The exhibition captured the curious attention of many people. There had been quite a few cases of collaboration between art and commercial merchandise; however, it was the first time for wooden sculpture.
9~2015Banqiao Mega City
Imagination and Reality, Sculpture Reality of Ping-Cheng LIANG
From September 29 to October 4, 2015, Liang was invited to have an exhibition at the lobby of Banqiao Mega City, which showcased seven of his sculptures. It was the first time an art exhibition was held at the shopping center since its opening and was very well received by the visitors during the period of an annual sale. Five stainless steel sculptures, including Triangular Cami, A Pair, Understanding, Golden Lion, Coca, and two wooden sculptures, Scroll Chair and Black Hawk, were shown in the exhibition. Among these works, the last two became extremely popular when ladies chose to take a selfie.
A good artwork could demonstrate fashion and taste at the same time. It could go with any kinds of venues without looking obtrusive or out of place. Some people were concerned that exhibiting artworks at a highly commercialized venue might reduce the value of the artworks. However, Liang's works had proved to be really compatible with name brands from around the world. His work demonstrated a different air when juxtaposed with these first-class brands. The result was a perfect unison.
10~2015 IT Park Dachee Exhibition of Integral Series—Flipping the Space of Void
The Integral Serieswas first published in an exhibition at IT Park in 2015. The series revealed an integral piece of wood with a hollow center, forming two halves of an enveloping husk connected by several wooden sticks that resembled hairpins. The hollow space in the center of the two halves reminded the audience of two palms put together. Every sculpture with a husk structure and a hollow center belonged to the Integral Series and the Taiwan Matrix Series. In some cases, the husk might not be entirely enveloping but only partially, and the shape might not necessarily be in the form of two clasping palms. Any shape could become a husk or pod.
The enveloping husk created "a space of void," which corresponded to the physical space we inhabited. It also embodied the concept of "tolerance." The void at the center could contain things; it was an actual space as well as an imaginative one. When a large space existed within, it became naturally to accept other things, tolerating heterogeneousness and differences. The void allowed any heterogeneity to enter and became one with it, producing a stronger, sturdier unity that did not differentiate.
11~2016 ''Twingings'' series,crossover cooperation with twingings, Yangmingshan Taipei, Taiwan
Liang Ping-Cheng, born in Pingtung, Taiwan, in 1958, is an important contemporary artist in Taiwan.
In 1981~1985, Liang studied in the Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University. During his freshman year, he established “Art Group of Silly Birds”. In 1983, he wonthe Eighth Lion Art New Artist Award. In 1988, he went to New York for study. In 1998~2008, he was sculpturing in Sanyi. In 1999, he won YulonWood Carving Golden Award. In 2008~2013, he served as the representative artist in InSian Gallery, Taipei. In 2015, he was nominated for Taishin Arts Award.
Liang’s painting and sculpture are centered on the nature of life and change of migrations. He presents his work with improvisational painting and going with flow in sculpturing. His theories and creative models are based on the aesthetics of inversion, as seen in Gravity Release.
Liang has hosted many solo exhibitions: first-ever improvisational painting in Jia-ren Gallery in 1985; the second improvisational painting in AIT American Cultural Center in 1987; sculpture exhibition in Pottery House 還原倉房in Sanyi in 2001; sculpture exhibition in Galerie Pierre, Taichung, in 2002; installation art “Fertile Land” 沃土in Herb 21, Eslite Bookstore Xinyi, in 2005; sculpture exhibition in InSian Gallery, Taipei, 2011; sculpture exhibition in Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum in 2014; exhibitions in Art House, MOMA (fashion brand) and FEDS Mega City Banqiao Store in 2015. In 2016, Liang displayed 15 pieces of his work at the exhibition “Contemporary & Fashion”當代與時尚by working with Twinings on Yangde Boulevard.
12~2017 Solo Show at 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.
13~2018 Solo Show ''Right & Wrong'' , Jimmy's Gallery, Taipei ,Taiwan
The China Times 17:10, February 5, 2018 Lee Hsin-tien
Liang Ping-Cheng’s Wood Sculpture Takes Wings and Comes to Life
The teaspoon with a fish tail, the magic book hanging on the wall. These light, nimble wood sculptures are the creation by Liang Ping-Cheng. His artworks open a new expression for wood sculpture by giving heavy wood a light touch.
Born in Pingtung in 1958, Liang Ping-Cheng graduated from Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University with a major in painting. His first encounter with wood sculpture was at the age of 40. After that, he dropped his painting brush and grabbed sculpture knife instead. Twenty years on, he said, “I treat each piece of wood as a friend. Each piece was an independent life. As much as we are. Whilst I am sculpturing, I am reading their life story so that I can come up with the looks that best suit them.”
Liang indicates that each tree and each wood piece are unique. This is the reason why he goes with the flows in his creative process. “I do not make sketches. Rather, I let my intuition talk to the trees. I believe that even decayed wood can be sculptured. Bug bite marks and rot traces are the testimony of life and existence. The process of sculpturing is to make the wood live again.”
His recent works Book & Illegible Book and Utensil & Anti-Utensil were displayed in his solo exhibition “Yes and No”是與非.He seeks to give utensils room to allow for imagination. In the process of sculpturing, he sets aside the idea of pragmatism. Utensils are no longer just utensils. Books are more than just books. “The elimination of functionality and purposefulness frees up the space for a variety of shapes and lines. This gives room for imagination”, said Liang.
Book & Illegible Book, one of his best-known works, are hanging on the wall. Flying pages and dancing chapters are frozen in wood sculpture. Liang commented, “This series also reflects that people nowadays do not enjoy reading. Therefore, the proportion ofexteriors being looked at is larger than the content of texts inside.”
Liang’s solo exhibition “Yes and No (是與非) is currently on at Jimmy's Garden, Taipei until March 31st.
(China Times)
Apple Daily
（Peng Hui-Zhen／Taipei）41281 22:57 February 21, 2018
A Genius Will Always Shine: Rising from Rugs
Liang Ping-Cheng said that painting was the only thing he was good at in school.After he entered the Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University, he learned about the development of arts in Europe and the U.S. from magazines. He was already a bit of avant-garde. He studied Western paintings and was into improvisation without sketches. At that time, he was at the forefront of the art world.
The reality is that artists need to take on other jobs to make a living. After graduation, he started teaching in Fu-Hsin Trade & Arts School. He wanted to see the world, so he sold his apartment after he got married. He took NT$2 million and his wife Wu Yi-Zhen (吳怡珍) to New York for studying.
He said, “My English is very poor, and I do not speak much at all.” However, all the schools accepted him after seeing his works, without imposing English-language requirements. He entered the Studio Art Program, NYC. However, he did not complete the degree because the streets of New York were more fun than classrooms. After he spent all the money within two years, he and his wife returned to Taiwan.
In 1998, he came to Sany and saw Bodhidharma, Ghost Chaser Zhong Kui and Holy Ruler Deity Guan craved with solid wood. He felt these statues were too heavy going. He wanted to hollow and release them. The burden on his chest allowed him to envision another beauty in wood. This time he was very sure that it was the path he wanted to take. He wanted to be himself again, at the age of 40, but it wasn’t easy. In the beginning, he sculptured small furniture pieces, such as penholders, for cash.“I was so happy whenever I got NT$1,000 for a piece of work. I could buy 20 lunchboxes with this money.”
For Liang, sculpturing is a process of letting go. Hollowing out wood lightens him up. This was how “Gravity Release” and Wings (飛行) were created. His sculpture does not constitute of flat lines. Rather, his works come with curves, as well as volume and void, to express the beauty of wood. “My works are surfaced with lines. A signature of my sketches in the past.”
One year later, an art gallery asked him to host an exhibition, and his works wonYulong Woodcarving Golden Award. It was not until then his art was seen by the world. After ups and downs in life, the wounds from the heaviest blow are not completely healed. “I want to say that we can all stand on our feet after we fall.” He thanks God for his blessing. “I am fortunate that I can do what I enjoy. I am very happy now.”
（Peng Hui-Zhen／Taipei）
14~2019 Solo Show at ECC Personal Structures Identitis Plazzo Mora Venice
European Cultural Centre 2019,08,27
#MeetTheArtist
“From the context of contemporary art, the concept of “inverted aesthetics” and the idea of unreadable books, unuseful objects are the mix combination of ready-made objects, conceptual art and appropriation theory, all together they become the aesthetic declaration to support the structure of my art creation.”
L’artista taiwanese Liang Ping-Cheng espone una selezione delle sue sculture a “PERSONAL STRUCTURES - Identities” nella sede di Palazzo Mora.
王焜生在 European Cultural Centre 。2019,05,29 ·
Sculptor Liang Ping-cheng shows his series works in Venice, where many visitors are amazed by his concept and creation.
The exhibition will be shown untill 24 November 2019 at Palazzo Mora Venice.
15~2023 Solo Show ''Like A Book'' , Jimmy's Gallery, Taipei ,Taiwan
Finding a place for hosting for a better obstinacy—About Liang Ping-Cheng’s Art
Books bound in a flurried manner turned out to be mosses on youth
Traces of the commotion in Liang’s innermost hidden behind the passing years have been best manifested in his “Book & Illegible Book” Series. In his wood sculpture creation, Liang has never yielded himself to the confinement set by concepts of realism when depicting the subjects. Liang has strived for form deconstruction in both “Book & Illegible Book” and “Utensil & Anti-Utensil” Series, and such an intention to ease restrictions on forms has allowed creative representations of more freedom. But breaking away from reification in realism does not mean to practice “laissez-faire” in art creation. On the contrary, I have noticed from Liang’s sculptural artworks an access he took from real objects to accomplish deconstruction of forms with his personal interpretation of such objects taken in by eyes. Once the frame is removed, embodiment of his idea to shapes and practical functions of the subjects would become possible, and thus unique sculptural art language of his own can be presented. Among all Liang’s creations, artworks in the “Book & Illegible Book” Series can be considered the ones best allow viewers to first appreciate with their sense of vision followed by hearing the minute rustling sounds flapped about by the wind with bated breath. Such satisfaction to the sense of vision and hearing have been fully manifested particularly by this series.
Liang knows it very well that it would be difficult to make the artworks thin and transparent with the medium he has chosen because of inherent restrictions by weight and color sensation of wood. This explains why Liang depicts books taking forms of open-book leaves. Lift-up book leaves not only take away the heaviness but bring in better readability to the vision.
In Liang’s artworks of “Book & Illegible Book” Series, there exist serious themes worth further discussion. Firstly, as a nature-loving artist, Liang, no matter in Sanyi in the past or currently in northern Taiwan, has always established his workplace close to nature, lending him opportunities to grow the habit of learning from the natural world. To Liang, nature is like an opened-up book which treats the multitudes impartially but takes an inactive role. In other words, the multitudes, in particular those with self-consciousness, shall look at the book leaves and meditate on their own. Based on life experience to express his thoughts and emotions, Liang has found an unusual but appropriate cut-in for these creations. Secondly, the material of book leaves comes from trees. Trees, after chemical transformation that changes the nature thereof, continue to serve the multitudes in a different form of life. The key lies in that it is knowledge brought about to humans by such changes making trees to become the largest knowledge platform. Actuality and spiritual deepening linked up with all the above and would be something of interest.
When working on workpieces of this series, Liang skillfully manipulates color and luster of wood to create a classical atmosphere for the artworks to be presented in front of viewers. It seems to be a giant book rendered by nature to the multitudes, passing down from early generations, with yellowing leaves and creased corners, unlike those in an unread book, firm, fresh and crisp. Books from nature brought to us by Liang at the moment are like the ones in the ancient time, bound together leaf by leaf, old and beaten by temperatures and humidity from the environment and hand perspiration when flipping through plus reading notes from various readers. Closely interlocked and inseparable with one another, what these books have experienced makes it difficult to resume the books to their original neat and fresh state. However, perhaps traces left by time and the multitudes would contrarily highlight the vicissitudes of life and undeprivable self-esteem. To ponder it further, one may discover that it is the annual ring that we use to determine the age of a tree while a tree shall go through years of weather before becoming the material for papermaking. Isn’t it the same as what it takes for the multitudes to accumulate knowledge? It also takes time to accomplish. In selecting material for wood sculpture, Liang not only chooses what to be used for art creation but spends efforts in exploring possibilities for infinite imagination. Maybe it is such efforts that allow him to go beyond the art in his wood sculpture and make known his attitudes towards the material used as well as communication conveyed by the material, which creates more space for dialogues. Had he not experienced significant ups and downs in his life, Liang would not have learned to hold a humble and restraining state of mind in front of nature and would not have sensitivity to feel the infinity of life.
當代藝術新聞 05/2011 No.76
CansART News No.76 May/2011
文/鄭乃銘 by Cheng Nai-Ming
16~2023 Solo Show at
ART Fair Asia FUKUOKA~Splender in simpliciity
LIANG is not aiming at creating “Hyperrealistic” works and thus it is not about how realistic his works are when we appreciate his art. Although we cannot “read” “Book & Illegible Book” but this serial works of art enables us a direct association that this unreadable book comes from wood and vice versa. This evolving translation of imagery enriches the work’s meaning and leads us to further explore its aesthetic concept. Undoubtedly, LIANG knows the exact place of his artworks, that is quite on the border between modern and contemporary, tradition and innovation.
The female figurine in the “Mask” series is neither personificationnor a ready image. The material itself is treated as the body of life. Liang merely lays bare the beauty of wood with an artistic form. The rising torso, proportional breasts and hips, and soft spine curvature resonate the time-honoured classical beauty of the human body. The facial expression is deliberately faded in order to give way to storytelling. Masks are not to cover or change the identity or to hide the facial expression. Rather, they convey
multiple and comprehensivemeanings for the image of a head. I do not think Liang intends to discuss the authenticity or hypocrisy of the character, or the conflict between spontaneity and performing.Liang is showing the beauty of life with different shapes.
Art Fair Asia Fukuoka Booth A2 Liang Ping-Cheng
Curator Emerson WANG
2023/9/21 vip preview 2023/9/22-24 public days #liangpingcheng #王焜生策展
The female figurine in the “Mask” series is neither personificationnor a ready image. The material itself is treated as the body of life. Liang merely lays bare the beauty of wood with an artistic form. The rising torso, proportional breasts and hips, and soft spine curvature resonate the time-honoured classical beauty of the human body. The facial expression is deliberately faded in order to give way to storytelling. Masks are not to cover or change the identity or to hide the facial expression. Rather, they convey multiple and comprehensive meanings for the image of a head. I do not think Liang intends to discuss the authenticity or hypocrisy of the character, or the conflict between spontaneity and performing.Liang is showing the beauty of life with different shapes.
Art Fair Asia Fukuoka Booth A2
Liang Ping-Cheng
Curator Emerson WANG
2023/9/21 vip preview
2023/9/22-24 public days