-Thriving with no spring coming, Deng-Hong Cao
One vigorous hare that break through the paintings of predecessors –
Just like the artist himself, who explored the world with his artistic ideal and enthusiasm, proudly and ambitiously, in dedicating to make a breakthrough in this art world.
The exhibition in New York makes a representative statement of his short but remarkable artistic life.
“Where come from” –
This series introduces the Taiwanese folk culture, which is closely connected with the artist’s own childhood memories. As time goes, the conflict between the tradition and the modernity has made the artist wondering what is the value and the convention of the society that is worth preserving.
– “It’s needed to reflect on where we come from, therefore the culture exists.”
“Where to go” –
The portrait works reflect the artist’s humanistic care for the international situation. The artist projected his feelings through the way he portrays two figures with different characteristics, black and white, one old and one young, one man and one woman.
“Reflection of ourselves paves the path to eternity” –
The old tree is the iconic symbol of the artist and also the projection of the artist’s spiritual thoughts. In this series of four withered trees, the struggling but persistent gestures depict how the artist defending himself as the artist and as a human being.
One of his final paintings – Spring comes to the withered tree
The artist was normally painting the trees without any leaves on it. He believes that the leaves are a symbol of success, however, that the time has not yet arrived, just like the tree’s waiting for the spring coming. From the last piece of his work reveals the calmness and the will of freeing himself from the rule of the world. The growing sprouts on the exhausted tree indicate the artist was expecting to reborn and somehow being memorized by this world in another way.
Yet, the spring did come while such the talented and splendid life of Deng-Hong Cao has been painting us the world with his own true color.
– 致 未能夠茁壯的藝術家 曹登閎
衝破前人畫作的兔子-
他,是曹登閎,初探世界,懷抱滿滿的藝術理想與熱情,像隻目中無人的兔子,想對自己的藝術世界,做一番突破。
紐約的展覽,將他短暫的藝術生命做代表性的陳述。
『從何而來』-
反映了台灣民俗文化,從藝術家自身的童年記憶到台灣社會追求進步、利益進而產生的文物破壞與衝突,到探討傳統社會,人對於生死的想法。
-『從何而來、反思自己、反思故有文化』
『往何而去』-
人像作品,反映了藝術家對國際世局的人文關懷。同時也是藝術家自己本身對於他生涯的寄託與憧憬。
『往何而去、反思自己』-
老木,是藝術家的代表符號,同時也是藝術家心靈狀態的投射。
遺作-枯木逢春
從藝術家過往的作品中,是沒有葉子出現的。他認為,樹葉是成功的象徵,同時也覺得時候未到、尚待努力。
最後一張作品,呈現出平靜,掙脫世俗之標準,用盡所有力氣長出的新葉,期盼的是重生。
用精神上的重生,為短暫的人生留下一點紀錄。