Introducing Jason Chi's "Rational Intuition" 2014
Pan, Hsien-Jen

I first met Chi in 2003 at his Stock20 studio in Taichung. Based on my perception of his past works, it seemed unfathomable that he would choose to work in this old, dimly-lit and dusty stockroom. However, while other artists busied themselves crowding piles of tools and materials into their studio spaces, Chi started his creative process with reduction. He first emptied and cleaned up the studio, painted the floor and remodeled the walls, thoroughly laying a new foundation for the studio space – just like the way he treats the canvas. It is very interesting to observe how an artist behaves in the space he occupies. I never saw him rushing his art works during the half-year residence. He gave free painting instruction, talked to other artists, read alone or plunged into his private thoughts, all the while maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of the space. To me, he was not so much "utilizing" the studio as he was mindfully experiencing the space and surroundings.

Stepping into Chi's actual working space years later provides me with a more intimate understanding of the artist's working process. His recent works are in part a continuation of the 2013 "Rhythm of Light" solo exhibition, in which the personalized symbolic lingo was purposefully underplayed in the paintings. The majority of those compositions were formed by parallel or intersecting horizontal and vertical lines, with regular patterns bringing forth an interchanging rhythm. They immediately remind me of English abstract painter Bridget Riley; however, different than the visual shock waves emitted from Riley's compositions, the feel of Chi's lines is closer to the structural rhythm of slow-moving handwriting. This group of works first impressed on me Chi's high level of self-discipline which, when presented in the artwork, results in a well-planned and organized looking composition. Even when the purely visual elements, such as horizontal and vertical lines, are presented in mixed media on paper, permitting a lighter and freer expression, the viewer can still clearly perceive the artist's mastery of materials and texture. Interestingly, Chi insists that he never plans before starting a creative process: when he faces an open canvas, the painting process starts on its own, then undergoes a lengthy period of development and refinement, until the moment comes when it is time to stop. Perhaps most people would consider that the geometric structure, a rationalistic attribute of Chi's works, has something to do with his academic background in architecture. The way I see it, however, is that when strict discipline has become part of the artist's essence, between freehand painting and measuring with ruler and compass, the freedom to "transgress" all the more allows him to express life experience with sincerity.

Chi considers painting an "art of time," which involves the accumulating layers of time and changes in the artist's thinking during the creative process. Viewing his artwork, where time is often depicted in the rhythmic movement of the linear brushwork, is like "seeing" time through an hourglass. The linear geometric color blocks, drawn freehand, are filled with traces of the artist's handiwork. Even without the conventional applications of brush in Chinese calligraphy, the slow, horizontal and vertical sliding movements of the brush and paint on canvas still facilitate the spatial logic and time awareness that occurred during the creative process to form a subtle perceptual intertexture. Corresponding to the changing nature of human thoughts and emotions through time, Chi's lines, within the accurate and precise framework, enables tolerance of the changeability and uncertainty of all things. Here the artist's definition of time is revealed, and the rhythm of his inner emotions is also fully expressed.

"Light" has long been the motif of Chi's paintings as well as his unique language of painting. Chi's presentation of light is based on his sensitivity to colors and in-depth research on oil paint and materials. Soft tones produced by mixing with white are Chi's preference in oil paintings, always revealing subtle changes from beneath layers of paint, implying a space from which a gleam of light shimmers through the mist. What is special is the layers of ambiguous shades that effortlessly conceal the materiality of oil paint, insidiously leading the viewer to make the visual association with "light," which further triggers the sentiments within their own inner experience. Chi's clever application of yellow, especially in recent works, arranging the multiple layers of shades in sequence and contrast, creates a poetic atmosphere that is both soft and bright.

The way Chi creates his paintings, as I understand it, is always a conscious process, a demonstration of the artist's strong will. When the will becomes the truth of his life and faith in creation, improvisation readily comes into play. Chi titles his 2014 solo exhibition "Rational Intuition." "Intuition" is a presently uncertain state, and when modified by "rational," it is provided a solid foundation in time. Taking an overview of Chi's paintings, they seem to show a gradual process of purification in form; the purification does not refer to "subtraction" in abstract vocabulary but rather closer in meaning to "addition" – layering of space and accumulation of time. Thus, accuracy of rationality and rhythm of sentiments are able to blend in a mature manner, and consequently make the paintings' aesthetic layers richer and more meaningful.

 

 

記2014紀嘉華"理性的直覺"

文 / 潘顯仁

初識紀嘉華，是在2003年台中20號倉庫的工作室。就我對他過往作品的理解，難以想像他為何選擇這粗曠昏暗、充滿落塵的舊倉儲空間作為工作據點。果不其然，當其他藝術家忙於將工具、材料堆放佔領空間的同時，紀嘉華以減法作為他工作的起始。先將工作室徹底清空，粉刷地面、重塑板牆，就像他面對畫布時的基礎工作，將倉庫徹頭徹尾地的重新打底。觀察藝術家如何面對他所在的空間是十分有趣的事, 半年的駐站期間，從不見紀嘉華在趕製作品。他免費教導一般民眾習畫、與其他藝術家交談、或獨自閱讀沉思，總是維持空間的嚴謹與潔淨。與其說他在「使用」倉庫的工作室，倒不如說他更在意體驗空間與環境。

多年之後，再步入紀嘉華實際的工作空間，讓我更貼近藝術家這幾年的工作樣態。近期進行中的作品部分延續了2013年「光的節奏」個展，刻意降低畫面中個性化的符號語言，大多以水平、垂直的幾何線條排比或交織，規律的組合呈現出交替性的律動。這讓人直覺地想起英國抽象畫家Bridget Riley，但相異於Bridget Riley作品創造出視網膜的驚奇波動，紀嘉華充滿手感的線條勿寧更偏向緩慢書寫性的結構韻律。高度自律是我對紀嘉華這批作品的第一印象，這種自律呈現在作品中看似有計畫有組織的畫面基調，以及水平、垂直線條等純粹度極高的視覺元素，即便在較輕巧自由的混合媒材紙上作品，也可清楚感覺到藝術家對材質與肌理的掌控。有趣的是，紀嘉華始終強調自己在創作前從無事先計畫，當面對展開的畫布時，繪畫自然起始，而後經歷漫長的琢磨與經營，無止境地探求停筆的那一刻。或許一般人理解紀嘉華作品中幾何結構的理性特質與他的建築學養成背景有關，但我總覺得當嚴謹紀律成為生命質素的一部分，在徒手與尺規拉距中那「逾矩」的自由，更讓藝術家真誠地展現其生命經驗本身。

紀嘉華認為繪畫是一種時間的藝術，他談的是創作過程中時間的堆積以及創作者思維和理路的變化。然而觀看他的作品，「時間」往往也在線條牽動的書寫性中被呈現，猶如我們可以經由沙漏「看見」時間。徒手繪製的線性幾何色塊，充滿了藝術家的手作的痕跡，即使沒有書法筆鋒的提按頓挫，但筆刷顏料在畫布上水平、垂直的緩慢滑動，讓畫面結構上的空間理性與創作過程中的時間意識，形成感性幽微的交織。相應於人思維與情緒轉換的時間性，紀嘉華的線條成為精準結構框架下，對事物存在的不確定與易變性的包容，藝術家對時間的界定油然而生，而內心的情緒節奏也在此得到充分的傳達。

「光」一直是紀嘉華繪畫長期關注的母題之一，也是其獨特的繪畫語言。紀嘉華對光的呈現建立在他對色彩的敏感度與油料材質的深入研究。運用白色所調合成的柔色系，是紀嘉華油彩作品用色的偏好，總讓顏料在層疊中透出幽微的變化，形成一種微光滲透迷霧般的空間暗示。特別的是，紀嘉華這種曖昧的色暈層次，舉重若輕地將油彩的物質性退居於形式的背後，讓觀者無形中直覺產生對「光」的視覺聯想，進而觸動個人內在經驗的情感韻味。尤其近期作品對黃色系的運用，巧妙的將多層次的黃，以序列、對比的形式，開展出輕柔、明亮的詩性氛圍。

就我的理解，紀嘉華的繪畫總在有意識中行進，是創作者堅定意志的展現。當意志轉化成對生命的底蘊與創作信仰時，不加思索的即興便應運而生。2014年的個展，紀嘉華以「理性的直覺」作為標題。「直覺」是一種當下不確知的狀態，而當「理性」變成一個形容詞時，讓直覺得到了堅實的時間基礎。綜觀紀嘉華的繪畫，似乎呈顯出形式逐漸純化的過程，但這種純化不是指抽象語彙的減法，卻更貼近於空間層疊、時間累積的加法，讓理性的精準與感性的韻律得以成熟的交融，而作品的審美層次也因而更加豐富與雋永。