Poetic and multi-narrative - Is the heart sitting or flying? 50F 2007

Observing the realm, surveying the mind - A heart seeking stability 50F 2007 Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh's solo exhibition "Within the Painting, Beyond the Realm" was held at Beijing Shan Art Gallery from March 7 to March 30. Art is Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh’s most intimate life memory and spiritual collage; it belongs to her purest and truest inner sanctuary. Her paintings contain not only images within images but also poetry within poetry, possessing a strong literary quality akin to her most private diary and dialogue with life. Through painting, she finds herself and wanders freely in her profound mental state, constructing a utopia of free imagination.

It was somewhat surprising that Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh would hold a solo exhibition in Beijing, as everyone knows she has painted, participated in art exhibitions and group shows, and operated the Jasmine Gallery. All this testifies to her love for art. After years of subtle influence, she has transformed art into the spirit of her life, using her brush to paint her life and play the melody of her soul. Under the fierce fire of creative passion, she sings out her inner journey—the utopian realm—losing herself in joy. In this game of playing with "truth," Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh is serious, sincere, and rigorous, making her stand out. But none of this is accidental. She has loved art all her life; at age 14, she studied sketching and ink wash under master teacher Hsu Shang-Wu. In high school (Sanxin), she joined the art team and, under teacher Lin Yuan-Chuan, began trying oil painting. That same year, she placed first in an internal school competition and won a special award. Encouraged, she won prizes the following year in the provincial youth exhibition and Kaohsiung Fine Arts Exhibition. Multiple selections for the provincial fine arts exhibition proved her artistic talent and potential.

Intoxicated by her future prospects, she chose to study architectural exterior design with Wang Jian, establishing the Xiuyue Studio in 1974 to specialize in architectural perspective drawings. Although this did not fully unleash her artistic talent, it allowed her to shape herself within the realm of art. Art became a factor of her life. Fascinated by imagery, she joined a photography club in 1983 and took on photography work for the Gangdu Bi-Monthly in 1986. Eager to learn, she entered the studio of renowned Taiwanese photographer Juan Zhong-Yi to study darkroom techniques. Diligently, she established her own darkroom studio in 1987 and held a joint exhibition with students at Taipei Jazz Gallery the following year. Ten years later, she founded the Jasmine Gallery in Kaohsiung, navigating the jungle of painting. Encouraged by artist friends, she picked up her brushes again on the eve of the millennium, forming the Ladder Painting Society with close painter friends and inviting master teacher Li Chao-Jin for guidance. The spark of her painting career reignited, and the fire of creation burned quickly, launching a series of artistic activities including group exhibitions and illustrations.

In 2004, she established her personal studio "He Yuan" in the scenic mountains of Pingtung, allowing her to engage more professionally and dedicatedly in artistic creation, realizing her long-cherished dream of painting. Eager for knowledge, she not only realized the importance of painting creation but also understood the breadth and depth of art theory. In 2006, she enrolled in the Department of Cultural Arts at Open University, hoping to develop her personal painting style and refine her artistic thickness. With continued effort, her painting achievements are expected soon.

The theme of the "Within the Painting, Beyond the Realm" solo exhibition draws inspiration from linguistic code construction, succinctly describing the painting's context. What is within the painting is beyond the realm; all external natural phenomena are personal deep-seated pictorial vocabulary. What is within the painting realm is the creation of external appearances; external nature is abstracted internally to take form and meaning. Within the painting, beyond the realm; within the realm, outside the painting; within and outside the painting realm; inside and outside, realm and painting—all achieve ingenious creation like language codes forming words. Like Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh dancing with contextual memories, her spiritual collage painting realm reveals her unique utopia—the state of mind.

Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh’s paintings clearly depict fragments of her most intimate memories and surrounding environment. Through past artistic experiences, years of gallery life, viewing many painters' works, wandering through the painting jungle, and recognizing twentieth-century masters' famous paintings, she now involuntarily enters a broad modern painting context. In this post-post-modern era where art history becomes a version or picture book, she moves among the styles of Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Modigliani, and Magritte, synthesizing them into her own face. She says, "Masters have become our concepts and seekers, but I think it is very difficult to transcend them. However, we can see more freedom in these masters." This unrestrained, leisurely liberation will open up a new world.

Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh’s subjects come from the bright natural scenery of her hometown in Pingtung: distant mountain mists, secluded forest valleys, pampas grass by riverbanks, sunrise, sunset, full moon, waning moon, surging clouds, starry skies, magpies or geese, white dew, doves, butterflies, etc. Especially the flowers and plants in the elegant courtyard of "He Yuan," even every grass and tree has its unique emotion (these were all planted by her): cinnamon trees, flame trees, cypress flowers on trellises, white geese in the courtyard, koi fish in the pond, pebbles, fallen leaves, dead branches, flowers, and birds. Contemplating and moved by natural beauty, naturally each scene and object becomes her most intimate subject, transformed into painting collages of memory fragments, displaying the music of the soul. Paintings such as "Pampas Grass on the Riverbank," "Years of Nature," "Autumn Feelings of Kurobe Ridge," "Spring of Flame Trees," and "Afternoon Near Autumn" are examples.

Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh excels at free-imagination life memory picture books like "Playing with Klimt," "A Heart Seeking Stability," "Inside and Outside the Studio," and "Birds Singing to Me." Poetic and imaginative works transform domestic objects in the studio (such as chairs, easels, coffee cups, and statues) into excellent painting codes, creating a world within and beyond the painting through dialogue between self and surroundings. Additionally, she captures childhood memories like "Dialogue with Epiphyllum" and "Let Fish Play with Birds in the Sky." She says, "I remember my family had a large garden when I was young, fragrant with dahlia, chrysanthemum, epiphyllum, and orchids. Whenever the epiphyllum bloomed late at night, my father would always invite friends to view this beautiful feast. The courtyard also raised birds and goldfish, so tending flower beds, raising birds, and raising fish became my most interesting extracurricular work." With eyes open seeing beautiful things, and closing eyes to rest showing touching childhood memories, she now tries to capture this innocence and simplicity through painting.

Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh’s pictures are full of emotional images and variable codes. In subjective and dreamlike colors, warm tones show the atmosphere of southern Taiwan, while cool tones present a transforming world. Notably, her rigorously divided compositions often organically present diverse life fragments. Multiple plots resemble numerous imaginative windows pieced together, constructively building impossible narrative plots and extraordinary imagination in life. Unusually, there are paintings within paintings, and even more wonderfully, poetry within poetry. This unique spiritual collage painting vocabulary becomes Chiu Hsiueh-Yueh’s distinctive personal style.