「我陪太太去公園散步的時候，只要覺得旁邊的人長得很特別，我就會一直看他，想要把他的樣子記下來，刻出來。看著、看著，都被太太念說：不要再盯著人家看了啦！」
台南在地藝術家陳正雄（1942-），自1955年接觸廟宇雕花與神像製作後，於1960年代展開了自我摸索的道路，憑藉所學技法而發展人物肖像。作品成果強調寫實層面，且留下短促繁雜的刻痕作為其明顯的風格。如同陳正雄的自述一般，這些造像的靈感來源都是台南生活中身邊的人群。因此當吾人觀賞其作品時，宛如與藝術家用著相同的目光注視著你我的日常，故能切身地體會作品所傳達的氛圍。
這些大小不一的刀痕，強調塊面與形體量感，並讓光影曲折更加明顯。在屢次機緣之下，陳正雄受到推薦進入美術競賽殿堂，如台灣省美術展覽會、台南美術展覽會、日本新構造展。首次入選省展時，評審楊英風便提及陳正雄作品的刀法傳統、細膩，顯得拘謹，因此鼓勵他將刀法的氣勢放開。此後陳正雄的作品兼具寫實細節與繁複的塊面刻痕，將木塊的樸實質地與人物形象巧妙地結合。
本展嘗試以時間序列介紹陳正雄之生平與各個時期的雕刻風格之關聯。早期風格除呈現自學軌跡外，亦結合台灣雕塑史的發展，說明1970年代本土寫實以及學院派風格如何影響陳正雄的創作，除讓觀眾感受時代氛圍外，同時重申藝術家在台灣雕塑史上的位置。再者，本展展出陳正雄參與國內外展覽之入選作品，藉由比較兩國的展覽分別對於雕刻創作所著重的面向之差異。最後，本展將以陳正雄的不同造像系列，傳達出藝術家對於生活的觀察與養成背景，例如出自於「討海人」的幼時印象、對入門師傅李煥美的回憶呈現於「廟前」人群的形象之中，以及親友「望鄉」的徬徨踟躕。
由於陳正雄的作品受到台南市政府、國立成功大學醫院、奇美博物館創辦人許文龍先生等讚賞，皆曾邀請陳正雄製作公共藝術銅像，故本展將再度呈現「尋找陳正雄地圖」，並展出這些公共造像的原型木雕、銅雕，與地圖互相參照。藉由這些分布台南各地的雕塑作品，讓居民遊客皆能體會台南文化之外，亦展現藝術家愛鄉愛土與深厚的藝術功力。
The Carving of Gaze－Cheng-Hsiung Chen Solo Exhibition 2021
"As I go on walks to the park with my wife, whenever I see someone whose looks are remarkable, I fix my eyes on them to remember them as best as I can, carve them. Once my gaze remains stuck for a while, my wife will scold me saying: 'Stop staring at other people!'"
After becoming acquainted with the art of carving for temples and making of religious statues in 1955, Cheng-Hsiung Chen(1942-), a local artist from Tainan, started making his own attempts at artistic creation in the 1960s, which developed into portrait sculpture based on the techniques he'd previously learned. His works place emphasis on realistic depiction, albeit sparse, tiny marks left from carving distinguish his personal style. As stated in Cheng-Hsiung Chen's description, it is everyday people from Tainan that infuse life into these statues. When observing his works, it is as if I see through the artist's lens and discover in our ordinary reality the energy that each piece has to transmit.
The uneven knife marks enhance the sense of volume from the blocks and overall form of each work, while delineating clearer curves that bring out light and shadow. On multiple occasions, Cheng-Hsiung Chen has obtained recommendations and entered art competitions such as the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition, Tainan Fine Arts Association (TFAA), and Shinkouzou Exposition. The first time he was shortlisted for the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition, jury member Yu-Yu Yang remarked on the painstaking precision and delicateness of his traditional knife technique, and encouraged him to make bolder efforts with the skill. Cheng-Hsiung Chen's later works not only displayed lifelike details but also profuse knife marks on the surface, which strikingly combined the organic quality of wood grain with human depiction.
For this exhibition, Chen-Hsiung Chen's oeuvre and style periods were arranged in chronological order to highlight his artistic evolution. Self-study is evident in his early style, which furthermore reflects the development of sculpture in Taiwan during the 1970s: Works from this period show influences from local realism and academic art, enabling viewers to perceive the zeitgeist while re-affirming the artist's exalted place in the history of Taiwanese sculpture. Moreover, Chen-Hsiung Chen's works recognized in art exhibitions at home and abroad are also showcased here, which shed light on the judgments and preferences toward sculpture prevalent in the two nations. Finally, the exhibition portrays Chen-Hsiung Chen's thoughts on life and background through his different portrait series. For example, Returning from Fishing at Sea depicts the artist's childhood memories; Group in Front of the Temple alludes to his first teacher, Huan-Mei Lee; and Gazing at Homeland displays the enigmatic gazes of friends and family.
Chen-Hsiung Chen's oeuvre gained the admiration of Tainan City Government, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, and Wen-Long Shi, founder of the Chimei Museum, all of whom commissioned the creation of bronze public sculptures. This exhibition will thus feature the Map of Cheng-Hsiung Chen's Works and showcase the original wood and bronze models for these public artworks in correlation with the map. Distributed throughout Tainan, these sculptures allow residents and visitors to better appreciate Tainan's culture, and they show the artist's love for his hometown and his profound artistic skills.
The name of this exhibition, The Carving of Gaze, not only denotes the tiny, profuse knife marks characteristic of the artist's creations, but also lays emphasis on how the artist immortalizes the looks of people around him by carving. Likewise, these statues exchange gazes with viewers as both share the same everyday reality. This exhibition also features video interviews, historical documents, photos while working, and incomplete wood models of Chen-Hsiung Chen, so that visitors can understand more on his creation process, and get a taste of the artist's dedication and determination—a decade of work flies away like one day.
凝視的刻線｜2021陳正雄個展 The Carving of Gaze－Cheng-Hsiung Chen Solo Exhibition 2021
時間：2021/5/8 - 2021/11/11地點：台南市美術館1館2樓展覽室B、1館2樓展覽室C、1館2樓展覽室D、1館2樓展覽室E、1館2樓展覽室F、1館2樓展覽室G
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