Defection from Definition
CHEN Chien-Jung Solo Exhibition
《在定義中叛逃》陳建榮個展
​   2018.06.23-2018.07.21

Project Fulfill Art Space presents Defection from Definition, Chen Chien-Jung Solo Exhibition opening in June. The exhibition will include ten new works from the artist’s recognized Landscape and Aircraft series, through which the artist continues to develop and pursue the exploration of the “meaning behind the existence of painting”. The opening reception will be held on Saturday 23 June at 4pm, and an artist talk will be help on Saturday 7 July at 3pm, with guest speaker Ava Pao-Shia Huesh in discussion with the artist.
 
“I have a Sonic Youth t-shirt, the quality is not very good, with very little cotton in the fabric. When I bought it in 2003 my girlfriend resented it for a long time. But because the black t-shirt was printed with one of my favorite bands, I still like it a lot. Apart from having a cute image on the front, it is also printed with a few French words. Close friends will know that I lived in Paris for a while, a lot of them assuming that I brought this t-shirt back from France. But actually this band is from New York, not Paris, and I got it while wandering around Jin Qiou Mall on Da An Road in Taipei. This really is an amusing mistake. Thinking about this kind of misinterpretation and divergence is actually quite similar to my art practice these recent years.” – Chen Chien-Jung
 
Defection from Definition
 
Compared to Chen’s previous focus on creating something from scratch, in recent years he places more emphasis towards considering how to reproduce the traces of everyday life and objects. The collections of image material that he is drawn to largely consist of technical drawings of cross sections and plan elevations. He explains that whenever he sees these technical replicas, he imagines filling them in. In the process of reinterpreting an image, the difficult choice is whether or not to preserve the traces of everyday life inherent to the physical object. The discrepancies between painting and object is where Chen can find enjoyment in his own articulation, “if the image is perfect, it is rather boring, because it is already perfect, so it does not seem necessary to reproduce it”. Chen’s works enquire into the essence of painting, and at times are filled with a defiant challenge. Painting at its height and most rare uses its medium to evoke influence and an energy that transcends its materiality. While people usually cultivate, presume or construct meaning within themselves, when viewing a painting, it is a moment when the material space and the viewer’s internal space overlap each other, this experience constitutes the uniqueness of painting and its appreciation. This sense of familiarity also becomes what people always hope to find within painting. However, Chen tries to resist these pleasant conditions of comfort, appreciation and unity, he attempts to open up another dialogue of painting, the use of materials, and the definition of classical forms. Finding the gaps in re-understanding painting and detecting the possibility of reinterpreting the established rules of real and imagined, reveals a hidden facet of understanding Chen’s work, one of a nomadic figure constantly defecting from definition.

​就在藝術空間將於六月份推出代理藝術家陳建榮「在定義中叛逃」個展，此展覽將展出十件新作，透過藝術家持續發展的《Landscape》及《Aircraft》創作系列探討藝術家所追尋的「繪畫性存在的意義」。開幕活動訂於6月23日(週六)下午4點，並於7月7日(週六)下午3點舉行座談，此次邀請與談人薛保瑕教授和藝術家進行對談。
 
「我有一件Sonic Youth的t-shirt，它質料不佳，棉的成分少，2003年買的時候女友嫌了很久。但因為是一件印了我愛團的黑色T，自己依舊非常喜歡。 衣服正面除了有可愛的圖案還印了幾句法文，熟悉的朋友知道我剛在巴黎待了一陣子，多半以為這是從法國帶回來的。但其實那個樂團是來自紐約而非巴黎，而且衣服是我在東區大安路上的金秋商場閒逛買的，這真是個有趣的錯誤。 想想這種誤判與轉折其實跟我近幾年的創作狀態還挺相像的。」 — 陳建榮
 
在定義中叛逃
 
現階段陳建榮的作品相較於過去從無到有的創造，更著力思考如何再現生活與物件的痕跡。在他選擇處理的圖像，有大比例為剖面、平面等說明實體的圖像，他解釋每當看到這些模擬圖像，就有想像填補之處。在再現圖像的過程，抉擇的難題常是他是否要保留實體物件上的日常痕跡，他創作圖像與現實物件之間的縫隙和落差，是他可以去做文章的地方，甚至樂於去做文章之處。「如果畫面完美，反而有些無趣了。因為已經完美，好像也沒有再現的必要了。」
陳建榮的創作其實對於繪畫本質的探詢，甚至存有充滿了針對性。繪畫的珍稀與崇高，是其透過物質達到非物質的影響與能量；而人通常於自身內在耕耘、放肆或建構意義，然當凝視繪畫，對於人而言是個物質空間和觀看者的內在空間彼此重疊的時刻，這樣的經驗構成繪畫鑑賞的獨特性，也成為人總是希冀在繪畫作品中尋覓到感同與熟悉。然陳建榮試圖抗拒提供這些安居、鑑賞、合一的愉悅處境，他試圖另闢繪畫性、媒材、經典其他解讀的蹊徑，尋覓這些重新理解繪畫的縫隙，與偵測這些真實與想像古老命題重新詮釋的可能，與始終在定義中叛逃、游牧的性格，終成為理解陳建榮繪畫的另一條隱流。

​Artist Information
​>  Chen Chien-Jung 陳建榮
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Critique
> 刺點拾荒與日常證言陳建榮繪畫的微抵抗/張玉音 Punctuated Scavenger and Everyday Affirmations: Chen Chien-Jung's Quiet Resistance / Chang Yu-Yin

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> Artist Interview 藝術家導覽