Exhibition News | Original Enlightenment: Group Exhibition of Nine Contemporary Artists

It is an indisputable fact that the relationship between the individual and their environment has become increasingly ambiguous amidst a rapidly escalating movement of increased entropy. "Truths" are proliferating, only to be promptly overturned. To resist invites the fear of being eliminated; to keep up proves impossible, as the pace—of life, of existence itself—is impossible to match. Consequently, a sense of disorientation permeates both action and meaning. Humanity seems trapped in a vortex of emptiness, where all can be seen, yet the self remains invisible.

Similarly, contemporary artistic phenomena—from creation to presentation and dissemination—are generally trending towards compromise and pleasing action-oriented appeals to worldly desires. The so-called value of art is increasingly determined by its suitability for social media photo-ops or its alignment with buyer preferences. This path veers further and further from art's true trajectory: ascending from material construction to spiritual edification. This phenomenon serves as the most telling annotation of art's decline.

The exhibition "Original Enlightenment: Group Exhibition of Nine Contemporary Artists" is destined to be one that does not court popularity. It offers no visually violent backdrops designed to generate online traffic. It presents no flattering colors or topics catered to consumer preferences. There are only the quiet, contemplative "residual images" of the spirit—born from the artists' daily self-reflection—standing within the gallery. Each exists on its own terms, each murmurs to itself. It is like an informal tea conversation among a few close friends of many years: natural, spontaneous, yet unequivocal in its stance.

Offering a different interpretation of Venerable Bagan's proposition, Xiao Qingshu's works present sparse woods with crystalline colors. His lines possess an extraordinary sense of relaxation—independent, each imbued with its own vitality—while the overall composition remains remarkably controlled. The world, as rendered by Xiao Qingshu, transforms into something akin to Chen Jiru's "planting bamboo, watering flowers, raising horses"—a pastoral recluse's tranquil contentment. His works become an expression of his "non-contending" attitude toward life.

Compared to Xiao Qingshu's reclusive tranquility, the versatile artist He Fu presents a vibrant engagement with the mundane world. The urban life circle and childhood rural memories serve as dual channels through which He Fu constantly switches—hometown recollections and contemporary expressions become the wellspring of his creative inspiration. His False Deity Record of Purple Clouds series originates from his folk memory of the ritualistic deity worship during festivals in the Chaoshan region, giving rise to self-created gods born from this cultural foundation. The rough, unrefined brushstrokes and splashed colors in his compositions contain no definable figurative symbols, only a primal, untamed energy—abundant, wild, and circulating in misty flux. This ambiguity captures He Fu's psychological entanglement between faith and reality, while also reflecting a common response in modern individuals. In Yan Pijie's work, this prevailing anxiety manifests as a conscious refusal—a perceptual reaction of deliberate rejection.

For some time, the figures in Yan Pijie's works have predominantly been children. In Returning Still Young, the wide-open eyes and tensed body language resemble an instinctive self-protective reaction to fear. This discomfort with the external world leads Yan Pijie to linger in the purity of a child's inner realm, thus refusing to grow up.

Of course, in the face of a dazzling world, meditative absorption is undoubtedly the wisest course of action. Take Lin Jichang's creative process, for instance: he strives to quiet the mind's analytical activity, allowing consciousness to unfold with greater freedom. Consequently, in his work Bodhisattva's Lowered Gaze, one encounters an enormous ancient fish suspended in mid-air, with trees and birds concealed in the background, as if a Buddha gazes upon the scene through the gaps of light. The hierarchical divisions between heaven, earth, and humanity are completely dissolved by a seamlessly integrated spatial aura—a presence that, without specific, nevertheless embodies the power of signification. In silence, it radiates a gentle warmth that perceives both the cosmos and all sentient beings。