Sam

Today is the last day of the exhibition at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center. The three exhibitions that began in May 2025 are titled “Formosa Life Shadow," “Taiwanese Style," and “Eyebrow Taiwan." Although the timelines are quite close, I have tried to present different works. Therefore, I feel a lot of pressure, but today I have completely released it and reassessed my works. The fatal flaw of abstract painting is that very few people understand what you are painting. It feels a bit like self-appreciation because it embodies your inner emotions, your mood, your imagination, and your life experiences. I personally feel that my expression in painting is still not fully accomplished, but this reflects my current skill level. I’m tired of drawing still life and realism; perhaps I will return to painting figures I haven’t drawn in a long time to change my mood. Some have asked what my works have to do with Formosa; honestly, I haven’t fully realized that myself. However, as Teacher Ji Xiang said, I am a Taiwanese person who grew up in the 1960s, a local born in Taiwan. My painting comes from my subconscious, which is rooted in the life experiences of my era, related to the social and economic aspects of that time. My painting language contains many images of the sea because, in my time, my family was not well-off. I faced many things I wanted to do but couldn’t, along with the grievances I had to swallow myself. Therefore, watching the sea and the boats is my greatest joy, as it broadens my horizons. These three consecutive exhibitions have allowed me to transition from tension to familiarity and then to a degree of control over my feelings. It has also made me realize the differences between painting and art. While painting, I often ask myself what I want to express, how to express it, and what method to use. In 2025, I was genuinely exhausted, yet it became a profoundly memorable year for me. At over 50, learning to live again is a bit slow… but no! It’s not too late at all!

今天是高雄市文化中心展覽的最後一天，從20250年五月份開始的三個展覽分別為福爾摩沙生命魅影、台灣勢面、眉角台灣。雖然時間點相當的接近，不過我盡量都是不同的作品。所以我的壓力相當很大，不過在今天完全釋放，卻也重新的檢討自己的作品。

畫抽象的致命傷是很少人看得懂你在畫什麼？好像是孤芳自賞，因為是你自己內在的情緒、你的心情、你的想像、你的生活歷練。我自己覺得我在畫面上的表達韻味還不夠到位，但這是我目前的功力。我已經畫膩了寫生和寫實，這一陣子或許再回去畫一下好久沒有畫的人物，轉換一下心情。有人問說我的作品品和福爾摩沙有什麼關係，坦白的說我自己也還沒有領悟到，不過紀向老師的說法是我是一位生長在60年代的台灣人，土生土長的台灣人，我的繪畫來自我的潛意識，而我的潛意識源於我的年代的生活歷練，關係到那個時代的社會經濟、政治。

而我繪畫語言裡面有許多海的意象，因為在我那個年代家境不好，面對了很多想做卻無法做的事情以及一些的委屈只能自己往心裡吞，所以看海看船是我最大的喜好，因為那會讓我的心胸變寬變廣。這三個連續展覽讓我在心境上由緊張到習慣再到自己的掌控已有點心得，也讓自己體會到繪畫和藝術的不同，畫畫的時候我常問自己我想表達什麼?如何表達?該用何種方式表達?2025年我真的累翻了，卻也是讓我刻骨銘心的一年。50多歲了才重新學習生活有點慢…………….不 ! 一點也不遲 !