Comments on the Finalist

This solo exhibition not only concludes the artist’s continuous experimentation and exploration of painting as an artistic genre, it also confronts the doubts and challenges concerning painterliness in modernity. Hsieh Mu-Chi’s work signals the ambivalent usefulness of painting skills and mimetic power while alluding to some of the key artists and their works in Taiwanese art history, including Lin Yu-Shan, Lee Shih-Chao and Tsai Yun-Yen, who used to modify their works to avoid political oppression. The exhibition therefore serves as the artist’s profound internalization of and reflection on Taiwanese art history. In the exhibition, the artist also uses 3D-printed incense holders to carry out a dialogue with the concept of readymades and the theory of (ir)reproducibility in art history, conveying a sense of resistance against the powerful theoretical discourses from the West. (Commentator: WU Chieh-Hsiang)

Artwork Introduction

From Geo-philosophical Mining and Unforgotten to I.O.U a Painting, the artist revisits the origin and development of Taiwanese art history in three stages, which collectively form a journey to gaze into and re-interpret the paintings and tradition by his predecessors. This quest allows the artist to put forth his questions as a painter, such as painting’s subject matter, the relationship between the subject and the painter, as well as the meaning of painting to the artist himself, enabling him to form a context for comparison and contrast. The words, “I owe you,” in the exhibition title originate from how the artist’s parents and their generation have accepted life as is and the zeitgeist and unyieldingly diligent work ethic of ordinary people conveyed by the Taiwanese hit song, “Dedicate Yourself and You Will Win.” For the artist, it is something he cannot avoid in life, and he hopes to reflect and repay what he has owed to the previous generations through the new works featured in this exhibition. For artists, like Hsieh and many others, who attempt to find their position in art history, this endeavor seems an unavoidable devotion.

About the Artist

Hsieh Mu-Chi is based in Taipei. He combines painting and various media to create his work, conducting experiments of performance, photography and video while personally adopting different roles to interpret the creative approach to painting, its production mode and the cultural tradition of painting. With humorous, playful approaches, he guides the audience to think about the identity of an artist as well as their relationship with painting. His solo exhibitions, Geo-philosophical Mining and Unforgotten, were presented in 2016 and 2017 respectively; and he has been featured in various important group exhibitions, including Lander: Island Hopping—Reversing Imperialism at Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Quezon City, Philippines in 2018, The Possibility of an Island—The 2016 Taiwan Biennial and more.