Quiet Voids

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

“Our surroundings, whether natural or built, have a tremendous influence on our state of mind and have the power to shape our lives. I find myself longing for silence, stillness, and spaciousness in my life and in my studio practice. For many years, I have been striving to create work that embodies the essence of quiet openness. I was born and grew up in the crowded cities of subtropical Taiwan, and have been living in Maine since 2001. During recent winters, I have had the opportunity to spend some time alone in a rustic cabin in the remote Eastern Mountains of Maine. The seemingly endless vistas of snow-covered landscapes astonished me. Quiet and untouched white terrain, devoid of auditory and visual clutter, provides a spacious dimension where I am invited to enter and to just be. The Liminal series reveals my interest in the nature of seeing, and how our visual experiences influence our perception of reality. Working with pictorial depth and vision field, each work is a limen, a transformative threshold, into a contemplative and boundless state of being.” - Ling-Wen Tsai (蔡姈妏)

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ling-Wen Tsai (蔡姈妏) was born in Taiwan and lived there for the first 25 years of her life. She currently lives and works in Portland, Maine, USA. The migratory and transient nature of her existence has influenced her way of living, thinking, and working. When an individual's linguistic and sociological environment is radically altered, a different set of values, expectations, and logic emerges. One's sense of the "norm" and the "absolute" are challenged. These experiences have liberated her from the expectation of Eastern Culture and the assumption of Western Culture.

Tsai's early work was driven by a desire to express the feelings of displacement that have followed her from Taiwan to the United States. This search for a sense of belonging became the driving force behind her creative process. In recent years, her work has evolved from a direct expressive language to a more subtle, abstract, and minimalistic approach. While still remaining true to who she is as an individual, Tsai has developed an artistic approach that draws the viewers into her world while still allowing space for their self-reflection.

Tsai's work has taken the form of painting, installation, performance art, photography, and video. While embracing these different mediums, she strives to free them from their preconceived definitions. She has begun to form new cohesive experiences that extend beyond conventional classification.