Good Harvest
2020 Life in Color
Abundance comes when you least expect it. The precious and mysterious color of the crimson threads marks a resplendent life journey.
Saffron comes from the intersection of the East and West. With a slightly stimulating scent mixed with the smell of the soil, saffron is mellowly fragrant and musky. However, if overly used, the scent will become bitter. These crimson stigmas extracted from the lavender flowers produce a golden yellow color and can be used to create diverse color combinations with strong and rich characteristics.
Stephen Peng (彭雄渾) has led a life of twists and turns. Traveling across Europe and Asia, he gains inspiration from the highs and lows as well as breakthroughs and setbacks along the way. His works, just like the scanty and precious saffron, are an attempt to try out more possibilities through different color expressions. The layered colors he uses are consistently powerful and infectious.
A firm texture and style are evident in Stephen Peng’s (彭雄渾) paintings. The rich color tones he uses are always mischievously combined with the passionate crimson color typical of saffron. Peng’s works are like his life experience: Intense and boundless. His fearlessness is mixed with an unrestrained aura, contributing to his unlimited and rich works. The exhibition will divide Peng’s characteristics into five main topics, each of which is as strong and deep as saffron itself.
Silent Voice
2020 Life in Color
2020 was a special turning point as the whole world was caught in an obvious predicament. Most people dwelled on ways of overcoming the dire circumstances and on survival, while trying to persevere in critical situations. However, Stephen Peng is very different. He knows how to let things develop naturally, and when there is a lack of resources and energy at the moment, he conceals his lights, shifting his focus to building on his strengths. At the age of 70, Peng has deeply realized that a spectacular life is composed of highs and lows, so he needed to possess the power to take advantage of the splendid moments in life, as well as accepting the lowest points. Oscillating between highs and lows, Peng often asks himself: “What is important in life?”
Patiently preparing yourself while your life’s on hold is different from animal dormancy. Animals go inactive during dormancy; yet, when your life’s on hold, you ought to hone your skills, accumulate your strong points, learn new things, and wait for the best time to thrive again. Once the opportunity arises, those who are prepared will shine immediately; be it a magnificent comeback or a smooth transition, their lives will be rendered resplendent. The sound of life sometimes might not be loud, yet it is continuous. Coming into this world and exiting it are both unavoidable, so we must strive to create our own stories.
The exhibits this time are mostly Peng’s unpublished works. Among all of them, Aurora was once the most representative work during Peng’s return to the art world. The painting makes use of changing shadows in the dark to illustrate the ups and downs in life. Against this dark backdrop, there is a flowing ray of an aurora belonging to the artist himself, which shines even brighter in the darkness.