Thriving: CHEN Cheng-Wei

Blooming Flowers．Thriving Trees
Thriving is Chen Cheng-Wei’s first solo exhibition in 2024, which also marks a turning point in his creative work. Continuing his Blossoms of Life series, the exhibition features his latest art series, The Vibrancy of Life, conveying a profound sense of spirituality. The exhibition title, “thriving,” is derived from the imagery of “blooming flowers．thriving trees,” and points to a shift in the artist’s creative work in which he extends the “Flower of Life” to a deeper exploration of the “Tree of life,” creating a series that not just delineates flourishing life but also probes into the meaning of the inner spirit. In Chen's work, abstraction unveils multifaceted interpretations and the imaginative space of invisible energy. Through juxtaposing both, he delineates the diversity and abundance of life through vivid brushstrokes and vibrant colors. This exhibition showcases eleven of his latest paintings from Flowers in a Vase, Blossoms of Life, and The Vibrancy of Life series. As his subject and the scale of his work change, these works deliver the artist’s reflection on life in different stages, leading the spectator to contemplate the complexity and diverse aspects of life.

The Inner Light from the Celebration of Life
My faith and understanding of art come from the influences of my family.
——Chen Cheng-Wei, Another Me (2015)

Chen’s work comprises two symbolic imageries, the “Flower of Life” and the “Tree of Life,” which point to his life experiences on different levels and of dissimilar focuses. The former, as the first level, originates from the affections and praises from his grandmother and mother. To him, flowers serve as a symbol of love and a totem of praise. He uses flowers to convey the awakening of life. According to the artist, “the ‘Tree of Life’ is like my spiritual haven. In several of my latest works, flowers have also become more personified.” In the summer of 2023, Chen spent time reuniting with his family. The love and energy of his family filled him with inspiration that led to the creation of his first large-scale diptych, titled The Vibrancy of Life – a work that stems from familial love and extends to include the very foundation of life. The image of The Vibrancy of Life begins to incorporate mountains, rivers, settlements, and the rainbow. Imperceptibly, his work starts taking root, and the landscape under the shade of the tree grows to reflect a spiritual origin from the within. After meditation, the flowers also evolve into “flower eyes” that bloom on the tree.
However, looking beyond the images of flowers and trees, the value that lies at the center of Chen’s work has always been the unchanging and boundless love inside every human being. As the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910) states in “What Men Live By,” the truth that enables life to persist in hardship is love and faith. Now, Chen re-interprets the most valuable sentiments in humanity through his unique perspective. From the flowers, the trees were born; and again and again, they grow evermore. Through flowers and trees, Chen revisits the very qualities that define humanity and reveals his infinite appreciation and respect for the self and the world.