Cosmo Radiante

“For me, the utmost important thing about painting is not the act of painting itself, but to explore the origin of one’s life, to record one’s feelings and experiences and to envision one’s future through the act of artmaking.” - Hsiao Chin

“On the one hand, I am rather empirical and philosophical on the conscious level; on the other hand, I am inclined to the spiritualism, mythicism and synthetism of Oriental religious. I seem to be born with such dichotomous thinking; ever since childhood I began to develop scepticism about my own life and the need for soul searching.” - Hsiao Chin

This dynamic and captivating Cosmo Radiante finds its place amongst a series of artworks featuring sun motifs, later defined as “solar series” that Hsiao Chin started creating since 1963. Inspired by Buddhist mandalas, which symbolise the organic and never-ending cycles of natural phenomena, Hsiao invited viewers to immerse into a meditative experience, in which they ponder on the relationship between eternal universe and the transient lives of human beings.

The solar representations are recurrent motifs in Hsiao’s work from 1963 to 1966. The short span of this period results in only a handful of paintings from this series were produced, and therefore are rare to come by today. A trademark of the series is the stark contrast between flat, crisp edges of patterns and hazy washes of colours that fill the pictorial space. In the present work, the sharp edges of the canvas, gold zigzag patterns, and the neon outline of the solar motif, compliment the washes of hot pink and gold to arrive at a yin-yang visual balance.

The current example testifies to Hsiao’s minimalistic style skilfully combined with sharp contrast between colours and shapes. Against the vivid hot pink background are two parallel zigzag waves in gold horizontally occupying the picture surface. The reflective gold colour recalls energy waves such as sunrays and lightning strikes, while being in textural contrast to the matte yet vibrant background. The never-ending waves evoke a sense of continuity of the patterns that extends into the space outside the canvas. Taking up the centre of the picture plane is an iris-like sun motif. The black core and neon yellow outer rim immediately calls to mind the recently published image of light being pulled into a black hole. The circle of neon yellow is so vibrant that it seems to jump out of the canvas, adding much vitality to the already flamboyant background and the rhythm of the waves. With flecks of white pigment spread over the sun motif, glowing against the teal back colour, the artist adds elements of spirituality to the painting by juxtaposing the macrocosmic existence of the sun in the universe and the elemental components of the sun on the micro level.

The duality of the central motif in this work – at once sun and eyeball, resonates with that of Jasper Jones’s Target from 1960. Both work drive home the ambiguity of the motifs in the eyes of the beholder. The eye-like motifs that seem to look back at the spectator transform the viewing experience into an interactive one: the act of looking is joint by the act of being seen, echoing both the outward-looking and introspective qualities of Hsiao’s work.

The striking similarity between the current work and the image of a black hole, to some extent, draws parallels between the contemplative nature of Hsiao’s work and humans’ tireless search for evidences of black holes. Hsiao Chin is known for incorporating elements from a broad spectrum of Eastern sources, from Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, to Buddhist mandalas and Zen thought, all of which provided inspirations and arenas for his pursuit of spirituality through his works. He actively promoted Taiwan's post-war Eastern Art Association, and introduced contemporary Western works and theories to Taiwan. In addition, he contributed to the founding of the Punto International Art Movement in Milan in 1961, along with other founding members Li Yuan-Chia, Antonio Calderara and Eduarda Emilia Maino, a.k.a. Dadamaino, Azuma Kenjiro, and Lucio Fontana. The Punto group advocated a philosophy of “quiet observation,” emphasizing the expression of “strict structuralism, reflective thought, and pure, still observation”, as well as the authenticity of the thoughts and the understanding of the truth of life".

The exuberance conveyed by employing crisp edges of colours and geometric patterns in Cosmo Radiante calls to mind artistic devices that Pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein utilized in his works. However, a more fluid and persistent sense of energy dominates Hsiao’s work, demonstrating the ideas of freedom and eternity of the universe in Taoism. The painting thereby through presenting the opposite of a transient human life, engages the audiences on an introspective journey to search for the meaning of life.
Hsiao Chin’s mastery as an artist is showcased in his intensions of making geometric patterns take on metaphorical meanings. The viewing experience goes beyond the interactions between eyes and canvas, and engages the viewers’ minds to wander into the realm of spirituality where they are free to explore based on their life experiences. The interpretations of Cosmo Radiante are everchanging, as are the elemental forces of the universe that this work displays.