Degree: Fine Art MFA
University: Newcastle University
Graduation Year: 2023
An afterimage comes to mind when viewing Luo-Han Chen’s paintings, almost as if one has glanced at the sun for a moment too long before looking at something else. The outline of a shell for instance, or maybe a tree, asserts itself against a dark, slightly blotchy background.
An afterimage holds the viewer even after they have stopped looking at the image. In many ways, Chen’s paintings do something similar, keeping us thinking even after we’ve stopped looking. We are left thinking about the natural world that forms the subject matter or the paintings; we consider human relation to the natural world; we ask questions of art’s ability to evoke such feelings; we contemplate the brushstrokes and mark making. In short, the image stays with us even after we’ve stopped looking.
Since 2017, my developed series of paintings have revolved around the theme of "Ocean-Cosmos." The subjects of this series are all about tiny, delicate things, floating in spaces akin to the cosmos or the ocean.
These minuscule presences always remind me of my own insignificance. What appears as simple as dust at one scale is intricate and beautiful at another. I enjoy depicting the swaying fluff in my style, remnants of life washed ashore by the sea, fragments of sand, broken seaweed, and coral; the myriad forms found within these motes.
I often diminish the brightness contrast deliberately, avoiding strong juxtapositions. Within my compositions, there are many subtle tones, achieved by layering and stacking thin layers of paint. I aim to convey ambiguity and uncertainty, a sense of overlapping dreams and realities. Additionally, sometimes I flatten and equalize the composition intensely. The deliberate lack of emphasis on focal points and protagonists is to convey the idea of equality among all beings. Biology categorizes entities in the world into higher and lower orders, with those closer to humans deemed higher, and those less resembling humans considered lower. However, we are all cosmic dust. A broken seashell, a withered leaf, and the skull of a mammal hold equal status in my paintings.
Jellyfish are also a cherished subject of mine. As an image that permeated my work during my research years, upon returning to Taiwan in 2023, I began to develop it into a series of paintings. These creatures, seemingly harmless and fragile, yet venomous, some even potentially immortal in a sense. Their bodies blur the line with the sea, their drifting tentacles sometimes entangled. Through instinct and trial, the entwined tentacles loosen. They separate, yet never truly part, the boundaries of their bodies so uncertain. As people ingest jellyfish, they become a part of our bodies. Our entanglement with other non-human entities is so intimately woven.
What humans' rationality cannot grasp, we term as incomprehensible, unpredictable randomness, operating naturally within non-human systems. In my paintings, the themes always float. This space could be the ocean, the sky, or the cosmos. Many of the subjects I have painted before also exist within these backgrounds of infinite extension, devoid of concrete imagery. Regardless of the subject matter, I remain fascinated by the tangible images, presenting things existing within the chaotic abyss of the unknown.
(2023) Surface Matters, Audain Gallery, Canada
(2023) Counterpart, Newcastle University, UK
(2020) MFA Interim Show, Star and Shadow, UK
(2020) Flotation Devices, Audain Gallery, Canada
(2018) Now, New Taipei City Art Centre, Taiwan
(2016) BA Final Show, Dechun Gallery, Taiwan