Between Straight & Curved - LEE Kuang-Yu, HSU Yu-Jen Duo Exhibition

Text / Aurore WANG

The first layer of meaning in “Between Straight & Curved” highlights the contrasting formal characteristics of the two artists. Both draw inspiration from nature: LEE Kuang-Yu's sculptures often employ curved forms to embody the vitality of life, while HSU Yu-Jen deliberately employs straight lines to challenge the conventions of ink painting. In LEE’s works, the rounded contours of faces, the undulating flow of brows and bodies, the circular folds of lotus leaves, and the swirling trajectories of planes and lines in space all exude vitality and dynamism, reflecting his life aesthetics of creating with “awakened compassion.” By contrast, in HSU’s ink paintings, straight lines appear in the vertical trunks of plants, the abrupt turns of branches, and abstract geometric forms. Some lines even traverse vast spaces of the picture plane, achieving minimalist yet striking compositions that convey an indomitable will to live.

The second layer of meaning lies in how “Between Straight & Curved” illuminates the multifaceted nature of each artist’s practice. Within their individual creative contexts, straight and curved lines not only coexist but also embody a dynamic interplay of contrast and harmony. The curved and the straight mutually accentuate and inspire one another, with binary oppositions achieving a higher synthesis through their interaction. In LEE’s works, for instance, square perforations cut through curved surfaces, while angular book-like or mountain-like forms set off the curves of adjacent faces, evoking Eastern philosophy’s dialectics of yin and yang, hardness and softness. In HSU’s works, curved lines express lyrical naturalism and Zen-inspired sentiment, while straight lines articulate metaphysical structures of reason. They are bound together by a primal creative impulse—inseparable and indispensable.

The third layer of meaning is the inspiration to extend the aesthetic concepts of “Straight” and “Curved” into broader realms. Intriguingly, the two artists stand in sharp contrast across many dimensions: LEE’s work is rounded while HSU’s is austere; LEE’s is exuberant while HSU’s is tranquil; LEE’s is intense while HSU’s is restrained. Yet, how could fullness exist without emptiness? And how could restraint not contain passion for life? In the traces where brush, ink, and spirit move in unison, we witness the cycles of growth and decay, presence and absence—discovering constancy within change. Amid patina and ink, to observe the world is also to observe the heart.