Dates
15 JULY 2023 - 07 OCTOBER 2023
Reception
15 JULY (SAT.) 4:30 P.M.
Venue
TKG+ Projects 2F, No. 15, Ln. 548, Ruiguang Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei 11492, Taiwan
Clock In, Clock Out, Chung Chung-Yu’s first solo exhibition at TKG+ Projects, serves as a manifestation of his dual identity. Working at Tina Keng Gallery as an art administrator for several years, Chung continues to pursue his creative vision in his personal life. With this exhibition, he explores new perspectives within the familiar setting of the gallery space, informed by his experience in both art administration and art making.
The exhibition title “Clock In, Clock Out” highlights Chung’s attempt to blur the boundaries within the standardized structure of the workplace, drawing from his understanding of the gallery space. As an art administrator in the gallery armed with equipment expertise and first-hand knowledge of the space, he always helps artists troubleshoot technical issues during installation. His professional experience and execution of installation tasks become a means to actualize each artist’s vision, be it overtly romantic or nearly idealistic. Always putting himself in the shoes of the artist, Chung approaches the needs of each exhibition from the perspective of someone who practices art. This interplay between sense and sensibility is also evident in his own artistic practice.
Chung uses perspective drawing or 3D modeling software to simulate the composition of his work. He then constructs the image on a wood panel, using cement as his medium. This process of sketching (or modeling) before creating the final piece attests to a systematic approach of art administration underlying his practice. Buildings in his work are often divided by distinct cement borders, and the concept of space is meticulously rendered with precise perspective and smooth application of the palette knife, highlighting Chung’s methodical, almost surgical techniques. By using cement and wood panels as two visually distinct materials for painting, he explores the tactile qualities of two-dimensional mediums.
This is not the first time Chung has exhibited at TKG+ Projects. He was one of the participating artists in creN/Ature curated by Wu Mu-Ching in 2021. Clock In, Clock Out can be considered an extension of Chung’s creative endeavor since creN/Ature. Toeing the line between work and nonwork, he leverages his familiarity with the venue, and demarcates the space with the cotton thread of an ink fountain. The exhibition space, delineated by the cotton thread, escapes a sense of heaviness and partition, Chung’s balanced and precise handling of spatial dimensions embodied in a sense of lightness and transparency.
Stripping away the role of art administrator, Chung Chung-Yu examines the duality of identity in Clock In, Clock Out, in an attempt to identify himself through art making.
Chung Chung-Yu
Born in 1993 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Spent his formative years in Changhua. Lives and works in Taipei.
With a BA degree in oil painting and mixed media from the department of visual arts, University of Taipei (2015), Chung Chung-Yu is well versed in the repurposing of installation tools or discarded wood from an exhibition space into his own artistic mediums. This adaptation of what was left offers a different vantage point: no longer confined to a one-time presentation, an artwork — transformed through a creative approach — becomes an organic, intriguing continuation of aesthetics.
Chung has been an art administrator at Tina Keng Gallery and TKG+ since 2017. His extensive experience in installation, space design, and lighting design, his knowledge about the technical application geared toward the tone of an exhibition, and his empathetic understanding of another artist’s state of mind, together these aspects inform Chung Chung-Yu’s creative journey.
Group Exhibitions
2021 creN/Ature, TKG+ Projects, Taipei, Taiwan
2019 Su Hsiu-Mei and Chung Chung-Yu: Atypical Legacy, Changhua County Public Library, Changhua, Taiwan
2015 33rd Taoyuan Fine Arts Exhibition, Department of Cultural Affairs, Taoyuan, Taiwan