CHIANG YOMEI

Ghosts and gods come and go

It is where the wild birds sing

Where a solitary temple bell rings

The moon in the water

Is only that

Like ghosts and gods And the moon itself

They come and go On the fleeting grace of the temple bell

In this lonely spot

Where I rest my heart

— Chiang Yomei Where I Rest My Heart

In early spring 2025, Tina Keng Gallery is pleased to present Chiang Yomei’s long-awaited solo exhibition Where I Rest My Heart, marking her first exhibition in three years. The exhibition comprises oil paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, weaving a close narrative that reflects the artist’s introspection on life and philosophical dialogue with religion and literature, bridging the ancient and the ephemeral. The title “Where I Rest My Heart” not only resonates with Chiang’s literary work of the same name, but embodies her recent pursuit of peace and fulfilment in her emotional and spiritual landscape, as well as within her artistic work.

Chiang’s life is intertwined with her love for literature and her immersion in Buddhist studies, both crisply present in her work. The theme that runs through her body of work, as well as the naming of each piece, reveals the influence of Buddhism, Zen philosophy, and the spirit of Chinese ink painting. While her work is often imbued with a Buddhist cosmology, it encapsulates a more contemporary contemplation, exploring the relationship between art making and the artwork itself, symbolic metaphor, material experimentation, and a spontaneous approach to color. Through the layering of paint, textures emerge that deconstruct and evolve written characters into a new abstract vocabulary. This process creates a dynamic and layered surface, instantiating the artist’s state of mind during the creative process.

Chiang’s practice is distinguished by her consistent use of diverse materials. The interplay of different mediums, catalysed by physical interactions, evokes a sense of spontaneity and uncertainty that results in varying visual manifestations. This complexity permeates her philosophical exploration. As sand, incense ash, gauze, and salt converge on the surface, they move, adhere, solidify, and diffuse, transforming into symbols that invite the viewer to engage with the artist’s personal experiences, memories, and emotions, further allowing for a meditation on time and space.

The mottled textures and chiseled marks denote the layering of time, while the binding and wrapping of gauze suggest themes of repose or healing. Techniques such as using the physical properties of ink and water to create layers and negative space, along with the transcription of Buddhist scriptures, articulate a profound sense of Zen that suffuses Chiang’s abstract painting. Despite the inherent conceptual dimension, one can still perceive the arresting nature of her work through composition, structure, and line.

Unlike the large circular oil paintings on view in her 2022 exhibition Without Beginning or End, Where I Rest My Heart highlights her medium- and small-scale works made over the past year. Her painting exudes a sense of lightness, even as it grapples with philosophical inquiries of life and death from a Buddhist perspective.

Whether working on a small or large scale, whether creating paintings or writing poetry, Chiang has a way of conveying emotions — from joy to sorrow, to regret amidst fulfillment — this ability resonates like a gentle breeze through the viewer’s heart. Her emotional sensitivity mirrors both her artistic vision and her Buddhist practice. The sense of lucency, breath, and fluidity that pervades her work, conjured through different mediums, establishes a dialogue between East and West: the spatial concepts and visual presentation of Western abstract painting, and the notions of emptiness, line, and spirit in Eastern philosophy. By merging the visual element of colour with the internal philosophy of heart, Chiang reinforces her longstanding discourse on the interdependence of form and emptiness.

In addition to her two-dimensional works, three sculptures in “A Stone Sutra” series are also on view. The artist creates a mould of her own palm, holding a stone inscribed with the Heart Sutra. The series is inspired by her travels, during which she collected stones from various locations, transcribed Heart Sutra onto them, and left them behind as she journeyed. The three pieces — each the form of a different hand gesture, either grasping or cradling the stone — are thoughtfully juxtaposed with her paintings and works on paper: as if the stones, like their predecessors, have embarked on their own journeys through time and space.

One is as one creates, and one creates as one is. This is a fitting encapsulation of Chiang’s work and her practice. Faced with impermanence, she distills serenity and composure from her past experiences. Her work manifests energy and a sense of freedom that allows her to see that human existence is merely the sum of life and death, and everything in between: never a linear path, and always coming full circle. Perhaps tracing Chiang Yomei’s brushwork, one might chance upon a corner of solace where they could finally rest their heart.