Cheng Tsai-Tung is one of an important group of Taiwan artists who first made their mark during the late 1970s and early 1980s by contemporising literati aesthetics via a unique mode of Expressionism, blended with subtly surrealist imagery. Cheng creates compositions of Taiwan quotidian life into which he inserts a version of himself as the loitering intellectual—a personal statement of engagement with his own time. He also has a strong grasp of two elements that most contemporary artists interested in the literati mode have neglected: an authentic use of colour and an understanding of the aesthetics of you, an interior/exterior quality of dimness and quietude. Cheng's spirit of literati leisure is a form of wisdom, because an easy heart is not restricted by historical space-time. Whether at work or play, he treads lightly and leaves no traces. He partakes equally of the pleasures of antiquity and the engagements of contemporary life, but he carries no baggage with him.
Read MoreIn 2019, Cheng Tsai-Tung's majour solos exhibition was presented at the Tofuku-ji Tempo in Kyoto, which was built in 1236 by the imperial chancellor Kujō Michiie. The exhibition examined elements of traditional Chinese literati (scholar-artist) aesthetics and the way these can be applied to a contemporary context, in particular as regards the literati way of engaging with art in an environment.
鄭在東1953年生於台北。台灣七十年代中期的鄉土文化運動間接呼應了歐洲的新表現主義繪畫，鄭在東等新畫家同時開始使用表現主義和超現實的手法面對台灣民間的生活現實。他試圖以閒逛的知識分子角色給民間生活和所在地賦予新的文化意義。通過延續傳統文人趣味以及回顧日據時期的台灣民間審美，鄭在東建立了一種當代的文人情趣。鄭在東的閒情是智慧。就因為他有閒 情，以故不礙於歷史時空。遊玩與做事他同樣不著痕跡地切實，古玩與時事都在當下審視，過後不把包袱帶在身上。
2019年鄭在東在近八百年歷史的京都東福寺舉辦了大型個展「永結無情遊」。有別於西方畫廊的白牆與直光，幽暗的和室全靠間接自然光，觀眾進來隨意席地而坐、靜靜欣賞，從而感受到水墨意象與高古氛圍，另有樂師演奏、藝伎指引、茶人設席，讓人沉浸其中。
Text courtesy Hanart TZ Gallery.
