About
The Confident Elegance of Rhythmic Symbols
On Wu Jia Rong’s Art
Text by Jason Chung Tang Yen
“And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand / They danced by the light of the moon…”
——Excerpt from “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” by Edward Lear
Wu Jia Rong’s paintings embody the fusion of various viewpoints with a clear thinking process. As dance itself is one of the many facts of art, she transforms her own understanding of dance and the human body into her art while playing the roles of the artist and dancer, applauding the philosophy of female confidence and elegance. Her art is consisted of representational and abstract elements that support each other, it is the flutter of the touched souls connecting the two. Her representational and abstract art represent sense and sensibility, like the senses on stage and off, combining techniques and symbolism to define female beauty in life and in motion from a subtle view. From traditional ink painting to canvases, Wu’s central theme in her oeuvre are the feminine beauty and rhythm, no matter the medium and form of expression, the marriage of rich emotions and duet and ballroom dancing in detail and abstract, this transcendence is evident of her studies in post modern dance.
“Dance is the release of emotions and pressure, I want to capture the split moment of it’s power and beauty.”
—— Wu Jia Rong
The power and beauty of female dancers, especially in Wu Jia Rong’s Chinese paintings, referencing and considering works by masters that observed and obsessed over dancers like Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Wu further explored the metaphoric link between beauty and sexuality with close up depictions of hands and feet of dancers. The theme is expressed in sketches, while the dancing shoes are simplified, transformed into a fluid, ambiguous form between reality and abstraction. The body has become her medium, her source of inspiration. This is also the reason her paintings possess powerful presence, gently guiding the viewers into her abundant world of sentiments. Regardless depicting reality or fiction, a vague narrative arouses speculations and imaginations, forming a dialogue and interaction between the audience and the works.
信雅律徵
淺談吳嘉容的藝術
文｜嚴仲唐
「攜著手，在沙的邊界上，他們在月光旁起舞…」
——摘錄自《貓頭鷹與貓》（The Owl and the Pussy-Cat）愛德華．利爾（Edward Lear）
吳嘉容的繪畫帶有清晰思考過程與融合不同視野的表現。舞蹈的律動本為藝術的多種表現方式之一，身為藝術家與舞者，她將自己對於舞蹈的理解以及人體的動態與自信轉化成為她的藝術，歌頌女性優雅的自信與存在的哲學。她的繪畫有寫實、有抽象寫意，互相映照，兩者共通的連結是表象之下靈魂的悸動。她的寫實與抽象是理性與感性，像是舞台上與舞台下不同的感知，結合技巧與象徵主義（symbolism），透過她完整的創作整體用女性的角度詮釋其細膩的觀察與生活中動態的美。從傳統水墨繪畫到西畫，吳嘉容作品在不同的系列作品中的共同點除了女性的創作主題，是律動性，無論材質與表現方式，在豐富情緒中融合國標舞、雙人舞的抽象與具象細節，藉由舞蹈的研究體驗融合在藝術中，這樣的體會在她研究現代舞之後更加明顯。
「舞蹈是情緒與壓力的釋放，我想要捕捉其力與美之瞬間。」
——吳嘉容
女性舞者的力與美尤其是在吳嘉容的國畫工筆作品中綻放迷人氣質，借鏡竇加（Edgar Degas）與羅特列克（Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec）這兩位藝術巨匠對於舞者的癡迷與觀察，吳嘉容藉由對舞者的手、腳局部的描繪呈現抽象的感知，暗喻人對美與性的聯想。以素描將主題彰顯出來，進階將舞鞋的形體簡化，形成在具象與抽象之間的流動性與不確定性。身體成為她創作的媒材，也是她藝術的靈感來源。也因此，她的繪畫有安靜卻強大的張力，以輕柔的序曲引領觀者進入她豐富的情感世界，無論是寫實或抽象都不把敘事交代過於清晰，在曖昧之間掀起不同的想像與推斷，形成與觀賞者之間的對話與互動。