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Meta-Calligraphy: KO Liang-Chih

Curator  CHANG Li Hao

 2022.7.16-2022.9.19

Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center, Building C

Meta-Calligraphy: Ko Liang-Chih is the exhibition for the awardee of the Hengshan Calligraphy Award. The Hengshan Calligraphy Award aims to promote calligraphy exhibitions and creations that are of the zeitgeist and pioneering perspectives in various forms and contents.

In the sweeping wave of digitalization in the 21st century, it has become highly challenging for calligraphy to catch people’s eye. Thus, artists whose work is centered on handwriting must move beyond recounting life experiences and consider how to infuse and enrich their art with new concepts. For this reason, the Chinese title of Meta-Calligraphy: Ko Liang-Chi intentionally alludes to a photography term, "depth of field" (i.e., the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera), in an attempt to shift the focus from the two-dimensional presentation of calligraphy to various unrevealed processes, procedures, stages, scenarios, and states of perception that one might encounter before arriving at the ultimate result. Besides hoping to break free from the single aesthetic standard of traditional calligraphy that only judges the ultimate two-dimensional outcome, the exhibition also emphasizes how a contemporary artist comprehensively examines the relationship between traditional and modern calligraphy from diverse perspectives. It investigates how words change over time in terms of meaning and cultural context to discover various ways handwriting can enter the realm of modern art.

Having observed for many years the foothold and possible expressions of handwriting within contemporary art, Ko Liang-Chih tries to break free from the convention of sorting and displaying calligraphy art according to the calligraphy script or content. This exhibition showcases seven sets of artworks made from different media, including two-dimensional works, video installations, NFTs, and interactive installations that encourage visitor participation. These works may partially overlap, prompting diverse perceptions about handwriting.