Artwork Appreciation
The human figure in CHEN Shao-Yen’s painting Little Sister 3 conveys the artist’s feelings for his family. In its piece, Chen attempts to recapture lost memories through the paintbrush.
Here, Chen paints a portrait of his cousin’s childlike figure with terse brushstrokes and vast swaths of white space. In the painting, his cousin’s face is distinctly defined, and her body is wrapped up as if in a blanket of memories. The hair that gradually spreads upward from her head turns out to be made of lush green leaves and crooked branches.
To the artist, the form of the tree symbolizes the bliss of the coexistence of man and nature. In this painting, the artist presents her simplest, fondest memories of his family.