Untitled No. 5

作品賞析

Artist Wu Chien-Hsing believes that “all works of art are merely expressions of a certain stage of life.” Drawing from his family’s auto repair shop, he works with automotive sheet metal and collaborates with mechanics to hammer away at the hoods of cars that retain the streamlined styling of the 1960s and 1970s. Once the sheet metal softens, he then creates sculptures that blend the styling of the era with his own unique style, guided by his own aesthetic. Wu Chien-Hsing uses white and pale flesh tones that neutralize the hood’s rigidity. The low-saturation palette lets the viewer transcend the limitations of color. The mirrored silver stainless steel sphere represents the debris from welding and the crystallization of the craftsman’s sweat; it invites the viewer to look closely and generate new associations. The work not only alludes to the prosperity of Taiwan’s early automotive industry but also speaks to the craftsmanship of these artisans, which, like the metal medium, gradually rusts and fades with the passage of time.