贈與及接收之間的蒐奇 侯玉書
Curiosities In Gifting And Receiving George Ho

藝術家侯玉書《贈與及接收之間的蒐奇》展，體現著他2023-2025年之間的繪畫。在創作論述中，藝術家強調，創作對他來說，就是一種「能量的操演」(performance)，  這些繪畫表達著最純粹的色彩、形式、筆觸和構圖空間，帶來的動態能量流動。

展覽包括了兩個繪畫系列：《贈與及接收之間的蒐奇》(2023)、《時光煉金術》(2025)。藝術家在創作自述中提到這兩個繪畫系列的創作手法，都是從2018年《無止盡的揭曉》系列開始，他運用大尺幅的聚酯纖維畫布(Lutradur)，經過創作前的醞釀和準備，開始隨機的在畫布上作畫，不僅未預設主題、甚至不讓任何先入為主的意識介入，在極為自由、即興、偶發的情況下，讓畫布可以轉換方向、翻面作畫；因為聚酯纖維畫布的半透明特性，繪畫展現出所有繪畫動作的塗刷、色彩、線條、筆觸等等痕跡，基本上都是薄塗、透光的色彩表現。

接著他進行大尺幅繪畫面的剪裁，剪成大大小小的尺寸之後，再經由第二次的畫布重疊，產生各種繪畫層次和空間層的疊合，這兩個繪畫系列都有著最後才疊加上的金箔，在畫面上產生畫龍點睛的效果，完成最後的繪畫作品。觀者可從作品看到透光的色面和線條之間交錯的多層空間層次，筆者將這種透光的多層空間稱為「虛空間」，既是從畫面構圖和雙面上色，所產生的空間結構，也像是藝術家的繪畫手法有著不同時間序列的繪畫痕跡，最後以平行時空般的共存關係整合。

上述獨特的繪畫取徑，讓藝術家的繪畫涵納著流動時間感的當下捕捉、表現、剪裁與共融，而每個繪畫系列也是持續一段時間的作畫成果。從觀者的角度，可以體會從前面的《蒐奇》系列，發展到《時光煉金術》系列，都是藉著時間碎片的混融與交錯，打破線性時間的限制。而另一個提供跨越兩個系列的重要切入點，則是關於藝術家提到的「能量的操演」。

The Curiosities In Gifting and Receiving exhibition encapsulates artist George Ho’s painting over the period of 2023-25. In his Artist’s Statement, Ho stressed that for him artistic creation is a “performance of energy” . These paintings express the purest colors, forms, brushstrokes, and compositional spaces to bring about the dynamic flow of energy.

The exhibition includes two series of paintings, Curiosities In Gifting and Receiving (2023) and Alchemy of Time (2025). In his Artist’s Statement he noted that his creative approach began to germinate in 2018 with The Indefinite Reveal series, for which he first employed the use of sheets of Lutradur, large non-woven polyester material. After pre-visualization and -planning, he began painting randomly on the canvas, not only working with no set topics or motifs, but making sure to prevent any pre-conceived consciousness from manifesting, so as to permit free rotation of the canvas and the painting in any direction. The translucent quality of the polyester fiber surface renders visible the cumulative traces of the act of painting – brushwork, color, line, and stroke – while the application of paint remains consistently thin, producing a luminous, layered effect.

Next, he cuts the large painted surfaces into pieces of varying sizes, which are then recombined through a second layering of canvases, producing complex strata of pictorial and spatial depth. In both series, the application of gold leaf is reserved for the final stage, imparting a decisive highlight that completes the work. Viewers can observe overlapping translucent planes of colors and lines, generating a multilayered spatiality. I have termed this luminous layering “virtual space” – the spatial structure arising both from the composition of the image and from the dual-sided application of color. It also evokes the sequential traces of painting across different temporal registers, ultimately integrated into a coexistence reminiscent of parallel time frames.

This distinctive approach allows the artist’s practice to encompass the capture of the moment, expression, cutting, and synthesis of a flowing sense of time, with each series representing the outcome of a sustained painting process. From the viewer’s perspective, the progression from Curiosities to The Alchemy of Time reflects an ongoing interplay of temporal fragments, shattering the constraints of linear time. Another crucial point of entry that bridges the two series lies in the artist’s notion of the “performance of energy.”