A maternal bond is a complex tie between mother and child. The bond is one of the strongest life connections in nature. My mother, Cheng Wah Kuo, shaped my artistic life through Western music training and Japanese flower arrangement-Ikebana. When she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and later departed this world in 2003, she had groomed her only son to become an artist. “Mother and Child” series, express the timelessness of maternal love and reveal the universal connection, dialogue and vision of my own relationship with my mother. It is an inspirational, explorative and intellectual effort to portrait in a new modern representation.
I have been engaging in a new dialogue and artistic growth of the “Mother and Child” series that reflect my motivation, vision and aspiration. “Mother and Child” is to re-exam and explore abstract forms that challenge new contexts and concepts in a contemporary language. As I review my accumulated experiences of having Eastern heritage, while continuing learning and growing as a practicing artist in the United States, I realized that no conventional technique or use of material could visually express my relationship with my mother. Techniques come with limitations, such is the nature of our concrete world; consequently, I have learned to grow beyond such limitations and discover materials for my artistic expression that elevate my respect and deeper love for my mother.
Every material has adaptability, function, and untapped potential. Leaning on one’s life experience, full of challenges, an artist must remain true to oneself and explore its potential and honesty. In contemporary art, material is the concept, and the maternal love is the expression. “Mother and Child” is a tangible representation of maternal love as a life’s experience that unifies purpose and adaptability.
“Mother and Child” recognizes natural elements in composition and emotion in maternal love. It overturns, modifies and questions our way of seeing and comprehending the visible and invisible connections that symbolizes contemporary and post-modern visual languages. It also exposes the symbolic, philosophical and aesthetic force that extends and reaches beyond the boundaries of artistic expression.
I have been engaging in a new dialogue and artistic growth of the “Mother and Child” series that reflect my motivation, vision and aspiration. “Mother and Child” is to re-exam and explore abstract forms that challenge new contexts and concepts in a contemporary language. As I review my accumulated experiences of having Eastern heritage, while continuing learning and growing as a practicing artist in the United States, I realized that no conventional technique or use of material could visually express my relationship with my mother. Techniques come with limitations, such is the nature of our concrete world; consequently, I have learned to grow beyond such limitations and discover materials for my artistic expression that elevate my respect and deeper love for my mother.
Every material has adaptability, function, and untapped potential. Leaning on one’s life experience, full of challenges, an artist must remain true to oneself and explore its potential and honesty. In contemporary art, material is the concept, and the maternal love is the expression. “Mother and Child” is a tangible representation of maternal love as a life’s experience that unifies purpose and adaptability.
“Mother and Child” recognizes natural elements in composition and emotion in maternal love. It overturns, modifies and questions our way of seeing and comprehending the visible and invisible connections that symbolizes contemporary and post-modern visual languages. It also exposes the symbolic, philosophical and aesthetic force that extends and reaches beyond the boundaries of artistic expression.