The Royal Botanical Garden-CSIC and the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the Economic and Cultural Office of Taipei in Spain inaugurated yesterday the exhibition Chronicles of Stone and Feather, by Taiwanese artists Pu-Chun Teng and Mia Liu, which can be visited from today until August 30 at the Villanueva Pavilion.
This exhibition brings together two artists of distinct artistic languages with similar sensibilities, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the Economic and Cultural Office of Taipei in Spain.
The exhibition reveals a deep fusion between Eastern aesthetic tradition and contemporary Western forms.
The stone and the feather are a good example that symbolize the spirit of a city and the citizenship that inhabits it. The feather is volatile, light as a sigh, personifying a society that often lives a brief destiny tied to events, occurrences, and chance. The stone is hard, does not blink, and remains unperturbed through the ages. Like the city, firm and inflexible against the passage of time. And yet, despite this evident divergence, feather and stone complement each other.
The exhibition Chronicles of Stone and Feather: a duo of contemporary Taiwanese art also represents that symbolism because it does not document a geographical displacement, but rather an introspective spiritual journey. It brings together two artists of very different formal languages, but whose sensibilities resonate in harmony: Pu-Chun Teng, who with ink dots engraves landscapes of ‘firm rock’ in strange territories, and Mia Liu, who, with paper, unfolds the lightness of ‘feathers in flight.’
Chronicles of Stone and Feather, conceived as a double individual exhibition, proposes to examine how the two contemporary Taiwanese creators, rooted in local experience and in dialogue with the current context, carry out a transcultural translation and reconfiguration through ink, photography, installation, and documentary manuscripts, among other mixed media.
At the presentation of the exhibition, the ambassador of Taiwan, Lino Cheng, emphasized that “today, Taiwan is internationally known mainly for its innovative technological leadership such as its semiconductor production and the essential components for the development of Artificial Intelligence, of which we Taiwanese are very proud to be the most indispensable engine for the advancement of human civilization. However, our identity is much richer. This exhibition is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that our cultural and artistic production is on par with our technological vanguard. That is why we are committed to bringing events of this kind to such representative places as this. As a Taiwanese, contemplating these works makes me feel capable of embarking on an imaginary journey that goes from the earthly longing for our roots to the celestial search for freedom.”
For her part, the director of the Royal Botanical Garden-CSIC, María-Paz Martín, recalled that “the exhibition takes as coordinates the ‘stone and the feather’, outlining the dual perspective of the two artists on life, culture, and the cosmos. Together they symbolize the balance of the environment, the physics of movement, and a deep connection with nature, which is why this work roots perfectly in the RJB.”
