Bugs, fishes, birds and animals evolve in the Nature all the time. The scenery they incubate inspires literati’s sigh of appreciation into lyrics and songs. Every leaf could be scored into a long poem. For the sun, for the rain and wind, for the surrounding grove, for the soil, they perfume, they bloom, they joy, they sorrow, they wither, they fall, and then they resurrect.

Every present stands on its past track to expect the next splendid instant. Through sharp observations, Jang Tarng-Kuh paints tress and plants, narrates soils, and depicts lives, captures light and shadow, describes ecology. He understands so profoundly how the scenery holds the whole creation by peace and blooms its beauty for the present. Just like the secret garden in everyone’s heart that others cannot see easily, Jang Tarng-Kuh’s backyard garden remains aspiring but gradually lost sceneries, which seem surprisingly conceal indistinct agitation and uneasiness under their familiar and comfortable surfaces. Although the backyard garden could contains illogical absurdities and fantasies, Jang Tarng-Kuh much likes to portray the tranquil moments after storm which hide limitless possibilities and unknowns. A story just ends, another story waits to start; the intermezzo in between fills with energetic vigor to get ready. “We had no chance to witness dinosaur’s footprint. Perhaps it is buried ten meters underground, the cricket may know. At least, we at this moment could pave a forest of green, to wait for the possibly coming aliens”, said Jang Tarng-Kuh.

Every today is the tomorrow of yesterday. Every century is just a game, a concept changing by time and space. Scenery as well has its charming past and unpredictable future. For the art expression, from the diversity of Earth, Jang Tarng-Kuh abandons numerous grotesque compositions and prefers to “realize backyard garden”. Like the presentation of modern poetry, the aroma is given on the canvas, while the meanings and imaginations beyond the paintings are left for audience to dream. However this sunshine in the dream spraying on the real earth, chasing the conversation between one scene and another, flowing water heard it, Jang Tarng-Kuh saw it. In his work “Fullness”, he saw the floral cloth of history as fashion in the post-modern realism, counting the falling leafs with banana trees outside of windows, guessing how sweet oranges would be next year. He saw a swift current “As Silk”, running down from the steep cliff into a splash-ink landscape; the color and smell of sulfur are portrayed, drifting with the tides, waiting for its revival. In “Shining wave dancing shadow”, he saw treetop’s mood when it looks at the blue sky in the water. Shadows are divided by the sunshine into reality and illusion; the water is rippled by the butterfly’s stop or leafs’ fall. Even the dewdrops in the dawn could never understand how cabbages in “Spring Soil” transfer from green buds as tender as newborn baby, into full and mature jades covered leaf by leaf. We even hear that yellow butterfly, singing a lullaby when softly pushing the cradle.

They are all games. In the big game of the art expression, some behaves recklessly all along, go their own roads, enjoy their own scenes but become the highlight of the scenery. Just like Ryusei Kishida(1891~1929) in Modern Japan Art History who went the reverse way to realism among the era of Japanese painters swarming to late impressionism is reputed “mystical realism”. After 80 years in Taiwan, Jang Tarng-Kuh’s “realize backyard garden” reveals oriental mystery within obscurity and solitude and that seems to have similar wavelength and game-playing spirit to Ryusei Kishida’s pursuing realism against the period style and trend. (annotation 1.)

Only a lonesome man could hear the sound of Earth, and see the true colors of scenery. Staidness pregnant with meanings is Jang Tarng-Kuh’s consistent representation of lonely temperament. He uses Nature’s eye to watch human, “Sceneries to me are like fairy tales full of joys, imaginations, and simple deceptions. On rich Earth, there are always endless stories, and the only difference is that the character becomes a lily, a buffalo, a leaf, a rushing stream, three freshly plucked guavas, even a piece of sunshine, a tree…” Just as the cat of “Listen to the rain” sitting on the doorsill, it watches in the patter of rain and counts the distance of the mountains far-away, seems meditating, but reveals a little tediousness. However is it watching the mortal world in and out of the door, or its master inside watching its boringness.

Jang Tarng-Kuh sees and walks into the present sceneries, plays with landscapes of tomorrow, paints the reality but is not too realistic. Affecting images are not about real or false, they are God’s whimsy ideas transforming into reasonable Nature, playing in the game that Jang Tarng-Kuh creates.

Annotation 1: Lee, Chin-Xian “ Realistic secret garden-- Jang Tarng-Kuh’s art reverse journey”

Celia Huang
Translated by Ko-Nung Huang