2025 - Lai Chiu-Chen｜Greenhouse

Lin & Lin Gallery is pleased to present the solo exhibition of Lai Chiu-Chen, "Greenhouse," in February. The artist chose "Greenhouse" as the theme of this exhibition, which not simply refers to a literal physical space but also carries a deeper, metaphorical significance. In this controlled, isolated, and protected artificial environment, various plants that do not conform to the seasons or the local climate are cultivated. Similarly, the digital world we experience today is like a vast greenhouse, where disparate fragments of information and images from different times and places are available for access and generation. Algorithms provide individuals with information they might or should need, transforming this space into a controlled “idealized space.”

Overload of fragmented and repetitive information was provided from the digital world, along with emotions that gradually lose warmth through the reflective processes of forwarding and storing. These self-replicating, generative symbols and images weaken and eliminate the boundaries between the real and the virtual. Starting from Lai’s personal experiences and needs, he captures and creates “feelings” by extensively selecting images from the internet or everyday objects. Through this, he attempts to generate new sensations, thoughts, and modes of existence. The flat layers within the images are the result of the artist's repeated endeavor to overlap them during the conceptualization of his works, presenting a flattened, compressed mode of existence characteristic of this era and culture.

In Lai Chiu-Chen’s works featured in this exhibition, elements such as inflatable sharks, textile patterns, enamel dolls, fashion and commercial catalogs, and more, are often mixed with a touch of innocence, sense of retro, and somewhat surreal imagery. These elements are both illusory and grounded in a certain reality, and intentionally or unintentionally, they carry various symbolic meanings. However, the artist habitually hides these intentions subtly among birds, flowers, and plants or under layers of paint. The pristine, glossy varnish on the surface of the works seems to prevent the viewer from fully probing the emotions beneath. Perhaps this is the artist's way of choosing the best distance and approach in facing both themselves and the viewers.

Nowadays, as we swipe across our screens, fleeting images seem to tremble in sync with nystagmus, stimulating the artist's thoughts and activating the potential for connection. What is truly important in Lai Chiu-Chen's works is not what is used or copied, but how new meanings and perceptions are generated in each re-presentation. These recontextualized and remade images no longer entirely depend on their original entities or sources. Just like they became fragmented symbols that form a new whole, creating a differentiated mode of generation, much like plants originating from different regions that have been transplanted into a greenhouse. In such controlled but somewhat fragile space, the regional plants reconnect with suitable carriers and gradually grow into their own ecosystem. 

Lai Chiu-Chen, born in Jiufen, Taiwan in 1970, and graduated from Graduate School of Fine Arts M.F.A. Program. Lai’s works receive international attention as well as support, and were collected by several significant art museums, such as Long Museum (Shanghai), Taipei Fine Arts Museum and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. He has won many awards, including First Prize of Taipei Arts Award, Dr. Stanley Ho Foundation Art Award, First Prize of Kuo Po-Chuan Fine Arts Award, First Prize of Tung-Hua Rotary Club Fine Arts Award, First Prize of Grand Award of Prix de Paris, etc. He also won The Light of Transparent, Art Subsidization Program, National Culture and Arts Foundation in 2004 and Colonialism in Body, Art Subsidization Program, National Culture and Arts Foundation in 1997. Selected exhibitions include: Subzoology: 2020 Taiwan Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan, 2020; Rolling! Visual Art in Taiwan, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea, 2013; Have You Eaten Yet?- 2007 Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan, 2007; A Glimpse of Contemporary Art in Taiwan, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, 2006; Scylla and Charybdis in Love: The Challenges Facing Contemporary Taiwanese Artists, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea, 2004; Parts of Toys, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, 2003; Abnormal Temple, A Group Exhibition, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, 2000; 1997 Final Roam, Abnormal Temple, Sanchih, Taiwan, 1997, etc.