Ju Ming once said, “Keep [sculpture’s] original state; it is no good if it is deteriorating.”  Such a statement justifies the essence of the conservation of the fine arts.  The exhibition, Conservation for Wooden Sculpture 101, leads the audience to understand the profession of conservation, a profession that combines fine arts and science, from the perspective of a novice.

The notion of naming “101” is borrowing from the American university’s curriculums. It indicates the fundamental and key elements of learning and knowledge.  This exhibition is briefly divided into three sections: an introduction for conservational tools and wooden samples of various diseases, a display area for selected Ju Ming’s wood sculptures that have been conserved, and finally a try-on interactive table where the audiences are encouraged to wear a conservator’s uniform and to touch the lab’s items.  From diagnosing specimens, cleaning, to the color restoration of objects, it reveals tenderness and prudence to the treated work, and stresses a “non-invasive” approach to restore artwork and its age. It is our hope that the audience will gain information and further respect artworks by imitating a professional conservator in his/her work routine. 

Juming Museum has been investing in conservation and its study for a long time. There were 159 conservation projects completed in 2024 that certified the credibility and professionalism of Juming Museum.  In the same year, the Conservation Department at Juming Museum also took on the internal emergent tasks which rescued 139 pieces of artworks affected by Typhoon Krathon. Such a devotional effort not only reinforces the importance of conserving artworks, but also signifies that conservation is counterbalanced against nature and time.

Conservation for Wooden Sculpture 101 is not merely an exhibition for informing a technique, but rather a collective action to honor artworks and resist time-effects. It unveils the tasks conducted by the professionals behind the museum’s operation; and it also delivers an important message that art is not only about creation, but also about protection and care.  Let us together enter the conservation’s domain, and learn about the crucial project where the lifespan of arts is sustained and continued.

Oil painting can be traced back to Europe prior to the 13th century, with Jan Van Eyck (1390-1441) of the Northern Renaissance often credited as a key figure in its development. Since then, oil paint has become a vital medium for Western painters. Yet, due to the difficulty of mastering its technique and its high cost, acrylic paint gradually emerged in the 20th century as a more accessible alternative.

Today, the traditional painting technique, regardless of the media, oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc., is challenged by photography and mixed media, and, more recently, manipulation of computer design programs and AI (Artificial Intelligence).  Can photography surpass the realistic depiction of objects? Can AI fully replace painting techniques or human creativity? This exhibition does not intend to provide the answer, but rather to initiate a dialogue.  A dialogue that hopes to lead the audience to pause and to gaze at the contents and techniques of the paintings.

This exhibition, collaborated with Asia Art Center, showcases sixteen painters from the USA, UK, Israel, China, HK, and Taiwan. Some used oil paints, some are acrylic or mixed media, but their goals unanimously achieve the painterly presentation of tangible things, objects, and intangible attachments. The exhibition is divided into four themes: Sensibility, Culture/ Social Commentary, Memory, and Fantasy. Some artists’ works are loaded with multi-layers implications, so the category is simply to assist the viewers to engage with artworks and artist’s concepts, not to limit the spectrum of artistic expressions. 

Beyond culture, race, gender, and age, the exhibition stresses the universality of human emotions. Through the diverse perspectives of these artists, Inner and Outer Worlds seeks to affirm this shared humanity and to inspire new reflections on art and life.

LIU Po-Chun's iron sculptures are showcased outdoors, sparking a visual dialogue with the exhibition venue. LIU pays keen attention to the evolution of the world and the development of civilisation, illustrating the micro-narratives about the history of the universe as well as the introspective questions of existence that individuals harbour. He integrates the striking physiques of bodybuilders with the formidable Vajra Warriors of Buddhism and towering giants of mythology or science fiction, making this series his most iconic. Myriad micro-forms of Buddha's warriors stack like Arhats, implying a yearning for self-transcendence and the pursuit of sublime spirituality. Additionally, they beckon reflection on existence itself, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos, and the possibility of a utopian society.

CHANG Nai-Wen excels at appropriating, deconstructing, and reconstructing cultural symbols. In Doze, he presents viewers with his penetrating insight into contemporary society and a provocative reflection on its future development. Vairocana Buddha, who should illuminate the world, is depicted in this piece with shut eyes, dozing. This pure white Buddha, seated cross-legged atop a oil bucket ubiquitous in everyday life, serves as a bridge between contrasting notions – the "ordinary people and worldly society" on one side, and "supreme divinity and the ideal world" on the other. Simultaneously, he permits conversations and conflicts to emerge, ironically mocking today's spiritual emptiness while questioning the future relevance of religion itself.

Stele No. BM2 belongs to the Bu Num Civilisation Revealed series by artist TU Wei-Cheng, where he has fabricated historical remains and archaeological artifacts embodying modern technology and civilisation. In these artificial stone reliefs, the artist audaciously fuses elements from ancient worlds – portrait stones, commemorative steles, intricate carved adornments – with contempo rary products like computers, computational elements, ICT devices, and other technological totems. This seamless bridging of eras births artifact-like objects that appear primordial, establishing a mythological system venerating a new holy image – one which intimates that our digital devices and connective technology have emerged as a contemporary mythology, a new age religion. These "historical relics" hence connect the strands of past, present, and future, serving as a portal that enables visitors to transcend the limits of linear space and time.

Stone modules widely employed in modern urban architecture have witnessed the rapid construction and development of a capitalist society. With minimal human intervention, artist WU Meng-Chang exposes the intrinsic characteristics of these materials. Cuts and marks left from mining form a stark contrast with the refined, polished surfaces, resembling fragments of buildings or residues of civilisation and bearing witness to the tension between modernisation and its accelerated pace of construction. LIN Yu-Cheng goes even further, disrupting impressions of modern development and the known order of civilisations. In his works, urban fragments are excavated, reassembled, and combined with scaffolding ubiquitous at construction sites, visually documenting the artist's years of urban roaming and observations in a manner akin to "modern archaeology." He integrates present and past moments, inverting his objects to expose the raw, unvarnished, messy textures and naked nature underlying modern cities.

Both LIU Chien-Wei and LIN Shu-Kai base their works on their family-owned houses, creating sites that summon multi-dimensional memories. LIU Chien-Wei collected fragments from an ancestral home passed down over four generations, meticulously categorising, relocating, and reconstructing each brick and crumbling mortar shard. Through this archaeological process, the materials are deconstructed, transformed, and evolved into new forms, birthing a site that represents both the individual and the whole family and serves as an epitome of the rural area and its collective history. LIN Shu-Kai's Balcony City Civilisation series was inspired by the intangibility and ever-changing nature of modern cities, a realisation catalysed when his family home was razed. Utilising emotional fragments – the very moulds from his family's business – he constructs an urban utopian world. Through this practice, he organically validates the interrelationships between modern development and traditional industry, inherited know-how, and family memories, seamlessly blending fiction and reality, memory and present moments into a singular distillation.

KANG Ya-Chu travels extensively and participates in many residency programmes, meticulously researching the techniques, materials, and patterns of traditional weaving and knitting practices. She interweaves the fabrics and knits she collects, representing her personal life journey and memories while introducing diverse cultures, histories, and narratives through her textile-based works. For KANG, a journey is an expedition of exploration, source tracking, and connection. It allows her to intimately engage with a place, its historical context, and material culture. A journey also compels introspection on identities, gender dynamics, labour conditions, and other complex issues catalysed by global migration. Every step (pu-lyu 步履), every thread (hsien-lyu 線縷), and every trip (lyu-cheng 旅程) rendered in her creations become cyphered clues – mysterious and interconnected pathways unveiling the manifold layers of meanings between the "here" and the "elsewhere."

Curator｜LIU Chu-Lan

Artist｜LIU Po-Chun、CHANG Nai-Wen、TU Wei-Cheng、WU Meng-Chang、LIU Chien-Wei、KANG Ya-Chu、LIN SHU-KAI、LIN Yu-Cheng