耿晧剛（1969-）是近年來凸顯於台灣當代藝壇的一位傑出藝術家；自2004年由義大利學成返台後，20年間，個展與聯展已近40次，幾乎每年都有新作發表，甚至有一年間發表作品多達7次（如2013年）者，且形式擴及平面與裝置，展現其強勁、豐沛的創作能量與成果，令人刮目。耿晧剛的生活幾乎和藝術創作劃上等號，畫如其人，人如其名：耿直、皓潔、剛強，創作之外，毫無懸念，形成獨特的藝術生命。

出生藝術家庭的耿晧剛，父親是建築師、母親是知名現代水墨畫家，外祖父也是傳統書畫名家；生長在如此背景下的耿晧剛，東海大學美術系畢業後，1997年遠赴義大利國立米蘭布雷拉藝術學院（Accademia di belle arti di Brera）留學，追隨Diego Esposito教授主修繪畫與裝置，開啟了觀念藝術的思考。

2004年取得碩士學位後返台，一度任職於時尚品牌的Hugo Boss公司；同時，又赴廈門大學台灣研究院歷史研究所博士班進修。這種穿梭於古典知識與時尚品味之間的多元背景，也逐漸蘊成了他藝術創作的主要特質：既具幾何式色面構成的理性思維，又富書寫性心象表現的感性抒發；而這樣的特質，既具現於各時期的作品之上，亦展陳於歷次個展的展名之中，如：「Why so Serious？」（2009、2010）、「雙重衝擊」（2011）、「未來．進行式」（2012）、「差異之間」（2013）、「布里歐．日常」、「遠在咫尺」（2015）、「清晨．奧爾維托」（2015）、「三月．小甜心」（2016）、「長乘以寬」（2016）、「第三自然」（2017），以及「快樂進行曲」（2019）……..等。

2024年在台中臻品推出的個展：「在那之後」，則是在一系列密集個展後、相隔5年才推出的一次再出發。原來，在2019年的「快樂進行曲」之後，耿晧剛也一如往常地積極準備2020年的再一次個展，卻碰上了全球性的世紀疫情，導致各地的鎖國、封域，乃至交流中斷、人際疏離，也就暫停了個展的推出。

個展暫停，但創作並未中斷，反而因環境的改變，激化並調整了藝術家思維與創作的方向。

「在那之後」是藝術家重新檢視自2015年同樣在台中臻品畫廊推出的個展「遠在咫尺」之後將近10年間，個人創作的一些改變與發展的整體呈現，主要集中在平面繪畫上。

〈集中〉、〈返景入森林，復照青苔上〉、〈一抹紅〉，都是著手於「遠在咫尺」展後的2016年，而在2018年完成的作品；共同之處：都是採取左、右雙拼的畫面結構，一邊是直橫規整分割的幾何平面構成，另一邊則是以較具手感的墨韻筆觸，搭配帶著高度透明性的色線，乃至部份的圓點排列。這種二元併立的結構：「理性／感性」，「自然／人文」，「古典／時尚」，乃至「東方／西方」的對映…..，始終存在於耿晧剛的創作之中，特別是2015年「遠在咫尺」的個展中；「遠」與「近」的二元對稱，「咫尺」又是「天涯」的對稱，而「遠在咫尺」的對稱併置，應就是所謂的「近在天涯」。這種文意、思維，乃至畫面結構的對映、併置，似乎正是藝術家多年來穿梭其間、不斷辨證的趣味所在。

兩件著手並完成於2018年的〈梯一〉與〈梯二〉，顯示：「強化幾何、壓縮手感」，似乎是這個時期的明顯走向；兩件作品都是將較隨機的手感部份作為畫面基底，而幾何式的理性構成則成為畫面前景及主體；而斜向的形體，更引發視覺產生階梯式爬升的聯想，標題即作「梯」。

2020年是豐收的一年，也是藝術家重新檢視、統整、再出發的一年。在2019年銘傳大學的「快樂進行曲」個展之後，疫情的衝擊與封閉下，藝術家有了重整再出發的契機，畫面尺幅雖然較小，但充滿活力、自信，與純粹；如：作於2019年至2020年之交的〈滿滿的黃〉，仍採二幅併置的手法，但整體構成轉為更趨簡潔，右側的黃色，只有一條膠帶般的白色斜過；而左側的不定形色彩也變得比較單純，並由一些幾何折線鎮攝住。

至於2020年的創作，拼貼的手法變得更為自由而多樣，二幅併置的有左右橫向的〈滿滿的黃〉與〈屋頂上〉、〈假日1〉，上下併置的有〈光〉、〈假日2〉，三幅（一大二小）併置的有〈生之意義1〉，四幅併置的有〈草莓〉、〈檸檬〉，甚至八幅併置的有〈生之意義2〉等；同時，在色彩上也都配置成高明度、高彩度與灰階的強烈對映。其中，著手於2015年、而完成於2020年的〈藍色小精靈〉則是此次展品中著手年代最早的作品，還保留了早期時尚圖案（藍色小精靈）的拼貼，但最後仍以分割併置的手法來完成全幅。

延續2020年開啟的新路向，2021及2022年持續開展，並加入新元素；其中最顯著的改變，便是水墨紙本的加入；包括兩件原著手於2016年、而於2021年完成的〈灰色高地1〉及〈灰色高地2〉，以及2022年的〈貓貓ㄚ〉、〈貓貓G〉、〈抽象R〉、〈抽象ㄚ〉、〈單色麥克風〉、〈四彩四方〉等。出身水墨書畫世家的耿晧剛，在創作的發展上出現、乃至凸顯了水墨的元素，似乎是極為自然的事；但出現的時機，是在疫情籠罩的時刻，則是令人特別感到意義深刻的事。

耿晧剛早期作品中的古典與時尚，大都來自義大利留學時期的啟蒙與刺激，那些類似馬賽克磁磚的色彩、造形與質感，既是義大利古老城市的牆壁與地面，也是時尚店面的櫥窗印象，交織著歷史歲月的痕跡與當代生活的新鮮美感。疫情之際，收拾起旅行者探尋歧路花園的心情，耿晧剛的沈澱、深化，與提昇，水墨成為更近身的古典；明麗、透明的時尚，也轉為低沈、含蓄的內斂氣質。隨著時局的變化與年齡的增長，回首2015年「遠在咫尺」的創作，揭示了「近在天涯」的意圖，而2024年的「在那之後」，似乎也透露了「在此之前」的思維痕跡。

Hao-Kang Keng (1969-) is an extraordinary artist who has risen to prominence in Taiwan’s contemporary art community over recent years. Since completing his studies in Italy and returning to Taiwan in 2004, Keng has been featured in nearly forty solo and joint exhibitions over the past two decades. Debuting new works almost every year, the artist even unveiled seven works in one year (2013). From graphics to art installations, the artist’s wide-ranging art forms have been astonishing viewers through powerful and abundant creative energies and displays. Living a lifestyle analogous to his art creations, Keng’s paintings and personal traits can be characterized by the meanings of his name: honest (Keng), pure (Hao), and unyielding (Kang). Without a doubt, these elements combine to form an one-of-a-kind art style.

Keng was born into a family of artists - his father was an architect, his mother a famous contemporary ink-wash painter, and his maternal grandfather a traditional calligrapher. Along with this family background, Keng studied abroad at Italy’s Accademia di belle arti di Brera in 1997 after graduating from the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University. Majoring in painting and installation art under the tutelage of Professor Diego Esposito, Keng has embarked on a journey of conceptual art ever since.

When Keng returned to Taiwan with a master’s degree in 2004, he gained employment at the fashion brand, Hugo Boss, while enrolling in the History PhD program at the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University. This interaction between classical expertise and modern fashion established the diversity that gradually became the main feature of Keng’s artistic creations: combining the rationality of geometric colored surfaces with the sensibility of free-style mental expressions. These features are not only visible in artworks across various phases of Keng’s career, but also expressed in the names of his past solo exhibitions. Some examples include: Why so Serious? (2009, 2010), Double Impact (2011), Future Progress (2012), The Difference Between (2013), Brioche Daily, So Far So Close (2015), Orvieto Morning (2015), Pinup March (2016), Geometric Composition (2016), The Third Nature (2017), and Nothing but Happy (2019).

In 2024, Keng launched the solo exhibition, After That, at Galerie Pierre Taichung, marking a comeback five years since his last densely-packed solo exhibition. As it turned out, the artist had been diligently preparing for his 2020 solo exhibition after Nothing but Happy in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world by surprise. The resulting worldwide travel restrictions, lockdowns, interrupted interaction, and social isolation subsequently led to a halt of the artist’s solo exhibition.

Nevertheless, the temporary halt in solo exhibition did not stop Keng from creating art. Instead, the environmental changes further stimulated and fine-tuned the artist’s creative ideas and direction.

After That serves as a collection of graphic paintings featuring the changes and transformations in Keng’s creative styles throughout the decade following his 2015 solo exhibition, So Far So Close, at Galerie Pierre Taichung.

Following So Far So Close, work began on Centralization, Light into the Woods on Shady Mosses, and A Shade of Red in 2016, and finished in 2018. They shared the similar image composition of a left-right horizontal collage, composed of clear-cut geometric surfaces on one side and freehand calligraphy pen strokes on the other, matching with highly transparent color lines and fragmented polka dot arrangements. This binary contrast between rationality/sensibility, nature/humanities, classics/modernity, East/West has always been present in Keng’s creations. This was especially apparent in the 2015 solo exhibition, So Far So Close. To establish a binary contrast between “farawayness” and “closeness,” the symmetrical juxtaposition for “as far as a short distance” is “as close as worlds apart.” The contrast and juxtaposition between these meanings, concepts, and image compositions seems to have delighted the artist throughout the years as he continued to ponder and dwell on them.

Both Ladder 1 and Ladder 2 were created and completed in 2018. The artist seems to have been “focusing on geometry with less emphasis on freehand styles” during this stage. Both artworks were built on a random freehand background, featuring a geometric, rational composition as the main scene on the foreground. Since the diagonal objects produced the visual association of upward ladders, these paintings were titled "Ladders.”

The year 2020 served as not only a year of harvest for the artist, but also one for personal re-examination and reorganization before setting off. After the 2019 solo exhibition, Nothing but Happy, at Ming Chuan University, the artist had the opportunity to reset himself under the pandemic’s impact and isolation. Although the paintings were smaller in size, they were full of energy, confidence, and purity. For example, “Full of Yellow” was a binary juxtaposition created between 2019 and 2020. The overall composition became more concise as the shade of yellow on the right is only overlapped by a diagonally aligned piece of white tape. The unstructured colors on the left were also simplified to consist of a few geometric lines.

By 2020, the collage techniques became more free-styled and diverse. The binary juxtapositions were either created by the left-right horizontal technique as demonstrated in Full of Yellow, Rooftop, Holiday 1, or the top-down vertical technique in Light and Holiday 2. There was a triple juxtaposition (one large and two small images) titled Meaning of Life 1, two quadruple juxtapositions titled Strawberry and Lemon, and even an octuple juxtaposition titled Meaning of Life 2. Meanwhile, all of these artworks showcased a strong contrast among high-value, high-chroma, and grayscale colors. Created in 2015 and completed in 2020, Smurfs stands as the oldest work on display at the exhibition. Featuring Smurfs, a past fashion icon, the final artwork was completed using the technique of segmented juxtaposition.

While extending on his new direction from 2020, Keng continued to incorporate new elements into his 2021 and 2022 exhibitions. The most prominent change he made was the debut of ink on paper—including two original artworks created in 2016 and completed in 2021: “Grey Highland 1” and “Grey Highland 2,” as well as “B.Kliban’s Cat,” “Cat G,” “Abstract R,” “Abstract Y,” “Monochrome Microphone,” “Four-Colored Quartet,” etc. Having grown up in a calligraphy family, it seemed effortlessly natural for Keng to apply and highlight ink-wash elements in his creative developments. The fact that the transformation took place during the pandemic makes it particularly meaningful.

The classic and modern features in Keng’s early works mostly originated from inspirations he had during his study in Italy. The colors, styles, and quality of those mosaic-like tiles serve as a mix of history and contemporary aesthetics—not only do they make up the walls and floors of ancient Italian cities, but are also used to decorate modern window displays. Shifting the mood from a garden explorer, Keng turned to introspection, comprehension, and self-enhancement during the pandemic, making classical ink-wash calligraphy more relatable while converting bright, transparent modernity into inconspicuous and implicit temperaments. Through time and aging, the 2015 solo exhibition, So Far So Close, has revealed the artist’s imagery of “as close as worlds apart.” Meanwhile, the 2024 exhibition, After That, may have also implied the artist’s reflections on “Before Then.”

在新世代的抽象畫家中，耿皓剛是表現頗為傑出的一位，生長在藝術世家，結合父親建築師的理性建構，和母親的水墨抒情，耿晧剛在留學義大利的1990年代末期，和新世紀初期，已逐漸顯露個人在藝術創作上的獨特面貌：一種對外在世界好奇、探索，不斷吸納、映現、拼貼，甚至帶著強烈的、屬於年輕世代的時尚色彩。

1969年出生的耿晧剛，已經是屬於玩著機器戰警、打著電動玩具長大的一代；在東海大學美術系畢業之後，便前往歐洲古老卻也時尚的城市米蘭，進入布雷拉藝術學院就讀，主修繪畫與裝置，指導教授Prof．Diego Esposito更是一位強調觀念與思考的前衛藝術家。這樣的背景，讓初至異國的這位東方少年，學會了用心眼去觀看、認識、掌握、紀錄那個既古老又時尚的歷史名城；那曾經是歐洲文藝復興的故鄉，也是達文西、米開朗基羅這些偉大的曠世奇才生活、創作的地方……。

然而相對於那些古老而久遠的歷史，眼前櫥窗的擺置、琳琅滿目的商品色彩，乃至古老牆面馬賽克的幾何紋飾和質感，以及街道石塊排列的規律，在在更吸引了這位年輕人的眼睛和心靈；而這些視覺的元素，也自然而然地融入他的創作之中，成為畫面的一部份。

在西方風景畫的傳統中，大自然地景的高低起伏、尺度變化，曾是尼德蘭地區這些所謂的「低地國家」畫家最早關心、記錄的對象，因此，風景畫被稱作「Landscape」。等到近代，尤其是印象派的興起，市民階級的抬頭，工業社會初期正在形成的都市景觀，成為藝術家關懷的新課題，於是相對於最初的大自然之被稱為「第一自然」，城市景觀則成「第二自然」。

到了工業文明的極度成熟，人工的製造物、商品、印刷品、電腦圖像……等，又取代了城市景觀的街道、建築，乃有了「第三自然」的成立。

對於像耿晧剛這些玩著機器戰警與電動玩具長大的新一世代而言，「第三自然」顯然是他們生活中更親切、熟悉，足以互動、合一的內涵與課題。

耿晧剛對這些「第三自然」視覺美感的吸收與運用，初期並不納入完全理性的掌握或歸納，也不抒發成一種全然感性的情緒或發洩；毋寧說，他更像是一個行吟的詩人，以開敞、流動、適意的心靈，讓這些色彩、形式，乃至衝突、拉拒的語彙，依他們自有的溫度、個性，同時呈現在畫面之中。耿晧剛初抵米蘭的1998至2000年間，就有一批以有色墨水形成的紙上作品，往往以極簡拙的幾筆，捕捉某些湧現的靈感或意象，有時是一些反覆的平行線，有時是一些重疊的符號、筆劃，有時則是人體的勾勒……。總之，這些早期的紙上手稿，作為日後創作的參考，卻也記錄了某些閃現的靈光，基本上，反而更透露了藝術家在創作前期的思維痕跡與焦點。

而在壓克力彩的作品中，我們也可以窺見耿晧剛在色彩重疊上所投注的用心，往往看似平面的色塊中，其中有一些壓印、重疊的肌理，在淡亮的色彩底層，其實掩埋著多重層疊的暗沈色彩；這種猶如複寫紙般的層疊效果，既增加了畫面的肌理質感，也呈顯了歷史記憶的層累與呼喚。

此外，色彩也擔負著溫度傳達的任務，像幾件標題為〈熱帶〉(2012)，或〈24度〉的作品，都可以看見藝術家對環境的敏感與掌握。有時，你會窺見某個建築古老的馬賽克拼貼圖案；有時，你會發現猶如方格玻璃櫥窗後繽紛的色彩；甚至，有些時候，畫面中就直接出現米奇、米妮、海綿寶寶，和超人、蝙蝠俠等等的卡通圖案；在2013年的一批作品中，則在幾何的圖樣中，出現斑馬、豹等動物的皮毛，耿晧剛的作品，充分反映一個多所關懷、凡事入心、凡物入眼的熱情藝術家的生命本質。

耿晧剛創作取材的範圍，顯然極廣，有時來自城市的壁面、櫥窗、市招、路石…...，有時來自居室空間的小物件，如：信封、摺紙……等。幾件取名〈喬依斯(Joyce)〉(2012-2015)，或〈梯〉(2014)、〈迷彩〉(2014)的作品，也顯示藝術家生活的片斷與接觸或閱讀的內容。

作為一位成功的藝術家，關鍵還不在對外在世界的感悟與捕捉，而是在如何將這些事事物物，安置、集中在一個有限的畫面中，而顯現出一定的意義或美感。明顯地，耿晧剛的成功，正在將這些原本獨立、片斷的物象或語彙，從自身的語彙脈絡中抽離出來，又併置、拼貼到另一個脈絡或文本中，形成新的意義或語境，增加了觀眾觀看、理解的空間，甚至不同的詮釋或感動；這樣的手法，其實就和裝置藝術的構成，有著相當雷同、流通之處。

2015年的〈導航〉顯然是一個新的開端。這件畫在畫板上的作品，一反之前較具指事性或象徵性的半圖像構成，是採用完全平行與垂直的畫面構成；左半約近全幅三分之二寬幅的部份，色彩明度較低，從粉紅、灰黃、黑、藍、墨綠到紫藍，而右半約僅三分之一寬幅的部份，則作較小的平行分割，接近中間的幾個色塊，如純白、灰、橘紅等，明度較高（尤其由中間的一塊紫藍及左側的大塊黑色所襯托），成為全幅視覺的焦點，猶如具有〈導航〉的作用，一如在黑暗海面上，引領船隻航行的燈光。

從〈導航〉出發，2016年即有一批名為《前進》系列的作品，這批畫在畫布上的作品，尺幅略小於2015年的〈導航〉，但在平行與斜率的畫面分割中，較低沈的色塊，給人一種優雅、內斂的感受。

而就在這種平行與斜率的構成變化中，亦發展出2016年的另一批作品，即：〈抽象-1〉、〈抽象-2〉、〈動力學-1〉、〈動力學-2〉、〈動力學-3〉、〈動力學-4〉，及〈紛-1〉、〈紛-2〉，和〈停泊〉、〈工作天-1〉、〈工作天-2〉、〈階梯〉等。這些作品，在平行與斜率的交織中，因色面大小的變化、因色相搭配的不同，更因彩色與無彩色的巧妙對照，讓畫面產生各種不同的視覺感受與心境風景；其中，尤以《動力學》系列，明度強烈的對比，加上線狀與面狀的斜率變化所產生的空間感，讓人對那些粉紅的色線特色留下深刻印象。

在2016年的這批作品中，〈動力學-4〉及〈階梯〉所構成的曲面空間變化，顯然為2017年的發展，作出了預告，如：〈成長〉、〈眼中的世界-1〉、〈眼中的世界-2〉，及〈登頂〉等，這是藝術家現階段最新的面貌，也是從平面與斜率發展的幾何性構成，最為成熟的發展；當中可以看到一些色面與短色線較複雜的變化。

幾何抽象最大的挑戰，即在如何維持藝術創作的思維特性，不致落入純粹設計的陷阱。耿晧剛的這批新作，明顯地發揮了他擅長的色彩掌握與畫面空間的深度感。那些交錯的平行線與具斜率的規律變化，正是建築物在陽光投影下最鮮明的印象呈現，但藝術家的色彩賦予，更塑造了濃厚的音樂性與空間感。

在2015到2017年的新作中，也可以發現幾件刻意加入書寫線條的作品，如：2015年的〈桃花〉、〈檸檬樹〉、〈海岸線〉、〈日光浴〉，2016年的〈是雲-1〉、〈是雲-2〉，以及2017年的〈工作天-2〉等，顯然藝術家在這個講究平行與斜率的主軸下，另一可能的嘗試。

作為新生代的抽象畫家，耿晧剛以強勁的創造力、辛勤的耕耘，再度向藝壇證明他的存在與努力，值得肯定、也值得期待。

Of the abstract painters in the new generation, Keng Hao-Kang, born in a family of artists, is one of the best who combines the rational constructivism of his father and the lyric style of his mother. When Keng studied abroad in Italy between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, he had gradually revealed his personal unique taste of art creation whose works show strong and young colors of the new generation to express the curiosity towards the world to explore, absorb, reflect, and collage.

Born in 1969, Keng grew up with robot police toys and video games. After he graduated from the department of fine arts in Tunghai University, he left for Milan, an ancient and fashionable city in Europe, and studied in the Art Academy of Brera with is major in painting and installation art. His thesis advisor, Prof. Diego Esposito, is an avant-garde artist, who taught him to observe, understand, explore and record the historical city through his mind because Milan used to be the origin place of the European Renaissance and also the place where Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo lived and created the master pieces.

However, compared to the ancient history of the city, the deployment of store windows, various colorful products, geometric patterns and textures of ancient mosaic walls, and the arrangement pattern of paving stones were more attractive to him. And these visual elements have naturally blended into his art pieces, forming a part of the paintings.

In traditional western landscape paintings, the rolling hills used to the theme for the painting artists in low-lying countries such as the Netherlands, and this is also the reason why the landscape paintings are named as “landscape.” Then, with the rise of impressionism and citizen class, the urban landscape forming in the beginning of the industrial society had become the new topic concerned by the artists. Therefore, the Mother Nature is called “the First Nature,” and the urban landscape is called “the Second Nature.”

When the industrial civilization became mature, the man-made objects, products, printings, digital images…etc. have replaced the streets and buildings of urban landscape, forming “the Third Nature.”

Furthermore, for the new generation like Keng who played robot police toys and video games in their childhood, “the Third Nature” is obviously a closed, familiar, interactive and integrated theme in their lives.

In the beginning, Keng neither fully grasped nor concluded the ways to absorb and use the visual aesthetics of the Third Nature, nor he expressed the entire emotions. It is rather to describe him as a troubadour who presented colors, formats and words with open, flowing and enjoyable minds of their own warmth and personality on the paintings. When he first arrived in Milan during 1998-2000, he made some colorful ink paintings that used simple strokes to capture the ideas or images emerged suddenly, or some repetitive parallel lines, overlapping symbols and strokes, and outlines of human figures… These early manuscripts were served as reference for his creation in a later date but also recorded his ideas; moreover, these also revealed his thinking trace and focus in his early creation stage.

We can see his efforts on his acrylic paintings, where he overlapped colors to create imprinted texture of color lumps. He also painted light bright color on the lower layer, where actually covered multiple layers of dark colors. This articulating-paper effect not only increases the texture of the paintings, but also presents the layers and echo of history and memories.

In addition, colors also bear the mission to express warmth. As in some of his art pieces, such as “Tropical” (2014) and “24 Degrees,” we can see his sensitivity and management on the environment. Of which, sometimes you see the ancient mosaic patters of buildings, colorful square glass windows, and even cartoon figures like Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Sponge Bob, Superman, and Bat Man, while there are animal furs like zebras and leopards appeared in the geometric patterns in his art pieces in 2013 to fully reflect the nature of an enthusiastic artist who cares a lot of everything.

Obviously, Keng is inspired by various topics from both cities such as walls, shop windows, sign-boards, and paving stones and living objects such as envelopes and papers. Some of the named pieces like “Joyce” (2012-2015), “Stairs” (2014), “Camouflage” (2014) also showed the fragment that the artist’s life.

To be a successful artist, the key is to arrange and deploy these things and objects in a limited frame to present certain meanings or aesthetics, instead of the sentiment and capture of the external world. It is very obvious that the success of Keng is that he detaches the independent fragments and terms from his language context and collages and combines with another context to form new meanings and contexts, creating a space for audience’s viewing and understanding and even different interpretation. This kind of method is very similar to the construction of installation art.

The art piece “Navigation” in 2015 is a new beginning which is very different from the self-explanatory or symbolic half-image construction. The painting is comprised of completely horizontal and vertical images with the two-thirds of the left half painting by lower brightness including pink, greyish yellow, black, blue, blackish green, and purplish blue and with one-third of the right half separating by smaller parallel cutting and some high brightness blocks near the middle including pure white, grey, and citrus red (especially setting by one purplish blue in the middle and a big black block on the left side), serving as the visual focus of the full frame painting. The “Navigation” effect is like a spot light that navigates boats on the black sea.

Since “Navigation,” he further created a series of art pieces named “Moving Forward” in 2016. Although the size of “Moving Forward” is comparatively small compared to “Navigation” (2015), the parallel and slop splits of dark color blocks bring people elegant and introverted feelings.

Through the changes in parallel and slope construction, he developed another series of “Abstract 1,” “Abstract 2,” “Dynamics 1,” “Dynamics 2,” “Dynamics 3,” “Dynamics 4,” “Tangled 1,” “Tangled 2,” “Anchoring,” “Working Day 1,” “Working Day 2,” and “Stairs.” By parallel and slope intertwining, the changes in color field size with different color hue, the genius comparison between colors and achromatic colors produce various visual and spiritual feelings. Of which, the series of “Dynamics” have a strong comparison in brightness with the space sense created by linear and plane slope changes, leaving strong impression for the viewers on the pink lines.

The curved spatial changes constructed in “Dynamics 4” and “Stairs” in 2016 are served as the trailer for the development in 2017, including “Growth,” “The World in the Eyes 1,” “The World in the Eyes 2” and “Reaching the Summit.” These art pieces show a new appearance of the artist and they are also the most mature development of the geometric construction of parallel and slope development as seen from the comparatively complicated changes in color fields and short color lines.

The most challenging geometric challenge is to maintain the thinking characteristics of art creation without trapping by pure designing. The new series by Keng have expressed his ability to manage colors and spatial depth perception. The crossing parallel lines and regular slope changes is the most expressive presentation of buildings under the sun shining; however, the color painted by the artist gave the art pieces more musical and spatial senses.

We can also observed the calligraphy lines that the artist intentionally added into the art pieces from 2015 to 2017, including “Peach Blossoms” (2015), “Lemon Tree” (2015), “Coastline” (2015), “Sunbathing” (2015), “It is Cloud 1” (2016), “It is Cloud 2” (2016), and “Working Day 2.” These art pieces are another possible trial for the artist under his chief focus on parallel and slope.

As the abstract artist of the new generation, Keng uses his strong creativity and diligence to prove his existence and efforts to the art field, which is worthy of recognition and expectation.

Ho Kan (1932- ), who migrated to Milan in 1964, and Keng Hao-Kang (1969- ), who went to study abroad in Milan at Brera Academy in 1997, both create abstract paintings with colored surfaces and symbols. However, while similar, their works manifest their own ways of thinking and presentation that differ between the two generations. If we were to say that Ho’s works are an exploration of the tranquil, musical, and inner world, then Keng, who is 37 years younger, features works that are the reflection and collage of a dynamic, visual, and external world.

The external world has always been something that artists sing about, discover, and project. Yet, for the generation of artists brought up in the information age, the external world no longer refers to the nature created by God, nor is it the second nature humans created after the industrial revolution – the city. Instead, it refers to various prevalent media, prints, fashion, and messages in the information age. Perhaps it can be called “the third nature.” After Ho lived in Milan, Italy for five years, Keng was born in Taiwan as part of another generation. Having grown up in an era of Robocop and video games, after Keng graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Tunghai University, Keng set off to study abroad in Milan. This ancient city possesses the most historic buildings and streets as well as the most fashionable display windows and visual information. For this young man from Taiwan, this city seemed to be filled with curiosity and imagination. The colors of the display windows, the texture of the wall mosaics, and the grain of the stone streets all seemed to integrate the ages of local history and the young beauty of fashion. This juxtaposition and contrast has become the basic structure and vocabulary for this artist’s creations.

However, Keng’s assimilation and application of this visual beauty does not include a rational grasp or induction. Nor does Keng express it as a sentimental emotion or venting. On the contrary, with an open, flowing, and agreeable soul, he is more of a poet that positions colors and forms, as well as the conflicting and clashing vocabulary, according to their own temperatures and personalities among the pictures. Sometimes, you will get a glimpse of an ancient mosaic collage pattern in a building. Sometimes, you will discover vibrant colors behind a square glass display window. And sometimes, you will even see pictures filled with Mickey, Minnie, SpongeBob, Superman, Batman, and other cartoon characters. In his works of 2013, prints of zebras, leopards, and other animal skins are present in the geometric patterns. Keng’s works are filled with the essence of life that reflects a passionate artist full of care, heart, and vision.

As a successful artist, the key does not lie in the perception and acquisition of the external world, but how to place and concentrate these things in a limited screen and show a certain meaning or beauty. Evidently, Keng’s success lies in pulling out these originally independent, fragmented images or vocabulary from their own vocabulary context and positioning and piecing them in another context or text, forming new meaning or context. This adds space for viewers to watch and appreciate, even presenting different interpretations or sentiments. This technique is actually very similar to the composition of installation art.

It is worth noting that when Keng first came to study at Brera Academy, he majored in Painting and Installation. Professor Diego Esposito, who Keng followed, emphasized the thinking of conceptual art. Between 1998 and 2000, the first few years that Keng lived in Milan, there was a group of works by Keng that contained paper works formed from colored ink, which often used a few minimalist strokes to capture some emerging inspiration or meaning. Sometimes there were repeated parallel lines, sometimes there were overlapping symbols or brushstrokes, and sometimes there were outlines of human bodies… In short, these early paper sketches served as a reference for his future works while recording flashes of the soul. Basically, those sketches reveal the trace and focus of the artist’s early period.

In the acrylic works, we can also get a glimpse of the work that Keng puts in his overlapping colors. The seemingly flat color blocks actually contain imprinted and overlapping texture. The bright underlying color layers actually conceal multiple layers of dark colors. This carbon paper-like cascading effect increases the texture of the picture while also manifesting the accumulation and praise of historical memories.

In addition, colors are also charged with the task of conveying temperature. Like in the works titled Tropical (2012) or 24 Degrees, one can see the artist’s sensitivity towards and grasp of the environment.

The range of Keng’s materials is apparently very wide. In addition to city walls, windows, stores, and tones from the road, Keng also uses small objects from his house, such as envelopes, origami, and so on. The works named Joyce (2012-2015), Ladder (2014), and Camouflage (2014) also express fragments and contents from the artist’s life.

Interpreting Keng’s works in 2015, the artist is gradually bidding farewell to the “fashionable ancient city” of Milan that he was once fascinated with and attached to. Keng has returned to seizing samples from real life.

Differing from Ho, his predecessor who lived in seclusion in the alleys of Milan and listened to erhu classical music, Keng produced art that was always close his surrounding environment in real life. After returning to Taiwan, Keng once engaged in modern brand management. This seemed to enhance his sensitivity towards how to grasp the interaction between his works and viewers. Flowing between real objects and the composition of abstract pictures, Keng moves between the boundaries of narrative, poetry, and pure colors, providing his viewers with an attitude of life and emotions of observation.

相對於1964年前往米蘭、長居米蘭的霍剛(1932-)，1997年前往米蘭布雷拉藝術學院留學的耿晧剛(1969-)，同樣以帶有色面及符號的抽象繪畫，卻呈顯了兩個世代、不同面向的思考與呈現。如果說霍剛的作品是一種寧靜的、音樂性的、內在世界的探索，年輕整整37歲的耿晧剛，他的創作則是變動的、視覺的、外在世界的映現與拼貼。

外在世界，歷來是藝術家歌詠、發現、投射的對象，但對資訊化時代的新一代藝術家而言，外在世界不再是指上帝創造的大自然，也不是工業革命後人類建構的第二自然──城市，而是資訊泛濫之後的各種媒體、印刷，與時尚、訊息……，或可稱之為「第三自然」。耿晧剛，一個霍剛前往義大利米蘭五年之後，才在台灣出生的另一個世代的年輕人，玩著機器戰警長大、打著電動玩具長大的一代，在東海大學美術系畢業之後，便前往米蘭留學。這個古老的城市，有最具歷史價值的建築、街道，也有最時尚的櫥窗與視覺資訊，對這個來自台灣的年輕人而言，似乎充滿了好奇與想像，從櫥窗擺置的色彩，到牆壁馬賽克的質感，乃至街道石塊的紋理，在在地交融著歷史的歲月痕跡與時尚的新鮮美感，這種併置與對比，也就成了藝術家創作的基本結構與語彙。

不過，耿晧剛對這些視覺美感的吸納與運用，並不納入一種理性的掌握或歸納，也不抒發成一種感性的情緒或發洩；毋寧說，他更像是一個行吟的詩人，以開敞、流動、適意的心靈，讓這些色彩、形式，乃至衝突、拉拒的語彙，依他們自有的溫度、個性，同時呈現在畫面之中；有時，你會窺見某個建築古老的馬賽克拼貼圖案；有時，你會發現猶如方格玻璃櫥窗後繽紛的色彩；甚至，有些時候，畫面中就直接出現米奇、米妮、海綿寶寶，和超人、蝙蝠俠等等的卡通圖案；而在2013年的一批作品中，則在幾何的圖樣中，出現斑馬、豹等動物的皮毛，耿晧剛的作品，充分反映一個多所關懷、凡事入心、凡物入眼的熱情藝術家的生命本質。

作為一位成功的藝術家，關鍵還不在對外在世界的感悟與捕捉，而是在如何將這些事事物物，安置、集中在一個有限的畫面中，而顯現出一定的意義或美感。明顯地，耿晧剛的成功，正在將這些原本獨立、片斷的物象或語彙，從自身的語彙脈絡中抽離出來，又併置、拼貼到另一個脈絡或文本中，形成新的意義或語境，增加了觀眾觀看、理解的空間，甚至不同的詮釋或感動；這樣的手法，其實就和裝置藝術的構成，有著相當雷同、流通之處。

值得注意的一點，就是耿晧剛留學米蘭布雷拉藝術學院時，主修的正是繪畫與裝置，而他所追隨的Diego Esposito教授，更是強調觀念藝術的思考。耿晧剛初抵米蘭的1998至2000年間，就有一批以有色墨水形成的紙上作品，往往以極簡拙的幾筆，捕捉某些湧現的靈感或意象，有時是一些反覆的平行線，有時是一些重疊的符號、筆劃，有時則是人體的勾勒……。總之，這些早期的紙上手稿，作為日後創作的參考，卻也記錄了某些閃現的靈光，基本上，反而更透露了藝術家在創作前期的思維痕跡與焦點。

而在壓克力彩的作品中，我們也可以窺見耿晧剛在色彩重疊上所投注的用心，往往看似平面的色塊中，其中有一些壓印、重疊的肌理，在淡亮的色彩底層，其實掩埋著多重層疊的暗沈色彩；這種猶如複寫紙般的層疊效果，既增加了畫面的肌理質感，也呈顯了歷史記憶的層累與呼喚。

此外，色彩也擔負著溫度傳達的任務，像幾件標題為〈熱帶〉(2012)，或〈24度〉的作品，都可以看見藝術家對環境的敏感與掌握。

耿晧剛創作取材的範圍，顯然極廣，除了來自城市的壁面、櫥窗、市招、路石…...，也來自居室空間的小物件，如：信封、摺紙……等。幾件取名〈喬依斯(Joyce)〉(2012-2015)，或〈梯〉(2014)、〈迷彩〉(2014)的作品，也顯示藝術家生活的片斷與接觸或閱讀的內容。

從耿晧剛2015年的作品判讀，藝術家正在逐漸告別那個曾經令他著迷、依戀的「時尚古城」米蘭，而回歸現實生活的取樣。

不同於那個數十年隱居米蘭深巷、聆聽二胡古樂的前輩畫家霍剛，耿晧剛的藝術，總是貼近現實生活的周遭環境；返台後一度從事時尚品牌經營的背景，似乎也讓他更敏感於如何掌握觀眾與作品間的互動。流動於現實物件與抽象畫面構成間的耿晧剛，在敘事、詠物，與純色域的邊界間游移，提供觀賞者一種生活的態度和觀看的心情。

Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was one of the most popular sex symbols in the entertainment industry in the United States for the 20th century.Since the early 1950s, she had gradually became popular as starred in movies produced by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation . Whether it was a role as being with intense emotion, a love-pursuer that could show in our real life, or a player among ambiguous relationships among political and business celebrities, she always grasped medias' attention from the world.Especially, her scenes of wearing white blowing dress and she being so charming and shy in the movie The Seven Year Itch rooted her classic images deeply in the public; She was thence known as "the most popular star in the world" with a reputation across generations. Monroe's physical characteristics , such as blond hair and beauty mark she deliberately put on, formed up her distinctive personal characteristics.Her common appearances were plumper lips, making flirtatious eyes, squeezing her cleavage, wearing various stylish and making sexy poses. Along with promotions through newspapers, magazines and advertisements, the Marilyn Monroe fever became nationwide.In that period of time, Marilyn Monroe was even highly reputed as the dream girl for men in the world.

Monroe's success indeed relied on the film and television industry in the United States, which became gradually developed since the early twentieth century. Especially during the "golden period" from 1920s to 1950s, there was a pool of excellent movie actors and various types of files and animations that led the directing way of development for global consumer culture. Hollywood movies were also marketed to the world along with the important role the U.S. played in both political and economic worlds.Entertainment consumption aside, it also represented the social values such prosperity freedom, open-mindedness and diversity, which also brought positive energy to form up the "American dream".It transferred the world vision which regarded European's culture as the center, and became the cradle of modern culture.The advertisements with half-naked beauties formed and surrounded Monroe had become a very crucial part for entertainment and publishing cultures of the States during the first half of 20th century, and something that encouraged both men and women's desires to consume.

Pin-up, which refers to poster, newspaper, calendar and other printed products with half-naked beauties on them, was risen from the 1920s in the United States and being popular till the 1960s.The widely handed down posters, suggested the coming era of advertising and marketing at that time.Through publishers' various printing processes and selling them to network, they were massively produced in order to spread to the world, and replaced those movies people could only view in theater, as image materials which could be stored, distributed and privatized. Due to the vast demand at that time, these so-called pin-up artists (poster artists) had become the creator and upstream suppliers in this consumer capitalism culture; they were offering visual and cultural products which contained erotic pleasures, could serve the general public and was defined between culture items and commodities.The blurry boundaries between cultural items and commodities symbolized the purpose pop art had been advocating since the 20th century.That is, the overall effect of"decorating the consumer goods, neon advertisements, highways, and the bright side of American life" (Martin Damus, Funktionen der Bildenden Kunst im Spätkapitalismus, 1972) had successfully captured everything of modern citizens' life, including visual and aesthetic experiences.

The scopes and references of cultural items continuously expanded and lost its boundaries, and that was due to the expanded perspective of life demands and the increased purchasing power. And the tendency of privatization brought by mass production, cheap prices in the same time strengthened the role, position, entertaining level, popularization while removed the classification of social levels and finally became the positive values. The sociologist Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) who was leading the Frankfurt School of critical theory, once said: "Today what can be called real works are those no longer called “works”. ("Philosophy of Modern Music," 1972)The modern aesthetics started gradually questioning the meaning of "work" or whether we really need "work", as it believed creation should not be split away from life practice.The founder of Dadaism, Marcel Duchamp's use of ready-made or objet trouvé which were vast produced and showed in our life for making vanguard creations was considered to “replace” those works and thereby provoke art itself which was also a part of social system. (Peter Bürger, Theorie der Avantgarde, 1974)However, under the influence of removing classes, ideology and social system, ready-made or objet trouvé had also thus become the “works” which contained autonomous values.They were even placed in art galleries, and no longer with their original anti-art characteristics.(as above)

In this exhibition, Keng Hao-kang embodied the bilateral spirit and approach of Dadaism and pop art.Meanwhile his new work combined elements such as copy & original work, commodity & pure art, West & East, realism and abstraction – which seemed to be contradictory yet deeply connected to dialogues, the Pin-up March series.The overall effect is relaxing, lively, effortless, provocative, and with some kind of ambiguous.On the one hand, he used giclee to amplify a calendar with American painter of pin-up girls, Gil Elvgren's (1914-1980) work on it, to create visual effects similar to the original work (huge oil painting).It emphasized the powerful features of modern printing technology to make picutres as realistic as possible and obscured the boundaries between original works and copies. On the other hand, he put works of "abstract ink" or "calligraphy class" completed based on the ideas of American action art and abstract expressionism at one side, and through the strange but humorous comparison and apposition, expressed by the random combinations of ink blocks, lines, stream and spray to make it across linguistic levels and directly dedicate it to visual response.Sometimes they danced with the characters in painting, sometimes they simulated their poses and styles. It created a relation of close dialogue which appeared to be happening and a wherever existing sense of flowing like subconsciousness.

The beauties created by Gil Elvgren, have good looking, nice physical shape, scantily clad, busty, and mostly of them are always imitating Monroe's dresses and classic poses. For example, the slim blonde girl in Aiming High, not only her face and hair are so similar, her blown white skirt, slightly exposed underpants, and the way she crossed her legs to stand are exactly the same as the scene pictures of The Seven Year Itch. The ladies in Inside Story are holding X-ray film and just like the other copies of Monroe's breast X-ray film pictured in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital.In short, these nearly-perfect girls can simply be Monroe's stunt women. Keng Hao-kang used these existing calendars with beauties which were widely spread before the 20th century, matched with ink paintings completed by abstraction in the near age to make it a possible rebirth scenario of history. The way he apposed and observed different genres of American art and mutually penetrate works with Oriental ink painting, calligraphy mediums made the output across barriers of materials, times, geographic conditions and cultures.Moreover, it successfully created a kind of amazing result were “jointly performed” by author (Gil Elvgren) and the audiences (Keng Hao-kang) and changed the convention of art history system. At the same time, through the wonder once existed in film & television industry that Monroe had symbolized, it created a new mechanisms of dialogue in order to memorize such intensive, extraordinary era of autumn, and sparkle the collective memory which people baptized in the generations of elite and popular cultures.

瑪麗蓮‧夢露(Marilyn Monroe，1926-1962)，可謂二十世紀美國影藝界聲名最著的性感女神之一，從1950年代開始，她因為主演二十世紀福斯公司的電影而逐漸走紅。不論是大螢幕的激情角色，抑或是現實生活中的情愛追逐，或與政商名人的曖昧關係等，都成為全球媒體關注的焦點，尤其是《七年之癢》中白裙飛揚、嫵媚嬌羞的鏡頭，更為其建立不朽經典形象，其後更被譽為「世界最受歡迎的巨星」而傳誦千里。夢露的外型特徵，如滿頭金髮及刻意點上的美人痣，為其塑造鮮明的個人特徵，而螢幕常見的造型如嘟嘴、瞇眼、擠乳溝、各種時尚穿著及性感姿勢，隨著報刊、雜誌及廣告的宣揚流傳，夢露形象傳遍大街小巷，一時洛陽紙貴，全球男性「夢中情人」的美稱更不脛而走。

夢露的成功，有賴於美國自二十世紀初期以來逐漸發展成熟的影視工業，尤其是在1920年代至1950年代間的「黃金時期」，卓越的電影明星輩出，各種類型的電影及動畫，引領著全球文化消費的發展動向。好萊塢電影，隨著美國在戰後政經世界所扮演的重要角色而行銷全球，在娛樂消費之外，代表富庶、繁榮、自由、開放及多元化的社會價值，亦成功地為「美國夢」的塑造帶來助力，移轉過去以歐洲文化為中心的世界觀，成為現代文化的搖籃。以夢露為中心所形塑的半裸時尚美女廣告，已成為二十世紀上半葉美國影視娛樂事業及出版文化中極具代表性的一環，同時激勵著男性與女性的消費慾望。

Pin-up，亦即印有半裸美女的海報、報章、月曆等印刷品，興起於1920年代的美國，並流行至1960年代左右。這些流通廣泛的宣傳畫，代表廣告行銷時代的來臨，出版商透過各種形式的印刷手法及販售網絡，大量製造藉以傳遍全球，替代稍縱即逝的電影，成為可供保存、流通及私有化的影像材料。由於市場的大量需求，所謂的Pin-up Artist (宣傳畫藝術家)，已成為此種資本主義消費文化的創造者與上游供應者，提供一種帶有情色愉悅、以服務大眾為目的、介於藝術品與商品之間的視覺文化產品。藝術品與商品界線的模糊，象徵二十世紀以來普普藝術所提倡的宗旨，亦即「將消費商品、霓虹廣告、高速公路，以及把美國式生活光明的一面美學化」(Martin Damus，《造型藝術在後資本主義裏的功能》Funktionen der Bildenden Kunst im Spätkapitalismus，1972)的整體性效應，成功俘虜了現代人及其生活全部，包含視覺美感經驗。

藝術品的範疇及指涉的不斷擴大與邊界喪失，來自於生活所需層面的擴大及消費能力的提升，而大量製造、價格低廉所帶來的私有化傾向，則同時強化了視覺文化產品在人類社會中的角色及地位，娛樂性、普及性以及去除階級分化等特質遂成為正面價值。德國法蘭克福學派社會學家阿多諾(Theodor Adorno，1903-1969)曾言：「今天唯一真正可算是作品的，是那些不再是作品的東西」(《現代音樂的哲學》，1972)，現代美學已逐漸質疑何謂「作品」或是否需要「作品」的問題，認為創作活動不應與生活實踐割裂。達達主義創始者杜象(Marcel Duchamp，1887-1968)，利用大量製造的現代日常生活中的現成物(ready-made)或尋獲物(objet trouvé)進行前衛創作的行為，被認為是用來「取代」作品，並藉以挑釁長久以來作為社會體制的藝術本身。(Peter Bürger，《前衛藝術理論》Theorie der Avantgarde，1974)而在去除階級、意識形態及社會體制規範等觀念的影響下，現成物及尋獲物已然成為具有自主性價值的「作品」，甚至置身於美術館中成為經典，不再具備原有的反藝術特質。(同上)

在本次展覽中，耿晧剛體現了上述達達主義與普普藝術的雙向精神與手法，同時結合了複製與自創、商品與純藝術、西方與東方、寫實與抽象—看似矛盾卻深具對話關係—的新作「三月，小甜心」系列，整體效果顯得輕鬆、活潑、揮灑自如、挑逗，與某種曖昧不明。他一方面利用現成物數位微噴的方法，將美國插畫大師Gil Elvgren(1914-1980)作品的小型月曆圖像進行放大，營造有如原作(巨幅油畫)般的視覺效果，強調現代科技印刷的強大擬真功能，模糊了原作與複製品的界線；另一方面，再將有如以美國行動藝術、抽象表現主義等手法完成的「抽象水墨」或「類書法」，配置一側，透過詭異而詼諧的比對、並置手法，藉由墨塊、墨線或滴流、噴灑的隨機組合，產生跨越語言溝通層次而直接訴諸視覺反應，時而隨畫中人物舞動，時而模擬其姿態造型，創造出宛若正在談心般的親密對話關係，以及潛意識般無所不在的流動感。

由Gil Elvgren所創作的美女，外型姣好、體態撩人、穿著清涼、胸部豐滿，多半模仿夢露的裝扮及經典姿勢，例如〈瞄準〉中的金髮纖腰女郎，不僅臉型髮式相近，白裙飛揚、微露底褲及雙腿交叉的站姿更與《七年之癢》劇照如出一轍；〈玄機〉中的女郎手持X光片，彷彿夢露攝於黎巴嫩雪松醫院的胸部X光片翻版，簡言之，這些幾近完美的女郎們，簡直就是夢露的分身。耿晧剛利用這些二十世紀前中期廣為流傳的現成月曆美女圖像，搭配以時代接近的抽象表現藝術手法所完成的水墨作品，彷彿進行一場歷史重生的劇碼，將不同的美國藝術流派共陳並觀，加上東方水墨、書法媒材的相互穿透，跨越媒材、時間、地理及文化的隔閡，成功塑造出一種作者(Gil Elvgren)與觀眾(耿晧剛)「共演」的奇妙結果，改變了藝術史體制的常規。同時，透過夢露所象徵的影視奇觀，創造全新的對話機制，藉以懷念那個風起雲湧、百家爭鳴的不凡年代，並勾起曾經同時歷經菁英與大眾文化洗禮的那一代人的集體記憶。

People who are familiar with the Western culture would know that Italy is not only the cradle of art that has witnessed the birth of the three Renaissance masters, its well-maintained historic towns, monastery architecture, as well as heritage sites and relics all reflect the creative past that has witnessed the height of the material and spiritual civilization, rendering it the everlasting model in Western art history. Meanwhile, in terms of fashion, tourism, leisure activity, music, drama, and cuisine, the country’s innovative spirit has yielded diverse and abundant fruits, making it the equivalent of the origin of Western modern culture. As for foreigners that have travelled to Italy, no matter their identities, their first impression would almost always be the cityscape permeated with a humanistic air. The cityscape could also be listed as one of the major reasons that has facilitated the formation of collective memory of cities in human history. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud once described his experience of wandering in Genova.



The historic cities in Europe usually have meandering alleys and lanes, and the randomly strewn streets normally radiate outwards from a fountain piazza that is the city’s center. Wandering in such space encompassing simultaneously the historical past and the modern life is like experiencing a beguiling, surreal journey, a complex experience of body and mind that is adventurous, fear-inciting, novelty-seeking, and voyeuristic.

This surreal feeling comes from the contradiction that one feels unfamiliar with the surrounding environment but hopes to explore it. Through wandering and taking repetitious routes, one is able to form a unique connection between one’s self and the foreign city. The “uncanny” experience described by Freud actually reflects what is common to a foreigner’s wandering, meaning lacking the sense of direction and the singular and random choosing of routes, which is conflicting yet filled with surprising discoveries. However, the interesting thing is such a dreamlike travel activity could shape the collective identity, public memory, place identification and even cityscape aesthetics through the accumulation of experience, and becomes the motivation to continuously visit the place. Speaking from such an experience, if the studying years in the fashion capital, Milan, have formed the visual coordination of Keng Hao-Kang’s contemporary artistic creation, the profound history and constant rejuvenation of geography and cultural landscape of Italy and Western Europe are undoubtedly a large travel map that includes Keng’s position, outlining his in-depth exploration of the core of the European culture.

In recent years, through reconstructing and reinforcing the geometric-shaped visual symbols in his mixed media works, Keng has continuously refined this unique cultural experience accumulated during his time of living in Italy. All kinds of geometric shapes formed by blocks in faded colors as if worn off through time simultaneously remind the audience of the stone walls of buildings in the Italian old cities as well as the ground tiles of the piazzas and streets along with their colorful, motely business signs. They are abstract but brimming with private memories of the artist’s life abroad. This element of cityscape, which is rendered extremely symbolic, geometric and textual specific to certain time and space, has become the medium that connects the city, the architecture (living space) and the artistic creation of abstract forms, unifying them into one and emitting a feeling of warmth and a personalized sense of place amidst the construction of rational order.

The intentional abrasions on the color blocks not only symbolize the traces of time and life, but also reflect the close connection between the person and the city. In addition, they accentuate a public position that transcends the boundaries of race, gender and linguistic experience, allowing the residents as well as the foreign wanderers to become the subject of the city and are equal in appreciating the modern cultural landscape and visual experience during consumption activities. The geometric shapes and combination of color blocks that are intentionally transformed into symbols and texts, or the three-dimensional forms of three-way junctions that are reminiscent of the molds in architectural structures, whether they are employed to symbolize the old districts of the city or the new areas and streets, they all represent the fundamental elements in Keng’s contemporary artworks. Various combinations of images constructed with all kinds of elements, regardless of them being symmetrical, contrasting or opposing, have created dialogues that are completely different, indicating that the artist has achieved some kind of a compromised balance with the environment.

In these works, the boundary between the three-dimensional and the two-dimensional is simultaneously blurred yet co-dependent. The spatial must be interpreted from a temporal aspect, while all concrete cultural symbols could be restored back to abstract geometric forms. Such seemingly contradictory yet reasonable way of expression has reflected Keng’s re-examination of the dichotomy in different forms deliberately fashioned by mankind, including the colorful and the achromatic, the Western and the Eastern, the classical and the modern, the strong and the soft, the form and the formless, the masculine and the feminine, the conditioned and the passionate, the unblemished and the abraded, the harmonious and the conflicting, the just and the evil, the departing or the returning, the dead or the rejuvenating. No matter it is a radical opposition or a peaceful dialogue, in the process of examination and through means of juxtaposition, Keng attempts to explore the logic of reality that seems absurd yet omnipresent in the travelling as well as in the process of wandering. Such process exactly reflects Keng’s crossing self-mapping towards the above-mentioned different forms of reality’s logic after his embracing of the Eastern and Western cultures as well as his immersing in the new and old civilizations, forming a surrealistic traveller’s journal that has documented the reality of life.

對熟悉西方文化的人來說，義大利不僅是造就文藝復興三傑的藝術聖地，其保存完善的歷史古城、寺院建築、古蹟文物，反映兼具物質及精神文明高度的創造軌跡，成為輝耀西方美術史冊的不朽典範；同時，在時尚、觀光、休閒、音樂、戲劇及飲食文化等方面不斷推陳出新的多樣成果，更使其成為西歐現代文化創發之地的代名詞。而對於一個曾經旅行此地的異鄉人而言，不論其身分如何，成為其第一印象的，不外乎是那人文氣息隨處瀰漫的城市景觀，此種景觀更可謂造就其成為人類歷史中少數集體記憶城市的主因。精神分析學家佛洛伊德曾描述其漫遊熱那亞(Genova)的經驗說：



歐洲古城多半具有迂曲環廻的羊腸巷弄，呈輻射狀的錯落街道最終指向位於城鎮中心的噴泉廣場，穿梭於歷史陳蹟與現代生活彼此交織的空間之中，宛如經驗了一場撲朔迷離的超現實之旅，反映其充滿冒險、恐懼、獵奇、窺探等的複雜身心經驗。

此種超現實感，來自於對週遭環境既陌生又渴望的探索矛盾，透過漫遊及不斷的路線重複，自身與異鄉城市之間的獨特連繫始得以完成。佛洛伊德所謂的「怪異」經驗，反映一種異鄉人漫遊行為中常見的無方向感、一次性及隨機選擇式的旅行特徵，既衝突又充滿發現。然而，有趣的是，此種有如深入夢境般的旅行行為，卻得以經過經驗積累，形塑集體身分、公眾記憶、地方認同，甚或是景觀美學，並成為其不斷造訪該地的動因。從此種經驗言之，如果說時尚之都米蘭的多年留學經驗，奠定了耿晧剛當代藝術創作的視覺性座標，那麼，義大利及西歐深厚幽邃及不斷再生的地理、人文景觀，無疑地則是涵蓋其位置所在的一張廣大行旅地圖，提供其深入歐洲文化心臟的探索幅員。

在近年創作中，耿晧剛透過複合媒材作品中不斷重組並強化其視覺性的幾何造型符號，反覆提煉此種來自旅居義國時所累積的特殊文化經驗。由各種歷經時間淘洗所殘留的斑駁色塊組成的幾何造型，彷彿義大利古城建築的石砌牆面、廣場街道的拼圖地磚以及充滿五顏六色的繁華市招，抽象卻滿溢著旅居生活中的私密回憶。此種極度符號化、幾何化且具時空文本性的景觀元素，已成為城市、建築(生活空間)與抽象造形創作之間的媒介，並使其三者融合為一，在理性秩序的堆砌中，包裹著溫馨感性及個人化的地方感。

色塊上刻意被製造的破損，除了象徵時間與生活的刻痕，反映人與城市之間的緊密連結之外，更凸顯了一種跨越種族、性別、語言經驗的公眾性立場，使得住民、異鄉漫遊者同時成為城市的主體，在消費的過程中獲得平等的現代文化景觀與視覺經驗。被刻意符號化、文本化的幾何造型、色塊組合，或有如建築物結構模具般的三叉立體單位，不論藉以代表古城區或新市街，代表耿晧剛當代藝術創作中的基本構件。由各種構件所形成的不同畫面組合，不論是對稱、對比或對立，譜出全然不同的對話關係，象徵作者與環境之間某種妥協式的平衡。

在這些作品中，立體與平面的界限既模糊又相互依存，空間必須以時間的方式被閱讀，所有具象的文化符碼都可以還原成抽象的幾何造型。此種看似矛盾卻合理的呈現方式，反映耿晧剛對種種人為刻意形塑的二元觀念─包括色彩與無彩色、西方與東方、古典或現代、剛硬與柔軟、定型與無定型、陽性與陰性、制約與激情、完好與磨損、和諧與衝突、正義與邪惡、出發或歸來、死亡或再生等關係的重新審視。不論是激進的對立，亦或是和緩的對話關係，在此種審視過程中，他嘗試透過平行共陳的手法，探索在世界各地旅行、漫遊過程中所有看似荒謬卻無所不在的現實邏輯。而此種過程，正反映其接受東西文化、新舊文明的多重洗禮後，對上述種種現實邏輯所進行的一種跨越式自我映射(self-mapping)，並成為記錄其生命真實的一部超現實旅人日誌。

With the progress and convenience of the modern transport network, people have pretty much left their traces everywhere on the map. Travel has become an integral part of people's daily lives. However, the short and similar itineraries are often reduced to just passing glances, making it difficult to gain a profound link with the local culture. The adventure of travelling and the open meaning of understanding the world and others are gradually disappearing. However, the Grand Tour lets people reside in a foreign country for a long period of time. Under constant elutriating, many things become both familiar and unfamiliar. This drifting behavior hidden in the common human gene prompts the perception of body movement and past memories to unconsciously interact, integrating into something that is hard to describe, much like an embryo. After the incubation period of varying lengths of time, the shells break, revealing password-like messages that wait for others to carefully interpret.

This state of artists has becoming increasingly more significant. They dare to, or unconsciously get used to, uncovering the things that stay in a place for too long, letting the years draw circles of ripples that will rise again in a particular space and time. For example, Keng Hao-Kang entered Brera Academy, located in Milan of Italy, in 1995 where he majored in painting and installations. He stayed in that city, also known as the City of Fashion and Design, which was filled with boutique brands from various countries for eight years. This enabled him to observe the bustling crowd of the streets, opening up his thoughts on conceptual art and paving the way for his artistic process after returning to Taiwan.

His So Far So Close solo exhibition, which will be held at Galerie Pierre, can be regarded as his experience of the Grand Tour, as well as a record and evolution of how he let his past memories and the present regenerate an emotional link. Keng has always been interested in how to pick up outdated images that are like occasional buzzing noises in a TV screen as seen by the eyes of others, and give them a new vitality. Through the mutual echoing of planar paintings, installations, and other forms of media, Keng extends the connotations and meanings of objects in different time frames, and constantly pushes them toward the edge of familiarity. Thus, this forms a slightly aloof and endless dialogue amongst the artist, the inner self, and viewers.

In particular, the exhibition also features the works on paper completed during his studies abroad, and can perhaps be regarded as the key that gives the most concrete expression to the core proposition. Although the seemingly casual and graffiti-like drafts lack the detailed arrangement of backgrounds, they record momentary fragments of emotions. As for the rest, the viewers must fill in the many possible plot deductions into the blank spaces. For example, the back of a blue woman seems like a long shot taken by a camera, and much like Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase (No.2), it sketches out a continuous trajectory of a fluorescent human shape in movement. Keng also uses just two different colors to spot color a painting from the middle of the screen, interweaving abstract lines and vivid color points of different shades of ink to form an artwork. This once again reveals a strong fashionable personality, manifesting the daring attempts presently to break through the established framework.

For example, in Red House, the screen is horizontally cut into two sections. The top and bottom sections both contain an independent and corresponding block in the middle, which holds a bright red house. However, along with the random distribution changes of the color patches in the background, the viewers will seemingly and unintentionally generate the same confusion: Is the artist depicting the same house from a different view or distance? Otherwise, what is the meaning of the vertical juxtaposition? At this point, the originally conventional bright colors were no longer just an instrumental medium for spot coloring. Instead, they have transformed into independent objects, forming something that is similar to visual melody and rhythm. Because of the slightly different angles and color usages, it unfolds the circulation of the moon and stars in the night sky, as well as an image much like the captured scene of a kaleidoscope. Sometimes, the pictures form a somewhat humorous comparison to the photos of horses in a single-page black and white magazine. And later, the works even extend beyond the canvas. Like a vine, it climbed to the top of the polishing sandpaper machine and artificial skull manufactured in Makita, Japan. Then, it climbed back down, and with a bit of uncertainty, Keng added the words “quiet” and “immortality” to the objects, respectively. This lets people naturally think of how linguistics change with time. Only in this, it attached the arbitrary variations between the symbols and intentions, In addition to being a reflection of the rapid change of social phenomena, it also serves as the memory traces of the artist is not known to outsiders. These traces patiently meander and transform between different mediums, sometimes compressed and other times expanded, repeatedly testing the viewers’ established perceptions.

For viewers, these works not only serve as a shortcut to the old crossroads garden of the artist, they also lead them closer to an unexpected journey. People do not need to travel to distant lands, nor do they need to listen to the flashy stories to realize the true meaning of “so close and yet so far”. Then, they can begin to ruminate on the fact that they actually possess the kingdom of memories, and that it was just momentarily forgotten.

隨著現代交通網絡的便利與發達，地圖上幾乎再無人跡罕至之處，旅行已然成為人們日常生活中不可或缺的部份。然而短時間均質性的行程安排經常淪為走馬看花，難以真正與當地生活產生深刻的連結。旅行所謂的探險、瞭解世界與他人的開放性意義已日漸淡薄。可如果是駐留異國他鄉多時的少年壯遊，有朝一日終於回到故土，許多人事物總在光陰不斷淘洗之下轉變成既熟悉又陌生的模樣。而此一深藏在人類共同基因的流徙表現，便會使身體移動的感知與過往的記憶不自覺地交互作用，雜揉成某種類似胚胎卻難以形容的狀態，在經過時間長短不一的孵化期後破殼，吐露出密碼一般的訊息，等待旁人得費盡心思來解讀。

如是的狀態在藝術創作者身上展現的往往益發顯著。他們敢於，或者說不自覺地習於去揭開那停留在原地過長時間的事物，讓歲月畫出的一圈圈漣漪在特定的時空再次泛起。像是耿皓剛於1995年起負笈義大利米蘭布雷拉藝術學院，主修繪畫與裝置。長達八年的時間，都在這個各國精品名牌林立、被譽為時尚與設計之都的城市渡過，讓他得以透過觀察街上熙來攘往的人群開啟了個人對於觀念藝術的思考，也為其返台之後的藝術進程埋下了深刻的伏筆。

此次將於臻品藝術中心推出的「遠在咫尺」個展即可視為窺看其少年壯遊之經歷，乃至於他如何讓過往記憶與當下重新產生情感連結的紀錄與演化。對耿皓剛而言，如何撿拾在他人眼裡看來如同電視螢幕裡偶爾會出現的細碎雜訊的過時圖像，並且賦予新的生命力，是他一直深感興趣的創作課題。透過平面繪畫、裝置等多種媒材的彼此呼應，將物件在不同時空挪移的內涵以及意義的延展不斷地向人們所熟悉的邊緣推去，進而形成創作者與自我內在，與觀者之間若即若離、持續擺盪的無止盡對話。

這其中，尤其又以展出的多件留學期間所完成的紙上作品，或許可以視為最能具體展現此次命題核心的關鍵。在看似隨性塗鴉的手稿描繪中，雖然缺乏了背景的詳實安排，卻紀錄了情緒生發收放的霎那片段，餘下則成為觀者得以自行填補眾多可能情節推演的大片留白。像是彷彿採取遠景鏡頭望過去的藍色女子背影，也有類似杜象《下樓梯的女子》一作，勾勒出連續運動軌跡的螢光人形；又或者從只是兩種不同色彩在畫面正中的點染構成，到由濃淡墨色不一的抽象性線條與鮮明色點所交織而成的組合，在在流露出強烈的時尚性格，更預現了如今更加大膽突破既定框架的各種嘗試。

舉例來說，在《紅屋》一件中，畫面被橫切而一分為二，上下兩個既獨立又對應的區塊中間，都矗立了一幢鮮紅屋舍，但隨著背景色塊橫豎分佈的改變，觀者似乎都會不期然地產生相同的困惑：藝術家所描繪的是否係同一間屋子，所差者只在於角度或距離？若果不然，兩者上下並置的意義為何？至此，原本慣用的鮮艷色彩不再只是被藝術家拿來描繪點染的工具性媒材，而是化身為獨立的物件，構成相類的視覺音律與節奏，而由於角度與用色的些微差異，竟迴繞出既像是夜空中星月的流轉，又彷彿萬花筒裡定格擷取的景象；有時，又與拍攝駿馬影像的單頁黑白雜誌形成略帶詼諧意味的巧妙對照，甚至後來還溢出了紙張畫布之外，藤蔓般地攀附到日本牧田製造的拋光砂紙機與人造骷髏頭之上再任意流淌而下，帶著幾分不確定的偶然，並分別加上「沉靜」、「永生」等字眼，讓人不免想起會隨著時間的推移而產生變化的語言學。只是在此，附著於意符與意旨之間的任意變動性，除了是面對社會現象快速變動的反映，更多來自於創作者不為外人所知的記憶痕跡，這些痕跡在他不厭其煩地在不同媒材之間的遊走轉換時而壓縮、時而膨脹，一再考驗著觀者的既定認知。

對觀者而言，這些作品不僅僅是通往藝術家昔日歧路花園的捷徑，或許更接近一次意外的旅程。人們無須遠遊，也不用聽取遊記般華而不實的流水陳述，便能清楚體悟「遠在咫尺、近若天涯」之真義，並且開始反芻自己其實也擁有，只是被我們一時遺忘的記憶國度。

In her essay, Grid, American art critic, Rosalind E. Krauss, discussed the artworks of 20th century artists, such as Mondrian, Kandinsky, Malevich, etc. The reason this particular essay is mentioned here is that its discussion about a “grid” provides a perfect point of entry for this thesis. According to Krauss, “a grid work expresses modernity in two ways - spatially and temporally. The spatial quality refers to the self-regulatory aspects of art. It is flat, geometric, or ordered; anti-natural, anti-imitation, or anti-reality... In terms of a planer configuration, a grid is aligned in a real dimension. By adhering to a comprehensive set of rules in its construction, it is not an imitation but a declaration of aesthetics... Grids assert that the space of an artwork is autonomous and serves a purpose.... In terms of the temporal element, the grid represents modernity. It is the pervading artistic format for ‘our’ century, and did not exist in previous centuries. Modernism was born out of the hard work of the 19th century, breaking away from the prevailing reactionary cycle of the past. With the discovery of the grid, Cubism, de Stijl, Mondrian, and Malevich achieved something that was previously unattainable. In other words, they created art for the present, while everything else belonged to the past.”

From the author’s perspective, Krauss points out a few very important topics. First, she invented the artistic concept of a “grid,” letting us imagine a canvas filled with an invisible grid comprised of rows and columns. However, a “grid” points out the “grid-like” aspects of modern art, while also explaining the characteristics of “abstract” space and modern art. Not only does it associate “abstraction,” but also alludes to discussions about the spatial composition of paintings. In fact, from a temporal perspective, a “grid” also highlights the notion of “this moment.” Krauss’ discussion about the planar space and time elements of a canvas is what Keng’s art attempts to address.

Of course, Krauss’ essay was written in 1978, and therefore, the article’s mention of “our” century refers to the 20th century. However, is “our era” really in the past? Or, is it that “our” era will never become a part of the past, but still exists based on modern conditions? Or, from another perspective, whose era does “our” era refer to? Is it the European artist Krauss mentioned in her essay? Or, is it the perspective of an American one based on geography? Or, does the essay refer to “our” era in present day Taiwan? It is a pity this question was never addressed in Krauss’ essay. Instead, this essay will attempt to answer this very question. The author’s opinion is that the notion of “us” always exists based on conditions of modern society and life.

Regarding the notion of “our” era, the author believes that Keng Hao Kang’s artworks, with their popular culture and consumerism-inspired images, expresses the attributes of a complex culture embodied by the forces of modernization and globalization. And, the notion of “us” will always exist in the present. Therefore, the artistic topics explored during the dawn of modernism in Western society are the same ones that Keng is trying to present with his artworks. He is trying to present cultural change that culminates similar influences of capitalism, albeit with in a different historical context.

It is possible to interchange the above discussion about “abstraction” with the following statement: During the twentieth century, the era of modernism, if Western artists proposed modern art or abstract concepts, then is it possible that “we” in twenty-first century Asia might still effectively answer the same questions proposed by our Western counterparts many years ago? In the header, the author prompts the question, “What are the ‘Possibilities of Abstract Painting’”? And, the author answers this question with the title of this essay,“A Moment of Eternity.” When our perceptions of existence invoke the present, past and future, then time becomes outwardly expanding, and the associations between cultural differences become continuous. More precisely, if an observer bases their answers to questions on expressions and forms alone, then they might become confused by the complexities of cultural change. From the author’s perspective, the roots of abstract art in Taiwan can be traced to the early twentieth century abstract art in the West. After a series of cultural shifts and changes across a century, abstract art in Asia is already revealing its complexities. Perhaps, this is what make Keng’s works so intriguing, and why they must exist to inspire deep thoughts in viewers.

Keng Hao Kang lived in Milan, Italy for seven years, and studied painting and installation art at The Academy of Fine Arts of Brera. There, he found inspiration in conceptual art. After returning to Taiwan, he worked in the field of fashion brand design for many years. The impact of his cross-cultural experience as well as his professional background in art and design can be clearly seen in his paintings and installation works. His paintings present popular images as totems accompanied by rich, passionate colors. These totem images might just be Mickey Mouse, or graffiti comprised of various animal figures. Moreover, by using imaging techniques that consist of layering points, lines, planes, and colors, or by smoothing, dry rubbing, branding, or silk dyeing, saturated colors, the rhythm of color contrasts, and changing textures are all infused with the sense of high speed movement embodying popular culture.

However, if viewers take a more holistic approach to contemplate the painting features that revolve around his imagery as well as the object installations based on ready-made objects, they discover that his works don’t just incorporate popular visual images from across the world, but the ready-made objects also maintain a precise control of the installation landscape. Under this baptism of pop and OP art, there actually exists a new epidermal layer of visuals within this mixing and matching of popular imagery, as if coming to the fore from amidst a mosaic. This thin layer of visuals might be comprised of a dazzling gloss of colors and patterns, but it forms a unique style of its own belonging to a layer of new material properties mutually linked to a surface of different paintings and objects.

Looking closely, one finds that the artist paints a cloth-like image and texture onto the canvas. What he expresses is actually a type of painted imagery, a virtual image. In the consumption of popular culture, all will experience images that reside in various locations. However, the artist uses an unconscious method to concentrate this type of virtual imagery, while “naturally” extracting an already overflowing, almost numb consumer perception. Therefore, to the author, if there were to be a discussion on the relationship between Keng Hao Kang’s works and abstract painting, it would touch upon his excellent use of abstract geometric block surfaces, color points and rhythm to incorporate all the symbols, patterns, and ready-made objects that appear. At an even closer look, it is clear that he uses painting to depict a perception of images - allowing a new material radiance to emerge from the picture. We can clearly sense how the canvas supports a surface space, in the manner of an abstract painting. In the landscape of the late consumer civilization, a material epidermal layer is turned inside out. This is the experience of imagery that Keng Hao Kang captures through glamorous, objective images.

Rosalind, Krauss. The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths, Translated by Lien Te-Cheng, Yuan-Liou Publishing Co.,Ltd., 1995, p, 12

美國藝評家羅莎琳．克勞絲（Rosalind E. Krauss）在她一篇名為〈格子（grid）〉，的文章中，討論了二十世紀初以來蒙德里安、康丁斯基、馬勒維奇等藝術家。筆者提到她這篇文章的原因，是她在討論何謂「格子」的時候，正巧她的說法也跟本文的切入點有關，她說「格子作品以兩種方式來宣示現代藝術的現代性。其一是空間的，另一是時間的。就空間的意義而言，格子宣稱了藝術領域的自律性。它是平面化、幾何化、秩序化的；反自然的、反模仿的、反真實的。…在平面性中，格子排擠了真實的向度。…透過這種全面規則化的構成，它不是模仿，它是美學宣告的成果。…格子宣稱藝術的空間是自主的，同時是自有目的的。……在時間的向度，格子是現代性的象徵：它是『我們』這個世紀的藝術之遍存的形式，在上個世紀的藝術中根本不存在。在反動的大鏈環中，現代主義從十九世紀的努力中破殼而出，最後的一個轉變造成鏈環的斷裂。透過格子的發現，立體派、風格派、蒙德里安、馬勒維奇…所到達之境，是過去事物無法觸及的。亦即是說，他們足登現在，其他一切都屬過去。」

從筆者的觀點，克勞絲指出了幾個重要的課題，首先是，她發明了「格子」的說法，讓我們想像在畫布平面上，滿佈著橫線與直線垂直構成—看不見的格子；但的確藉由「格子」所指出的畫布平面空間，「格子」的現代藝術特徵，也幾乎就說明了「抽象」空間的特徵與現代藝術的特徵，我們不僅會連結上「抽象」，我們還想起了關於繪畫支架表面空間的討論。甚至，從時間上「格子」也突顯出了屬於「此時此刻」的當下時間、現代性時間等。而克勞絲論及的畫布平面空間與時間性正是耿晧剛的作品討論中所體現的課題。

當然，該文寫於二十世紀的1978年，因此引文中的「我們」其實應成為座落於二十世紀的當下此刻，但是隸屬於過去線性時間中的「我們」的時空真的過去了嗎？是否「我們」並不會隨著線性時間消失，而是根源於某種現代生活的條件存在？或是另一種思考方向，「我們」—所指的對象又是誰呢？是克勞絲討論的歐洲藝術家？是她寫作所在的美國？還是如今這篇文章寫作的當下—台灣的「我們」？可惜，這個問題就不再是克勞絲討論的範圍了。這是這篇文章要試著回答的問題。筆者的觀點是，「我們」的問題一直存在，基於社會進入現代化體制與現代生活的條件而存在。

甚至本文認為，關於「我們」的時空，正是透過耿晧剛作品中跨國的流行文化與消費圖像，交織出如今在現代化與全球化的跨文化時空中難以區分的複雜文化屬性，「我們」正是這樣一個當下與所在。所以在現代主義的西方社會初期提出的藝術課題，直到今天仍以不同歷史階段、同樣資本主義影響下的文化變貌而體現著，這正是耿晧剛所呈現的面向所在。 上述討論關於「抽象」的問題，能否代換為：當二十世紀現代主義時期，西方藝術家提出了現代藝術、或抽象的理念，那麼對於二十一世紀的今天、對於身處亞洲的「我們」來說是否仍舊是個有效的問題？以筆者的角度來說，這就是副標題「抽象繪畫的可能性」試圖提出的問題。也是主標「瞬間永恆」所回答的問題，當我們的存在感知既是當下、又包含著過去與未來時，時間是綿延的、差異文化之間的關聯性是延續的。…更進一步的說，倘若觀者只從表象的形式上尋求解答，可能被混雜的文化轉變因素所混淆。以筆者的觀點而言，在台灣抽象的發展是源自西方二十世紀初抽象藝術的形成，經過一個世紀全球文化的混融與變遷，抽象的課題在亞洲已經呈現著複雜的面貌，或許，這正是耿晧剛的作品耐人尋味，以及必須存在於觀者面前、引發我們思考的原因。

耿晧剛曾居住米蘭七年，從學於義大利米蘭布雷拉藝術學院，學習繪畫與裝置，開啓了觀念藝術的思考方向，回國後亦從事德國時尚品牌的設計工作多年，這樣的跨文化經驗背景、跨藝術與設計的專業養成，很容易就從他的繪畫或裝置作品看見鮮明的影響。他的繪畫呈現著圖騰化的流行圖像與豐富激昂的色彩，而圖騰化的圖像可能是漫畫米奇，可能來自多種動物的形象塗鴉。不僅如此，運用點、線、面與色彩的多層疊圖像手法，或流暢、或乾擦、或烙印、或像絹染等等，飽和的色彩、色彩對比的節奏、多變的質感，皆充滿流行文化的高速運動感。

但如果觀者更為整體的回想他豐饒圖像的繪畫特徵和現成物為基調的物件裝置，不難發現，他的作品不僅僅是那些跨國流行視覺圖像的環繞、不僅僅是現成物件精準控制的裝置景觀，在這些曾經歷普普、歐普藝術的洗禮，由混雜、混搭的各種流行文化搭造的圖像王國之間，其實存在著一層嶄新的視覺表皮，像是要從所有的拼置中脫穎而出。這層視覺的薄層，是那些色彩與圖案的耀眼光彩，但他們自成一格，屬於一層在不同繪畫與物件表面之間相互聯繫的新物質屬性。

仔細看，會發現藝術家在畫布上描畫了像是布料一般的圖像形態與質感。他表現的其實是一種繪畫化的影像，一種虛像，是在各種流行文化的消費都會經驗中存在於各處的影像經驗，但藝術家以一種不知不覺的方式濃縮了這種虛像，並「自然」的萃取於我們已經過於滿溢、近乎麻木的消費知覺中。因此，倘若討論耿晧剛作品與抽象繪畫的關係，那麼以筆者觀點，其關聯性不僅是他善於運用抽象幾何的塊面、色點與色彩節奏，來統和所有出現的符號、圖案與現成物像。更進一步的看，從前述他以繪畫描畫著影像的知覺—使畫面浮現一種新物質層的光采，我們清楚的感受到抽象繪畫之畫布支架表面空間，已經在晚期消費文明的景觀中翻轉出一個物質性的表皮空間層，這是耿晧剛藉著物像的光鮮亮麗而捕捉出的圖像經驗。

羅莎琳．克勞絲(Rosalind Krauss)著, 《前衛的原創性(The originality of the avant-garde and other modernist myths )》, 連德誠譯, 遠流出版社, 1995, p.12

We often attribute the glamorous and vivid colors of Hao-Kang Keng’s works to his experience in the field of fashion. Keng was exposed to art at a young age because he was born into a family of artists. He witnessed the forces of progress that connected the Taiwanese art and gallery scene with those abroad. In 1969, Keng was born in Taipei to a father who was an architect, and a mother who was a painter. His grandfather was also a literati painter. From an early age, he was surrounded by art, which, to a certain extent, influenced his decision to become an artist himself. The fluid style and diverse themes of his works serve as testament to Keng’s unwillingness for his art to become categorized or stagnant. Freedom in the creative process is essential for self-transcendence through the practice of art, while it is also the drive that pushes an artist to discover their own unique style. If a multicultural European experience allowed Keng to freely create works that span the field of art and design, then his experience in fashion taught him to be patient, succinct, and punctual.

Since childhood, Keng received rigorous training in the field of traditional art. When studying at Tunghai University’s art department from 1989 to 1993, he was influenced by European educated instructors. Through Professor Hsun Chiang’s teachings, Keng discovered the profound meanings and narratives behind the animal paintings and sketches by Italian artist, Pisanello (1395~1455), as well as learned to appreciate the precise paintings by Piero Della Francesca (1416~1492). This led Keng to start creating paintings and three-dimensional installation works as early as 1992. In 1996, Keng travelled to Milan, Italy. There, he studied painting and installation art under Diego Esposito at the Accademia di belle arti di Brera from 1997 to 2002. This experience opened the doors to conceptual art for him. During his seven years studying in Italy, Keng was not only introduced to Western contemporary art, but also made contact with many outstanding artists, which shaped his progressive perspective on contemporary art.

While living and studying in Italy, Keng soaked in the diverse cultures of Europe. He was introduced to the conceptual art of Piero Manzoni, the concept of objects, Arte Povera, ultra avant-garde painting, and the minimalism of Milan design. Situated in the economic center of northern Italy, Milan is not only known for its fashion and industrial design, but also as a city renowned for its visual aesthetics. Aside from participating in many local exhibitions, Keng also served as a photographer and interviewer for Japanese and Taiwanese fashion print media during major fashion events. After returning to Taiwan in 2003, Keng worked for many years in the field of fashion for Hugo Boss, a German fashion brand. Currently, he is a full time artist, and teaches at the art department of Tokai University and commercial design department of Ming Chuan University. His unique upbringing, foreign education, and diverse work experiences are all factors that have impacted Keng’s artworks. Aside from incorporating themes of traditional art, his works also imbue concepts of fashion. By reconstructing and rearranging a diversity of images, Keng has created a unique art style by juxtaposing minimalist elements with a sense of forcefulness.

Keng’s master’s thesis consisted of a study that focused on artworks by Haim Steinbach (1944-), an Israeli born and U.S. based artist who once trained in New York, studied in France, and lectured in Italy. Since the seventies, Steinbach began experimenting by imbuing objects of daily life with elements of visual art. Since the seventies, Steinbach's art has been focused on the selection and arrangement of objects, particularly everyday objects. Steinbach presents objects ranging from the natural to the ordinary and the artistic to the ethnographic, giving form to art works that underscore their identities and inherent meanings. Exploring the psychological, aesthetic, cultural and ritualistic aspects of objects as well as their context, Steinbach has radically redefined the status of the object in art. Studying works by Steinbach proved fruitful for Keng and enriched his later artistic concepts.

When an artist completes a work, it marks a temporary end to the first stage of the relationship between them and the work. Then, when the work is shown to the public, the work takes on a destiny of its own. With a bit of introspection, we can attempt to grasp the meaning and thoughts behind the works, while we let our imagination run unrestrained. This leads to the establishment of an intimate dialogue between the viewer and the artwork. It is as if one is listening to a pleasant tune. All sensations suddenly intertwine to form a visual persecution that is not absolute in terms of its correctness. Any interpretation has its legitimacy. Unrestrained in his imaginations and thoughts, Keng is not sentimentally attached to a particular form of art style. Rather, he likes to surprise people. According to him, it is art’s ambiguous yet distinct nature that makes it so interesting. By challenging people’s preconceptions, art provokes and questions.

我們也許常以耿晧剛在時尚界幾年的經驗解釋其華麗光鮮的用色與構圖，其實創作者從小就在家人各種不同風格的藝術畫風與實驗底蘊中成長，也耳濡目染親身參與台灣美術界與藝廊界期望和世界接軌的進程。 耿晧剛於1969年出生於台北，父親是建築師，母親為畫家，外公也是文人畫家，從小在書畫藝術作品圍繞的氛圍中成長，或多或少使耿晧剛後來決定走向專業藝術創作之路。 流動的風格與多元題材的嘗試明白宣示創作者不希望被定格與框限的意念， 創作自由的態度是藝術追求自我超越的自然規則，也是尋求個人風格辨識度與獨特性真正的變幻動力。 如果歐洲跨文化與知識領域的學習與人文教育培養耿晧剛輕易跨界的設計創作風格與自由， 時尚工作時期的訓練則給予其創作時須具備的耐心與該增需簡的抉擇時克制嚴謹的一面。 如果回溯歐洲人文教育養成源頭的希臘古代雅典學院， 就會發現所有的知識學習本無分類，全人教育是種自然的學習，可以融會貫通，可以相輔相成，也就沒有跨界與否的疑問。 儘管創作可能出現其他的要求與材質限制，創作的本質其實並無不同， 當代藝術界就擁有很多於不同領域遊走自如與成功的例子。

耿晧剛從小接受嚴格的傳統技法訓練， 在1989年進入東海大學美術系至 1993年畢業前期間也接受其他歐洲歸國教師的影響 ; 透過蔣勳老師的啟蒙他發現了義大利畫家Pisanello (1395~1455) 的動物習作、速寫稿與其畫作中宮廷趣味及敘事的天賦，也讚嘆 Piero Della Francesca (1416~1492) 畫中數學計算般完整的形式與出色的透視空間感。所以藝術家在1992年間就已開始平面繪畫與空間裝置的多面向創作。 耿晧剛於1996年抵達米蘭， 1997~2002年期間就讀於義大利米蘭布雷拉藝術學院(Accademia di belle arti di Brera)，跟隨Diego Esposito教授主修繪畫與裝置，開啟了觀念藝術的思考。 留學旅居義大利七年期間， 除了接觸歐美當代藝術， 也遇見許多出色教師與藝術家， 令其開拓更多當代藝術的前衛視野 ; 南歐明亮鮮豔、 開朗奔放的個性色系也在他的作品中處處可見。

義大利生活與求學期間，耿晧剛吸收歐洲教育環境所提供的多元文化，認識了如Piero Manzoni的觀念藝術、 物件概念、 貧窮藝術、 超前衛繪畫與米蘭設計極簡風格的潮流資訊，另外也接觸到歐洲早期設計方面的訊息，如1940~1960年代同時期瑞士新平面主義與具體派，他也欣賞德國萊比錫畫派畫家Neo Rauch 與原籍比利時 現居瑞典的藝術家Carsten Höller ，同時深深受到米蘭風格的影響與薰陶。 在義大利北方經濟商業之都、匯聚流行時尚與工業設計之強的米蘭， 視覺映像的衝擊非常頻繁， 耿晧剛除了應邀參加當地許多展覽之外，也擔任日本與台灣平面媒體的時尚攝影與採訪之工作，每季均參加大型國際時裝發表。 2003年自米蘭返台後從事德國Hugo Boss品牌行銷與時尚流行等相關工作數年，目前則從事專業藝術創作，並任教於台灣東海大學美術學系與銘傳大學商業設計學系。 特殊的成長背景及其留學與工作經驗影響其後的作品， 除了在繪畫上繼續以古典傳統題材為靈感，也結合現代思維的挪用與並置技法，在豐饒多變的圖象重組與解構中豎立風格，以創作簡潔與動感力量對比的作品。

耿晧剛的碩士論文專研在以色列出生、 於紐約學習、 曾留學法國、 於歐洲義大利等地講學、目前定居美國的藝術家史丹巴克 (Haim Steinbach, 1944- ) 的藝術理念與創作世界， 史丹巴克於七零年代開始就已經選擇平時日常生活的物件以處理再創可能的藝術視覺實驗 ， 透過自然材質或物件可能的意義轉換以增加物件之間的相互作用與共鳴趣味性， 他也因此於其中醞釀孕育作品的結構與創造。 經由自然的、 平凡的、 藝術的或人種學的物件等的實驗，他嘗試探索物件屬於心理的、 非美學的、文化的、 儀式的面相，他也完全重新定義物件在藝術上的地位。 耿晧剛從對當代藝術大師的研究中收穫良多， 也滋養其後來的創作理念。

耿晧剛運用繁複網面與多層次的圖像重疊，以簡約與概念化的風格挑戰邏輯性的解析以激發自由延展的聯想 ; 在不侷限於固定的媒材與表達形式下勇於在充滿張力的具象與抽象興味之間游移、 探索其相互的作用與關係。 他從社會性、 文化結構、 城市現象等也許支離破碎的敘述與活動中尋找作品靈感，企圖透過各種可能的影像與符號的重整創造為圖像預設的速度節奏感， 也希望能展現個人精神生活的多元獨特意象。 藝術家同時嘗試善用類似印刷、 剝離、 拼貼、 刮擦、 渲染等現代技術解譯純粹的幾何概念， 結合如包浩斯般的極簡寧靜與搖滾撞擊似的混亂秩序， 在和諧與衝突中重新思考、 尋找古典與現代之間的辯證與平衡。

然而當創作者完成作品後， 他們與作品間關係的第一階段似乎暫時終止， 作品在面對大眾的同時將走出屬於自身未來的道路。 以用心觀畫者的心情， 我們可以試著解釋分析所感所想，也擁有無限自由的空間去想像創作意涵的權利，建立與作品一對一的私密對話，感受如同無形的樂音對聽覺所帶來的喜悅；所有觸動的感覺、 突然浮現交織於眼前的影像都屬於個人，無關對錯也沒有絕對，所有的詮釋均能成立也都有存在的理由。 因為耿晧剛習慣的思維也天馬行空，不眷戀固定的表現形式，習慣轉換新的創作方式，更喜歡讓人跌破眼鏡。 他認為藝術的趣味在於藝術本身的真實與曖昧性， 在於挑戰觀者的偏見，甚至使其陷入一種不安狀態下的質詢與疑問。

幾何抽象繪畫創作是耿晧剛的特色之一，也是增加其作品辨識度的標誌。 也許對一位創作者來說，形狀、 顏色、 直線、 曲線或幾何構圖並不抽象，沒有什麼比這些將成為畫面的基礎元素更來的具象的了。 我們不斷與生活中大大小及前撲後繼的影像交錯、 擦身而過， 有些回憶無法磨滅，有些紀錄無從可考。 創作者試著從自身經驗中尋找屬於個人的符號與意義， 以探討自我存在的反省 ; 經由平面或立體作品的意象完成過程， 在錯綜複雜的人文面貌與有時迷失的現象中辯解人生可能的對立與矛盾。

耿晧剛強調幾何造形與強烈色彩的對比張力與反差，企圖在藝術表現理性思維的同時呈現具有柔性與人性的視覺符號； 媒材選擇可以多元， 描繪同類主題與個人中心思考的構想卻從未停止，他希望透過詮釋敘述屬於自己的角色與世代， 在對作品精準度與完整的要求下奠定屬於個人的風格與美學。 藏在層層疊疊的堆積與鮮明色調的和諧與混搭下，表面上看似色彩鮮艷、 飽和亮麗的圖像暗藏的是淺意識裏跳躍的文化圖騰與影像記憶 ; 利用多重色系與點、線、面切割的構圖重組挑戰我們的視覺辨識力， 同時也試著喚起那更深層的、 在成人理性世界與社會制約習性下漸漸磨滅的感性潛意識。 也許你我都在電視、 電影、 網路影像世界裡忘記了幼時記憶與童真， 那個與許多真實存在過的、 或是虛構幻想的、 造型立體的或只是著色紙上平面的動物與卡通人物相依為伍的日子，一個可能屬於回憶的快樂天堂。 在耿晧剛明艷照人與流動線條的圖像表面下，搶救的是我們永遠追悼與逝去的曾經，那無拘無束的過去、 也許野蠻恣意的青春年少 ; 質疑的卻也是現在瞬息萬變、 無可預測、令人憂心的年代與浮動不安的未來 ...