Un Certain Regard: Alternative Visions of Postwar Asia
M+M Gallery Proudly Presents Its Inaugural New Year Exhibition: Un Certain Regard: Alternative Visions of Postwar Asia. The exhibition title pays homage to the Un Certain Regard section of the Festival de Cannes—a parallel program established in 1978 to champion non-mainstream aesthetics and experimental styles. Borrowing this lens, the exhibition seeks to distill a unique perspective from the vast and fragmented coordinates of Asian art history since the 1950s, re-examining the artistic lives that struggled and flourished amidst the shifting tides of the Cold War and national transformations.
Post-war Asia was not a singular cultural entity, but rather a site of radical debates surrounding modernity. When Chu Teh-Chun transformed the majestic spirit of Song and Yuan landscapes into luminous abstract lines in his Paris studio, he challenged not only the materiality of Western painting but also explored how the inner qi (spirit) of Eastern literati could find an eternal sanctuary within the global wave of abstraction. This translation of roots evolved into a more minimalist philosophy in the practice of Li Yuan-chia. A core member of the Ton-Fan Group founded by Li Zhong-Sheng, Li journeyed from Taipei to Milan and finally settled in London. He condensed art into a single Point—not merely a visual terminus, but the origin of cosmic energy. In his solitary transnational migration, he utilized the most succinct language to explore the infinite boundaries of space and spirituality. This resonates across time with Chen Ting-shih, who forged his art from scrap metal and relief prints. The primordial power within Chen’s work sublimated post-war ruins and discarded materials into monumental spiritual symbols, reflecting the profound introspection and self-reflection of Chinese intellectuals following historical upheavals.
Turning to Japan, the collective trauma of the post-war era catalyzed even more subversive material practices. Sadamasa Motonaga, a standard-bearer of the Gutai Art Association, centered his practice on the principle of de-objectified material. In his Work (1966), the organic, cell-like flow of colors collapses the boundary between the medium and reality. This not only manifested post-war Japan's desperate longing for freedom but also dismantled the solemnity of elite art through a witty, playful spirit. In stark contrast to this fervent fluidity is the austere gaze of Noriyuki Haraguchi. A seminal figure of the Mono-ha movement, Haraguchi minimized human intervention by using materials like steel and industrial oil, allowing the matter itself to speak within the space. This stoic presentation served as a resistance to Japan's highly industrialized society, prompting viewers to perceive the tension between object and human, nature and civilization, within an absolute silence. Featured in this exhibition are Wall and Steel Wire III (2019) and three other works, marking the final artistic statements Haraguchi left at the end of his life.
Within this multi-dimensional dialogue, the presence of On Kawara acts as an eternal background radiation. The Japanese-American artist employed an extreme conceptualism to purely quantify existence and time. In his series I Got Up, he anchored personal biography within the grand scale of world history. In the turbulent global context of the post-war era, he abandoned all lyrical embellishment in favor of a daily record, granting an unshakeable dignity and truth to each passing moment. This minimalist proof of existence finds a different rhythmic reflection in the South Asian modernism of Fajar Sidik. A pioneer of Indonesian modern art, Sidik filtered figurative forms into pure geometric and chromatic dynamics amidst the sunlight and cultural heritage of Southeast Asia. The Space Dynamics constructed in his work represent not only formal innovation but a vital effort by Indonesia to synchronize with global artistic languages during its quest for self-identity following decolonization.
Un Certain Regard: Alternative Visions of Postwar Asia is more than a cross-border group exhibition; it is a rediscovery of Asian artistic subjectivity. These seven artists—ranging from the lyrical abstraction of Chu Teh-Chun, the philosophical inquiries of Li Yuan-chia and Chen Ting-shih, the material awakenings of Sadamasa Motonaga and Noriyuki Haraguchi, to the temporal testimonies of On Kawara and the Nanyang modernity of Fajar Sidik—together compose a non-linear, multi-focal map of Asia. From their respective geographic coordinates, they responded to a collective post-war destiny, defining the depth and density of Asian modern art through both synthesis and rupture.
