[Taiwan Cultural Portal專訪] Fresh artist Lin Bao-ling: drawing out the beauty of cities | 新銳藝術家林葆靈：創作出都市的美好

Fresh artist Lin Bao-ling: drawing out the beauty of cities Taiwan Culture Portal - 02 March 2012 © Taiwan Culture Portal （ ↓ 中文版緊接在英文版後） Lin's inspirations in painting come from daily life, a practice that creates a lot of resonance with his audience.

Fresh artist Lin Bao-ling: drawing out the beauty of cities Lin Bao-ling, 30, is a young artist famous in Taiwan as well as places like Singapore and New York for his creative approach to presenting the beauty of urban landscapes. Lin has been described as a "talented" young artist who specializes in portraying the shining lights of cities at night in a semi-abstract way, as well as the beauty of scenes after rain, to present the splendid and dramatic lighting of night in the city. Lin is widely respected among critics and the public for his deeply touching sensitivity. Lin's parents allowed their children to develop freely, always encouraging Lin to pursue his interest in painting. Lin won the Vermont Art Village permanent project supported by the Freeman Foundation. Self-study Many people take Lin Bao-ling for a person of mixed ancestry because of his tall figure, straight nose and slightly pale complexion, but in fact his parents are both Taiwanese, In addition, Lin lived in Taiwan until he was 15 years old, but with an upbringing different from that of most other children. He studied at home, rather than receiving the formal nine years of schooling offered by the national education system. "Self-study" was very much a radical approach 20 years ago, but Lin's parents were not willing to have Lin and his brother subjected to force-feeding educational methods, so they both studied at home. Although Lin did not have classmates like other kids, he still had a very happy childhood. Lin's parents took the family traveling frequently – for example, they spent four months in the highest temple in Taiwan, and they also lived in Penghu for few months, experiencing a very self-sufficient life all along the way. Lin's parents allowed their children to develop freely, always encouraging Lin to pursue his interest in painting. In order to allow Lin to broaden his knowledge and improve his English, Lin's parents decided to move to Singapore when he was 15. Lin passed the Cambridge ordinary level examinations in Singapore and entered the LaSalle College of the Arts, majoring in painting. Lin is widely respected among critics and the public for his deeply touching sensitivity His college life For the four years of his college life, Lin looked forward to going to school and doing lots of painting. His classmates all described his creative passion as "hardworking." Lin's unique style and talent were revealed early in his college period, as he won the "Travelogue Practice" prize from Winston Oh Travel in 2004. In 2005 he was awarded the "Della Butcher" prize for outstanding performance, and in 2006 he won the highly regarded 25th UOB Painting of the Year award. Lin has been invited to participate in several exhibitions, and has displayed his works individually in prestigious art galleries in Singapore and Malaysia. In March 2007 Lin held his first solo exhibition, "Nocturne", in Plastique Kinetic Worms, and was invited to become a permanent artist. In the same year, he held his second solo exhibition "Nocturne II" in Singapore's Connoisseur Artwork Gallery. In 2007 he was invited to serve as artist in residence in the highly-regarded Taitung Railway Art Village. In 2008 Lin returned to Taiwan and entered the Taiwan National University Department of Fine Arts, majoring in ink and wash painting. He felt familiar and friendly with his homeland of Taiwan. He also liked the vibrant creativity he found on the island. For example, there were many more competitions in Taiwan than he had encountered in Singapore, so Lin often participated in contests, winning countless awards and increasing his exposure to the public. In 2011 Lin won the Vermont Art Village permanent project supported by the Freeman Foundation. He followed that up with his solo exhibition "Nocturne of Winter" in Moulin Rouge. He also traveled to New York to hold an exhibition titled "Snow, Night", showing how deeply he was touched by the experience of his first sight of snow. Lin's works mainly describe night scenes in cities because his background is strongly related to big cities such as Taipei and Singapore. His painting skill and his familiarity with the artificially prosperous scenery of big cities result in a painting style distinct in its melding of both concrete and abstract methods. Art experts classify Lin's works as Western abstract oil paintings deeply infused with an atmosphere of traditional ink painting. The contrasts inherent in Lin's works are a product of his deeply unique painting style. Lin analyzes his works by noting that describes the lights and shadows in a scene, such as the night city full of non-stop flows of light and shadow. In fact, Lin's paintings reflect the struggle between abstract and concrete that he feels in a personality that is always torn between hope and disappointment. At the same time, the culture and environment of Taiwan have also had a considerable effect on his work. When Lin was studying in Singapore, a Japanese classmate told him, "Your drawing is very 'humid.'" "Well," he replied, "Taiwan is very humid, isn't it?" Back in Taiwan for the past three years, Lin's inspirations in painting come from daily life, a practice that creates a lot of resonance with his audience. Lin's painting style is unique from that of others, but he is still open to trying any possibilities. He plans to get a master's degree and then a Ph.D in art. He also hopes to reach out to China, Europe, and the United States. Lin Bao-ling loves painting so deeply that he will keep drawing as long as he can, and you can be sure that he will continue to bring us more amazing and splendid works in the future. Lin is widely respected among critics and the public for his deeply touching sensitivity. More information Lin Bao-ling's blog: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/baoling Lin Bao-ling's works online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linbaoling Written by Debra Lu / culture.tw ------------------------------------------------------------- 感謝資深記者盧素梅小姐採訪撰文 :)

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新銳藝術家林葆靈：創作出都市的美好

By Debra Lu / culture.tw
Provider (2012-05-28 17:18:06)


新銳藝術家林葆靈今年才30歲，卻以創作都市之美的題材，在台灣、新加坡及美國紐約等地闖出名號。這位被藝術界形容為「才華洋溢」的年輕藝術家，擅長用半抽象手法描繪都市夜晚的燈火明亮璀璨，以及雨後夜景的溢彩流金之美，表現出夜晚的淒美與光影產生的戲劇性，感動了看畫者而受到推崇。

第一眼看到林葆靈，從他那高挑的身材、挺直的鼻樑，以及略顯蒼白的膚色，會以為他是個混血兒，其實他的父母都是台灣人，15歲之前的時光，他都是在台灣這塊土地上度過。但是他的成長經歷卻與一般小孩不同，在15歲之前，他並未接受正規的九年國民教育，而是在家自學。


「自學」在20幾年前還是很前衛，但林葆靈的父母不希望孩子接受填鴨式的教育，於是他與哥哥都是留在家裡自學，由母親負責教他們識字。雖然沒有同儕可以一起玩，但是林葆靈的童年卻過的很快樂，父母經常帶他們去旅行，而且還做「long stay」，例如他們曾在台灣海拔最高的寺廟海天寺待過四個月，也曾在澎湖住過幾個月並租地種田嘗試自給自足的生活。


林葆靈的父母對孩子的教育，也是讓他們自由發展，只要是好的興趣就給予鼓勵，像林葆靈從小就很喜歡漫畫，像是卡通人物小叮噹等，父母就送他去才藝班學畫畫。到了才藝班後，他就盡情地畫，畫了滿滿一大本，沒想到老師卻跟他說「畫那麼多沒有用」，無疑是澆了他一盆冷水，所以後來才藝班也沒去了。


為了讓孩子增廣見聞及學好英文，林葆靈的父母就在他15歲那年舉家遷居到新加坡。他在新加坡就通過劍橋普通水準考試，取得國中的同等學歷，並進入新加坡拉薩爾藝術學院（Lasalle College of the Art）就讀並主修繪畫。


大學四年他過得如魚得水，每天都很期待去學校且畫到很晚，同學用「勤勞」來形容他對創作的熱情。而林葆靈獨特的風格與才華在攻讀學士學位初期便已嶄露無遺，他於2004年榮獲 Winston Oh Travel所頒發的Travelogue Practice獎，於2005年以全勝的傲人戰績勇奪Della Butcher大獎，並在2006年摘得備受推崇的第25屆大華銀行年度繪畫競賽大獎。


他曾受邀參加過多個聯展，並在新加坡和馬來西亞一些極負盛名的美術館展出個人作品。他於2007年3月在變形蟲（Plastique Kinetic Worms）（PKW） 藝術空間舉辦了首次個人畫展——《夜曲》，並因此受邀成為駐站藝術家。同年，他又在Connoisseur Artworks（新加坡）畫廊 舉辦第二次個展——《夜曲II》。2007年7月，他受邀擔任極負聲望的台東鐵路藝術村駐站藝術家。


2008年，林葆靈回到台灣並進入師範大學美術系研究所進修，並主修水墨畫。回到台灣這個出生地，讓他覺得熟悉、親切，還有他很喜歡台灣的創作活力，大大小小的畫展很多，還有比賽也很多，不像在新加坡每年只有一次全國性的比賽，所以他在台灣就經常參加比賽，得獎無數也增加許多嚗光的機會。


今年初他更獲得Free man基金會贊助的佛蒙特藝術村駐村計劃，在結束兩個月的駐村計劃後，他就在紅磨坊藝術進行「冬之夜曲」的個展。隨後他又前往紐約第一銀行畫廊舉行「雪．夜」個展，這次展出他將紐約的夜，以及第一次看到雪的悸動，透過畫筆呈現在畫作中。


林葆露的作品主要都是在描繪城市的夜晚，應該和他成長的環境都是在台北、新加坡等大城市有關係，因為他最熟悉的景緻莫過於大都市人造的繁華，而夜晚的光影又含有戲劇性的強烈對比。他使用壓克力顏料、油彩以及水墨作畫，將他眼底所看到的風景，加以具象及抽象並陳，讓他的畫風獨樹一格。


曾有畫評如此形容，林葆露的作品雖然是西式抽象油畫，但卻散發著傳統潑墨畫的神韻；雖是油畫，卻有水彩畫的效果；雖是繪畫，卻有著在雨天刻意模糊焦距而出現的攝影風味；而畫作熾熱的強光與沈鬱的陰影對比，更表現出林葆靈獨特的深沈畫風。


像是他在今年「金車新銳油畫獎」中奪得首獎的「紫與黃的夜曲」，畫作內容是有天他在雨夜獨自一人坐在回家的公車上，透過車窗看到熟悉的公館夜市，只見夜色與七彩光影自眼前遊移而過，光影帶出生命的茫然與孤獨，以及看不清的真實。


林葆靈自己剖析其畫作說，他都是借景抒情，探討光影的一體兩面，例如以城市為題材的作品，城市表面上好像很光彩，尤其到了夜晚，霓虹燈所投射出來的五光十色、很繽紛，但是卻也是稍縱即逝，轉眼成空，因此他就用消融、流轉不停的光影來表現。


其實他的畫作一直在具象與抽象中拉扯，正如他內心總是希望、失望兩股力量在拉扯，也如同在他愛笑的背後，是他多愁善感的心。還有，台灣的環境與文化似乎也在無形中影響到他的創作，曾有在新加坡求學時的日本同學問他說，「你的畫畫很有『濕度』，台灣很潮濕吧！」；還有在佛蒙特藝術村一起駐村的藝術家也稱讚他的畫作，在現代藝術外，還能看到文化背景，很難能可貴。


回到台灣三年多來，林葆靈都是從生活周遭取景，像是其住家附近的師大夜市、公館夜市，以及西門町、淡水等地，都是大家熟悉的景緻，也引起不少共鳴。例如，金車美展得獎作品在賣出後，有人看了很感動，一再懇請他再畫一幅。還有人買了他以淡水為題材的畫作，因為淡水是他與老婆的定情之處，所以買下了生平第一張畫要送給老婆。


畫風自成一格的林葆靈，其實還一直在嘗試不同的可能性，他計劃在拿到碩士學位後，明年要繼續攻讀博士，未來也希望把觸角伸到大陸、歐美各地。無論如何，熱愛畫畫的他，會一直畫下去，因為只要能畫畫，他就很開心，相信未來他會帶給我們更多驚豔的作品。




林葆靈的線上作品：http://www.flickr.com/photos/linbaoling


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本文轉載自：TaiwanNews
www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1931912