Yi-Cheng Chen + Masataka Kurose ＂Between Residuals and Traces＂

Yi-Cheng Chen、Masataka Kurose

Jan 17 - Feb 1, 2026

We often tend to seek results and completion. However, the two artists introduced in this exhibition present ways of being that only emerge through time itself.

Chen creates his works using the ＂progressive carving＂ technique of woodblock printing, layering the printing process repeatedly. As he carves and prints the same block again and again, accumulations of ink gradually emerge—taking on appearances and textures strikingly similar to the woodblock itself. This seemingly contradictory state—where carving away simultaneously gives rise to material buildup—reveals the inseparable relationship between motivation and intention, or between deliberate process and the finished work as its outcome. The minimal appearance, composed of short, unadorned lines and simple colors, combined with the physical thickness of the ink, lends the works a profound philosophical depth. These forms are at once traces of labor and residues of material, as if matter itself were being reborn into new configurations.

By contrast, Kurose generates a distinctive rhythm across the picture plane through a variety of colored lines derived from brush and ink. Though they may appear spontaneous, these lines are shaped by formative childhood experiences with calligraphy. As the artist himself notes, there is little clear distinction between “trial runs” and “final takes”; lines begun tentatively often slip, almost imperceptibly, into the realm of the finished work. As drawing pauses and resumes, fragments of time are stitched together, and completed images later reveal unexpected resemblances or moments of synchronicity. Over the drawn lines, diluted, translucent acrylic paint is layered repeatedly with a brush in a manner akin to dyeing, emitting distinctive hues that linger like afterimages burned into the eye.

Both artists demonstrate a stance that seems to resist the accelerated tempo of contemporary time, while also engaging with spatial expansion. Beginning with a focus on time and labor, Chen has in recent years incorporated architectural and spatial elements into his two-dimensional works. Depending on the viewer’s position and bodily movement, patterns and colors shift, gradually revealing themselves only through sustained engagement. Kurose likewise presents series that trace the transformation of residual marks—from points to lines to planes—thereby seeking to update conventional notions of painting as a closed, self-contained form.

Residual traces, emergent patterns, time inscribed in the body, afterimages etched into vision—through integrating space, structure, and embodied perception into the craft-based and time-intensive processes of woodblock printing and ink drawing, the works of these two artists evoke a new mode of viewing. Through this exhibition, we hope visitors will sense the often-invisible vitality of time and matter, and perhaps even experience moments of synchronicity with the world itself.

Curation｜Unfold Contemporary
Text (Japanese)｜Mu-Wei Huang