The Linger City series comprises four pieces of generative art: Mist, Night, Breeze, and Snow. These works were created for the "Kuo Hsueh-Hu and Generative Artists: Landscape. Across Centuries." exhibition at the LIANG Gallery. The artworks draw inspiration from the concept of landscape sketching and employ modern generative art techniques to produce contemporary landscape paintings.

The inspiration for this work comes from the biography book "Homesick: The Artistic Career of My Father, Kuo Hsueh-Hu," written by Kuo Song-Nian, the son of Kuo Hsueh-Hu.

The artwork aims to respond to Kuo Xuehu's stylistic innovation. During Kuo Xuehu's era, traditional "Oriental painting" revered ancient masters, often favoring imitation in artwork. Kuo Xuehu integrated old and new techniques to develop his unique painting style, gaining favor from the Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition judges and bringing him fame.

In contrast, modern "coded-generative art" has developed a distinctive style with the rise of online NFTs. This style distinguishes it from new media art, which usually features a minimal, flat aesthetic. The new style of coded-generative art is evolving to resemble painting, with intricate textures. Some refer to this style as "new-generative art."

Therefore, this artwork adopts a modern generative style combined with techniques such as flow fields, executed with delicate strokes to create a sense of fluidity in the image. The artwork was initially intended to be large-scale, allowing for intricate details upon close inspection.

As for the subject matter, it echoes Kuo Xuehu's frequent sketching of landscapes. However, since I grew up in a city full of buildings, I chose to portray an urban scene instead of nature in my artwork. The layered buildings depicted in the image reflect my memories of a time when I resided in Beitou, Taipei. During that period, I lived on the nineteenth floor, and the view from my window consisted of such layered scenery. This artwork is based on those impressions, adding some randomness to the work.

If you're interested in the exhibition, you can find a detailed article on ArtTouch. You're welcome to read it: The Emergence of Enlightenment Between 0 and 1: Analyzing the LIANG Gallery's Exhibition 'Kuo Hsueh-Hu and Generative Artists: Landscape. Across Centuries'.

Photo Credit: LIANG Gallery