Echos in Watercolor, a solo show

Artist Statement

MinHsuan Peng

As we grow, we absorb nutrients from our environment but we also create the environment and nutrients for other people. Everything we do both changes the world around us and causes us to be changed by it. Each of us is a window that sees unique scenery; each of us is also a complicated mirror that reflects what we see in our own unique way.

Making art for me is an intense, self-searching journey. My painting reflects both the world around me but also who I am: it is like the world rains on me with pearls of thoughts and messages, which bounce off the unique angles of my mind and onto the paper. If you look deeply into my paintings, you will see my flaws, struggles, joys, confusions — my life’s journey and my willingness to be seen. My art is my humble contribution to the world; it is a little piece of my window and my mirror that shows and reflects my unique view of the world.

Echos in Watercolor is my first solo show. In the collection, you will find familiar subjects as well as ones that are personal to me. Most of the work is landscape, but with a dash of human elements – how could or should I avoid them? My goal is to capture my feelings on the watercolor paper. Sometimes I fail and sometimes the result conjures a surprisingly different feeling than I expected, just like how sometimes we don’t fully recognize the person that we see in the mirror. I hope that in these paintings you will see not only the echos of the world reflecting off of me, but you will also feel echos of your own experiences, as my work reflects off of you.