Reef Hsu, Fungi Series -Symbiosis, 2006

Oil on canvas
35 × 27 cm (visible), 33.5 x 41 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good
Artwork located in Taiwan

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Reef Hsu (Taiwanese, b.1978) Graduated from the Graduate Institute of Fine Arts Education at National Hsinchu University of Education and holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University. The artist has received several honours since being selected for the “Made in Taiwan” New Talent Recommended Area in 2009. Notable accolades include the Taoyuan City Art Exhibition, the Yilan Award, and the Nanying Award in 2020. Since 2006, they have held multiple solo and group exhibitions, with works collected by international private collectors and Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture Art Bank.

The artist’s practice centres on themes of abandonment and decay. Their subjects—discarded or forgotten objects—are often found in overlooked corners of daily life or disused spaces. The concept of the "shadow" also plays a significant role in their work, drawing on Jungian psychology to explore the unconscious. Here, the shadow represents the hidden aspects of the self that emerge during moments of stillness, forming a dreamlike, liminal space between reality and imagination. Creation becomes a way of confronting and understanding this inner world.

To the artist, decaying objects are “magical items.” As Paul Klee once said, “Through our recognition, objects transcend their superficial limitations.” These forms, imbued with silent presence, act as vessels for a deeper spiritual resonance—symbols of a tragic beauty that speaks to both fear and feeling. The artist sees in them a personal mythology rooted in the subconscious.

(Photographed in March 2025)