Lo Chan Peng has been invited to create a piece that will be exhibited at the Church of Saints Philip and James on September 27, 2024, with an opening ceremony.
Exhibition Title: "The Light of Innocence"
Exhibition Venue: Church of Saints Filippo and Giacomo in Via San Biagio dei Librai 118, Naples.
Curatorial Team: Organized by Chiara Cesari and Giuseppe Mele - Gaudium Space.
Opening Date: September 27, 2024, at 18:30
Curator’s Introduction:
Giuseppe Mele has curated exhibitions for about eight years. In 2020, he founded the curatorial team Gaudium, which achieved immediate success despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaudium has organized numerous exhibitions and continuously promoted culture and Italy, recently expanding its efforts, like wildfire, to showcase in some of Italy’s most prestigious churches.
Church of Saints Philip and James:
The Church of Saints Philip and James (Chiesa dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo) is a Roman Catholic church in Renaissance style, located in Via San Biagio dei Librai, Naples, near the churches of San Biagio Maggiore and Santa Luciella a San Biagio dei Librai. The church was funded by merchants of the area in 1593, and the current structure was built in 1758. The concave facade is reminiscent of the style of Francesco Borromini, with the upper sculptures representing "Religion" and "Faith," while the lower sculptures of "Saint Philip" and "Saint James" were created by Giuseppe Sammartino. The floor was designed by Giuseppe Massa, and the holy water fonts were designed by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro. The choir loft, nave dome, and wall frescoes were completed by Jacopo Cestaro, who also painted "Saint Philip and Saint James" in the sanctuary.
Curator Giuseppe Mele’s Perspective:
Examining the artworks of Lo Chan Peng is not only a necessary but also an intrinsically complex task. His genius in hyperrealism not only touches reality, as one can easily see, but also the abyss of the unknown. It is in this space of fading from tangibility that his pictorial mastery emerges: a face, a glance, a sigh are transformed into representations that simultaneously transport us to a definite place and an indefinite limbo.
This painting is an epiphany of hyperrealism, a symphony of details that capture the very essence of reality and fix it in the eternity of linen. Each brushstroke is a tribute to the artist’s mastery and vision, who, with almost superhuman precision, manages to convey emotion and truth through his works. His art knows no temporal boundaries; it is an eternal reminder to the viewer, an invitation to plunge into the infinite depths of his creations.
Figurative Art and Poetry.
Feelings and emotions can pervade verses to tell the intimate human story. A new cycle will be implemented in the coming months in front of the works of the artists we represent.
In this case, passages from the texts of Rainer Maria Rilke can be shared, where these two noble arts can mutually illuminate each other.
“So you mustn’t be frightened, if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and over everything you do. You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.”
— Rainer M. Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Finally, we would like to extend our special thanks to the Tianmei Art Foundation for sponsoring this exhibition. The Tianmei Art Foundation has been dedicated to promoting the international vision and development of Taiwanese artists. Lo Chan Peng also participated in the foundation's overseas visit program for Taiwanese contemporary artists in 2019.
