By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
The Eternal Garden: Titanium Art by Aka Chen opened as a special exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science Thursday. As the exhibit unfolds its natural beauty for art lovers, the springtime outside is revealing itself in a similar fashion with flora such as magnolia blossoms and morning glories.
Fascinated with the beauty of lines since he was a child studying Chinese calligraphy, Taiwanese artist Aka Chen has created an alluring garden. These are often perched upon long, thin replicas of tree branches and limbs.
His work captures what he describes as his experience with both nature and meditation.
“I replicate what I experience within my inner self and what I experience in nature,” Chen said. “I believe that everyone has a garden in their heart, a reflection of all that they have experienced from childhood.”
His morning glories are brilliantly clad in iridescent shades of blue and violet and have titanium outlining their forms. Viewers are drawn in for as close a look as possible. They become lost in the beauty and simplicity of Chen’s work.
The same is true of each of his roses. Clad in shades of peach, pink and red illuminated with outlines of titanium, they sparkle and dance, creating a fiery illusion behind the museum exhibition barrier. They beg for attention from viewers.
Birds, Dragonflies and butterflies, along with a view other species of flowers also outlined in titanium, dance along the exhibit, drawing the gazes of viewers.
Working with titanium is both an art and a science. Chen has studied both the art and the science of it, experimenting with it for many years to craft exhibition-quality pieces and exquisite hand-crafted jewelry pieces.
Aka Chen is the first titanium artist from Taiwan to be invited for a solo museum exhibition in the United States.
“His pieces are small and appear fragile, but they are strong and sturdy and will last for many years,” said Yvonne Hsiao, Director General for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston whose office worked to bring Chen’s exhibit to Houston.
Chen’s exhibition at the Museum of Natural History in Houston will be on display during operating hours. For more information on the times and dates for the exhibition, please see https://www.hmns.org/exhibits/eternal-garden/.
