TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Winsing Art Place has announced the first Taiwan solo exhibition of Brazilian artist Lucas Arruda, running until May 31.
Renowned for small-scale oil paintings that blur the lines between abstraction and figuration, Arruda’s showcase centers on his long-running series “Desert Model.”
Rather than a physical place, “Desert Model” represents an imagined landscape, more akin to a projection of the artist’s inner world.
The desert symbolizes a suspension of life and event, where even time seems to vanish. It is this state of void that fuels Arruda’s creative method: a continuous repetition of composition and a lifelong devotion to the same visual inquiry.
Arruda’s work often evokes seascapes, jungles, and somber skies, yet he resists the label of a traditional landscape painter.
In a dialogue with Winsing Art Place founder Jenny Yeh (葉曉甄), Arruda emphasized that light is the structural core of his practice. “Light is the movement itself,” Arruda said. “It guides the painting and provides tension.”
Unlike traditionalists who paint en plein air, Arruda works exclusively in his studio, relying on memory and meditation. He described his process as obscure, where light is not a premeditated element but something that emerges through repeated layering and erasing of pigment. “I don’t have a prior idea,” he said. “I discover things while I am working.”
While many contemporary artists favor massive installations, Arruda is celebrated for his intimate, postcard-sized canvases. He argued that scale is a matter of content rather than information. These small dimensions demand that viewers physically approach the work, fostering a private, quiet dialogue.
“When you work big, you lose the intimacy,” Arruda said. He noted that the limited frame allows him to maintain absolute control over the atmospheric tension, ensuring that every brushstroke carries maximum dramatic weight.
For his Jungle series, he specifically uses a square format, which he believes best stabilizes the chaotic, spiritual essence of the forest.
Arruda’s imagery connects to primal visual memories. His jungle scenes are informed by Amazonian myths where trees serve as the pillars preventing the sky from collapsing.
Yeh observed that while the surfaces appear peaceful, closer inspection reveals a threatening tension beneath the paint. This paradoxical balance has led Arruda’s work to be exhibited alongside masters like Monet and Courbet at the Musee d'Orsay.
