Chiu Wei-Hsiang's Toil and Soil is currently on view at gdm Hong Kong. At the artist tour on 12 September, the artist shared the inspirations and philosophy of his painting practice.
At the artist tour of his first solo exhibition, Toil and Soil, Chiu Wei-Hsiang began with anecdotes of his grandfather. He remembered him watering plants and tending his vegetable patch every day-repetitive, with each harvest shared among family and neighbors. From this, he established a longing for the same serenity and peace of mind.
Chiu's life has been a cycle of labor. He cares for elderly people during the day and draws late at night. Without planning compositions in advance, he works directly, letting the day's pressure and fatigue settle into the image. Many of his self-portraits are without depictions of his hands or feet, as if the figure cannot fully hold itself together; instead, a small flower on the chest becomes something to cling to, where the mountains and nature in the background allow him to reground.
The exhibition gathers these fragments into images charged with emotional intensity. Apples paired with a blessing for peace evoke the language of gift-giving, while the tactile plastic fruit netting holds the contradiction of the joy in receiving good wishes and the reluctance to consume what you want to keep, even as it starts to spoil. In a row, animals and everyday objects carry the same weight: a goose suspended in waiting, a glass of water that turns restless in the light, oranges in decay, and flickering candlelight- all quiet, lonely, yet enduring.
Toil and Soil returns to one pursuit: holding on to steadiness amid daily labor and shifting emotions. For Chiu, painting is a place to set down what he cannot articulate.
Images: Chiu Wei-Hsiang's Toil and Soil, gdm Hong Kong, 2026 (installation view). Photography by Felix SC Wong.
