From now until July 24 (2026), National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) is hosting the “Slowly Brightening Up from Within – cc Solo Exhibition” at the Art Center on the 3rd floor of the Library and Exhibition Hall. Featuring 44 works by young artist Wei-Hsi Chen, the exhibition provides a space for faculty, students, and the local community to gain a deeper understanding of the next generation of artistic creation.
Born in Kaohsiung in 1990, Wei-Hsi Chen has been painting since childhood, influenced by her father, an interior designer, and her mother, who specialized in interior style design. In 2012, she graduated from the Department of Fashion Design and Management at NPUST. During her time as a student, Chen focused on environmental protection and animal welfare; her graduation project, themed “Hand, Proximity, Protection” (Protecting all things on Earth), earned her first-place honors. After graduation, she entered the fashion industry. The impact of vibrant fashion palettes influenced her to skillfully apply rich colors to the canvas, making her subsequent works exceptionally vivid. In 2023, she pursued further studies at the Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature at National Taitung University. During this time, her work transitioned toward illustration. Inspired by the natural beauty of Taitung, her drawings began to exhibit a rhythmic, dynamic, and highly varied quality.
Her works often convey the flow of all living things, with stars representing hope and her brush depicting soft emotions that integrate animals, plants, forests, and the ocean. She uses rich colored lines and blocks to express the movement of air and water, showing how they merge and embrace one another. “I respect every moment a creation exists, because that is the true form of the soul flowing freely,” Chen said. “The marks left on the canvas are never a display of technique, but rather the way the soul chooses to speak.” She noted that her work has no standard formula for completion because “creations, like you, don’t need to be defined. Only through the process of communicating with yourself during each creation do you realize if you are getting closer to your true self.”
The current collection features a “big sister” figure with long pink hair as a guide to lead viewers into a soft, authentic inner world. She does not speak, yet she is always there—watching, listening, and feeling—acting as a gentle reminder or invitation to slow down and meet oneself. In these works, animals and nature are not just scenery, but beings that breathe alongside us. The flow of the forest, the breath of the ocean, and the undulation of colors seem to recount the original state of life, quietly awakening our senses and connection to the world. The “four-eyed monster” appearing in her work symbolizes Love (viewing oneself and family with love), Listening (listening more to the stories of others), Caring (caring for the things around us), and Vision (using one’s own eyes to feel the world). She hopes that visitors can use this perspective to look at their surroundings and return to their true selves.
The “Slowly Brightening Up from Within – cc Solo Exhibition” is open Monday through Friday, from 8:10 AM to 5:00 PM, at the Art Center (3rd floor of the Library and Exhibition Hall) at NPUST and will run until July 24 (2026). Art lovers and the general public are cordially invited to experience Wei-Hsi Chen’s works of self-exploration and healing.
