Text by Kuang-Yi CHEN
(Professor, Department of Fine Arts / Dean, College of Fine Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts)

Wen Jen Lin is not a full-time artist; his primary profession is serving as Chairman of Synmosa Biopharma Corporation. Painting is just one of his many interests—reportedly as many as thirteen—but it is the one he has pursued the longest and with the greatest dedication. Since beginning formal training in 2005, he commuted from Taichung to Taipei for seven years to take art classes, and he often devoted his entire evenings after dinner to painting until bedtime. Ultimately, he was invited to exhibit alongside professional artists at major events such as ART TAIPEI and the Busan-Taipei International Exchange Exhibition.

How should we view such an artist?

In 1995, French writer Alain Sevestre published L’art modeste, a book that highlighted the existence of thousands of creators beyond the realm of professional artists. These individuals, often learning under a teacher or emulating a favorite master, typically focus on simple themes such as landscapes, still lifes, or figures. They have no grand ambition to become celebrated artists or to challenge artistic conventions. Instead, their practice stems from a desire to “fill an inner void.” In French, they are known as peintres de dimanche—“Sunday painters”（peintres de dimanche）—people with day jobs who paint on weekends as a means of cultivating personal interest or emotional release. Wen Jen Lin seems to embody this spirit

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文/陳貺怡 (國立臺灣藝術大學美術系所專任教授)

林文政並非專職藝術家，他的正職是新萬仁製藥公司的董事長。而且繪畫只是他諸多興趣中的一個(據說他的興趣多達13個)，不過卻是維持的最久也最投入的一個：他2005年拜師學藝，曾長達7年從台中開車到台北上課，也經常將每天晚飯後的時光全數投入繪畫直到就寢，最終受邀參加台北藝博、釜山台北國際交流展等專職藝術家的展覽。這樣的一位畫家我們應該怎麼看待他呢？

1995年法國作家Alain Sevestre出版了《謙虛的藝術》 (l’art modeste)一書，提到除了我們所熟悉的藝壇專職藝術家之外，其實有數以萬計的作者們並不打算引人注目，他們在形式上或跟著某個老師學習，或模仿心儀的大師。他們所繪不外乎風景、靜物、人物等單純的題材，也並無任何野心想成為留名青史的偉大畫家，或顛覆傳統的前衛畫家，他們只是感受到一種「填補內在空缺」的需要。法文稱之為「星期天的畫家」(peintres de dimanche)，意指平日有正職，利用星期天作畫以培養興趣或抒發身心的畫家。林文政似乎即屬於此類。
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