Lu Hsien-Ming’s creative journey of over forty years revolves around two underlying themes — absence and the act of gazing — which quietly shape his distinctive artistic language. Among Lu’s works, the banyan tree is a subtle yet persistent presence. Since his university days, the banyan tree has often appeared in his camera’s viewfinder and in early paintings, quietly settling into the corners of his compositions. For Lu, the banyan is more than just a tree; it carries a deeper meaning tied to faith and spirit.

This exhibition, In the Winds of Time, brings this quiet thread to the forefront. The centerpiece is a large new painting titled The Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Years Falling by Themselves, depicting an ancient banyan tree with wide-reaching branches and twisting roots. It symbolizes the twists, tensions, and cycles of life. The old tree stands alone in empty space — without background or support—but steady and solid like a monument, carrying the weight of protection and memory. It calls to mind the banyan trees found near small shrines to the earth gods in Taiwanese villages, places where people, gods, land, and memories live together.

Here, the banyan and the earth god merge into a symbol that is both a physical landmark and a center of emotion and belief. On the opposite wall, Sun and Moon Ablaze, Wishing to Follow Fate is made up of fifty smaller works. This piece blends abstraction and imagery, breaking the banyan tree down into impressions and moods, representing the process of breaking apart, rebuilding, and transforming artistic expression. This collection no longer focuses on the banyan’s physical form, but reveals its spirit and energy.

This exhibition not only gathers almost eight years of Lu’s work but may also be the final chapter of his Old Trees Series. As the artist says, the form and meaning of the banyan have reached their peak; to paint it again would be repetition, not growth. At this moment, the banyan has gone beyond being just a tree — it has become Lu’s spiritual mountain.