Daniel Liau Wee Seng - The Art of Philosophy and Contemporary Expression
"Mark Zuckerberg" - by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (Acrylic on Canvas)
Daniel Liau Wee Seng, a contemporary artist from Malaysia, has an innovative approach to art that incorporates philosophy into each painting he creates. His art is based on a philosophy of positive energy which he feels is important to communicate in today's world. While many artists create art for basic decoration, Seng looks to create art that communicates meaning and purpose, expresses positivity and self-encouragement, and has social or cultural significance. His artistic style is expressive and abstract with modernistic elements of bold colors, strong brush strokes, and a touch of realism that bring his subjects to life. Most of his artwork is oil and acrylic paint on canvas, and is a reflection of his life experiences and desire to create artwork that makes the viewer think and better understand his artwork.
As an artist, Seng started painting at a very young age, and was always attracted to things that were different and unique. He studied with the Russian art master Gregory Pototsky and the Chinese master Xu Min, and later expanded his art education into Western art. Some of his favorite painters from Western cultures are Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, Salvador Dali, and Henry Matisse. Seng feels that their paintings inspired his creativity as an artist and helped him understand the value of style and having a unique personality in your art.
Seng's portrait of Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, is a good example of his artwork and style. The portrait is abstract and expressive, yet the face is very recognizable. It is almost a caricature of Mark Zuckerberg with the elongated face, showing the influence of the artist Modigliani who was known for his elongated necks and faces. The composition is very clean, with a simple background and the black and green paint that boldly defines the face. The eyes are very prominent, expressive, emotional, and capture your attention, drawing you into the portrait. As Zuckerberg is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and visionaries of our time, this portrait has significant social and cultural significance. Seng expresses his insights and philosophy into words with his description of the portrait:
Description: "His life is full of wisdom and perceptual thinkers. He is a creator. He cannot see a bright future in the beginning of the darkness. He believes in self-judgment and insists on the ideal attitude, creating a great contribution to the world. The technological system is very worthwhile. Respect and admire the great."
In addition to portraits, Seng also paints subjects in everyday life with philosophies and words of wisdom that give encouragement and inspiration for a better, more positive life.
"Value All Things" by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (2018) 76cm x 87cm
Description: "We are faced with one single truth, that in all things there will be a limit, our body, appearance, time and other things in the world will fade one day, just like this stalk of flower. I hope that we will treasure all things at all cost, especially the women in our lives."
"Necessity of Life" by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (2018) 80cm x 86cm
Description: "The bottom-line for success and to be recognized by others, is to possess money, house, car, with career and security. Even though it is pragmatic, these things continue to stand to become achievable goals for the young adults to fight for.
"Moving Towards the Goal" by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (2017) 53cm x 66cm
Description: "Everyone aims to achieve something, just like women strive to have the perfect body shape, men to hope to build on a muscular figure, yet many of these goals remain far-fetched. If you have not reached your goal, it’s time to keep moving towards it."
"Endurance" by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (2019) 57cm x 70cm
Description: "When a beautiful fresh flower appears before us, are we eager to rush into possessing it, or do we take time to understand, to get near, and to appreciate it? And this,
would require us to have strong endurance."
"Be More Relaxed" by Daniel Liau Wee Seng (2019) 82cm x 81cm
Description: If someone is constantly taking precautions against you, how would you feel? Or are you the person who is always defensive, untrustworthy, and hot-tempered? Do you think people are comfortable around you? Maybe we should all be a little more relaxed when we interact with people.
In order to be more creative and achieve a higher level of innovation with his art, Seng does research and studies on how to make new breakthroughs in his artwork. He describes his success as an artist by focusing on:
1. Personal style: "The ability to create your own style is actually related to personal life exploration and experience, such as the innocent joy of childhood, youth expectations and requirements, as well as self-thinking and letting go of persistence in old age. I think a good art work requires more life philosophy to be integrated into the work to make the viewer think more."
2. Creativity: "Most of my works are inspired by personal life experience and common sense, and some are portraits of inner worshipers. All of my paintings are master pieces and cannot be imitated."
3. Value: "The connotation of the work and the value of contribution - every work of mine contains thoughts, and each artwork expresses positive energy because I feel that the world is very lacking and needs positive energy. If only direct communication is used to relieve negative energy, I don’t think it is the best way. In the current society, trust between people has become more and more problematic. In many cases, it can only achieve a temporary effect, and it is easy to be forgotten. If you want to transform a person from negative energy to positive energy, you must think about yourself, reflect on yourself, and enter your heart. Feeling and self-generating positive energy is the most effective way, because it is their own self-encouragement and change. So in my work, I hope that everyone understands the connotation of the work and generates positive energy to change themselves."
4. Innovation: "The academic and innovation value of my work, for example, my brushwork is an innovation in the oil painting industry. I hope my artworks are inherited, passed on from generation to generation, and educated from generation to generation."
Daniel Liau Wee Seng is an artist with many accomplishments. He is a Da Hong Pao oil painter of Tianjin People's Fine Arts is a member of the France Nasledie Cultural Heritage Society, member of the France Déstructuralisme Figuratif Association, President of ICCPA Malaysia, member of the Overseas Chinese Artists Association, and recipient of the USA NASDAQ Billboard Recognition for his work as a Broadcast Exhibition Artist in New York City, New York.