Every piece of fabric I use is like a stroke under a paintbrush. I want to use my strength to enable the younger generation to join and cherish the field of fiber art.
— Danny Amazonas
Born in Pingtung, Taiwan in 1947. Danny Amazonas moved to Brazil with his parents in 1962. After graduating from the Brazilian Academy of Art, he went to New York and started a career in floriculture until 1990. He decided to return to Taiwan in 2006. Upon a chance encounter with fabric, Danny regained his passion for art and artistic creation. He was inspired by American photographic realistic artist Chuck Close and began to study the creation technique of mosaic collage. The features of fabric inspired him to use a unique beauty to present his work, thus opening the way to his fiber art.
Under the influence of East and West, Danny uses fabric as a medium for creation. He layers fabrics like oil paint, using rotating cutters and needles as brushes. He became more and more sensitive to the images he wanted to present and their effect when deconstructed under the mosaic collage. Since 2012, Danny developed a series called ‘Freehand Patchwork’ which, while named “Freehand”, is actually an artist’s reach for a level of proficiency in aesthetic experience and creative skills. Danny’s works have been exhibited worldwide, including his exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, U.K. in 2022.
Danny once said, “Art should have freedom and not be constrained by framework, otherwise it will be difficult to fully express oneself.” Keeping the tradition. Danny uses innovative techniques to paint from pieces of cloth of varying sizes. “Every piece of fabric I use is like a stroke under a paintbrush”, he said. At least 4,000 pieces of fabric are needed to complete a piece of his work measuring about one square meter. With varying thicknesses and depth, light changes and three-dimensionality, the overall creative logic becomes more pictorial. This has become a unique style of his works.
我所貼上的每一塊布，就如同畫筆下的一個筆觸。我想要透過我的力量，讓年輕人也能夠一起加入，重視纖維藝術這個領域。
─劉棟
1947年生於台灣屏東，1962年隨父母移居巴西，於巴西藝術學院畢業後，到紐約生活，開始從事花藝工作，直到1990年退休。2006年他決定回台灣定居，回台後他偶然機會下接觸了布料，讓他重拾對藝術的熱情，重返藝術創作的領域。他的創作深受到美國攝影寫實藝術家查克·克洛斯Chuck Close的啟發，開始鑽研馬賽克拼貼的創作手法。因為布料的設計，讓每塊布有獨特性與美感，激發他想運用布料的特色之美展現在創作中，進而開啟他纖維藝術創作之路。
在中西文化相互激盪的當下，劉棟將布的藝術以新的形式、面貌呈現給世人。他藉布料作為創作媒介，層層疊疊的織品布料作為油彩，旋轉切割器和針線當畫筆，透過馬賽克拼貼的創作方式，讓他對於想表現的畫面更有敏銳度，對每塊布料的特性，以及解構後呈現的效果更能掌握。自2012年起，劉棟發展出「自由拼貼」的創作系列，雖然他自稱這個系列為「自由拼貼」，但它更像是藝術家在美感經驗與創作技巧達到一定的熟稔度時才能完成的。他的作品多次在世界各地展覽，包括2022年的英國倫敦時尚和紡織博物館。
劉棟說：「藝術要有自由，不能有框架，否則很難發揮。」他保留傳統，放棄框架，用創新的技術，拿大小不一的布塊繪畫。他說：「貼上的每一塊布，就如同畫筆下的一個筆觸。」因此他一件約一平方米面積的作品至少用上4,000片以上的布料才能完成，使得布料呈現及構圖上有厚薄、深淺、透視、光影變化及立體感，整體創作邏輯更具繪畫性，也成為他作品獨特的風格。
| 1947 | Born in Pingtung, Taiwan | |
| 1962 | Moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| 1963 | Studied at the Pan American Academy of Arts in Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| 1968 | Graduated from Escola Anglo Brasileira Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| Moved to New York City, U.S.A. | ||
| 1990 | Retired | |
| 1998 | Invited by Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, exhibition at the City Hall Tweed Gallery, New York, U.S.A. | |
| 1999 | Invited by the Mayor of Kaohsiung, Frank Chang–ting Hsieh, solo exhibition at the City Hall, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | |
| 2006 | Moved back to Kaohsiung, Taiwan | |
| 2010 | Competition of Waving Arts (First prize), Taichung City Huludun Cultural Center, Taichung, Taiwan | |
| 2012 | “8th Da Dun Arts and Crafts Masters”, Taichung City Dadun Cultural Center, Taichung, Taiwan | |
| 2013 | Taichung City Dadun Cultural Center solo exhibition, Taichung, Taiwan | |
| 2016 | Taichung City Huludun Cultural Center solo exhibition, Taichung, Taiwan | |
| 2017 | March International Quilt Festival, Sitges, Spain | |
| October International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. | ||
| 2018 | Solo Exhibition “8th International Quilt Festiva Luxembourg”, Luxembourg | |
| “The Quilt Time Exposition”, Yokohama, Japan | ||
| Solo Exhibition “The Manualmente Exhibition Torino”, Turin, Italy | ||
| Solo Exhibition “24th European Patchwork Meeting St. Marie aux Mine”, France | ||
| 2019 | Solo Exhibition in The National Quilt Museum, Kentucky, U.S.A. | |
| Solo Exhibition in The Texas Quilt Museum, Texas, U.S.A. | ||
| “Adelaide Craft & Quilt Fair”, Australia | ||
| 2020 | Kaohsiung Art Fair, Imavision Gallery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | |
| 2021 | “Vibrant Colors That Touch the Heart” –Solo Exhibition of Fiber Art by Danny Amazonas, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | |
| Taichung Art Fair, Imavision Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan | ||
| Art Taipei International Art Fair, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| Art Tainan, Imavision Gallery, Tainan, Taiwan | ||
| One Art Taipei 2021, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| 2022 | ART SOLO 2022, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | |
| Art Taipei International Art Fair, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| Fashion and Textile Museum of London, London, United Kingdom | ||
| Festival of Quilts 2022 Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom | ||
| Art Taichung, Imavision Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan | ||
| Art Hsinchu, Imavision Gallery, Hsinchu, Taiwan | ||
| Art Tainan, Imavision Gallery, Tainan, Taiwan | ||
| One Art Taipei 2022, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| 2023 | Kaffe Fassett The Power of Papttern, Edinburgh, United Kingdom | |
| Art Tainan, Imavision Gallery, Tainan, Taiwan | ||
| One Art Taipei 2023, Imavision Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan | ||
| Public Collections | ||
| George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Texas, U.S.A. | ||
| The National Quilt Museum, Kentucky, U.S.A. | ||
| Taichung Municipal City Huludun Cultural Center, Taichung, Taiwan | ||
| 1947 | 出生屏東，台灣 | |
| 1962 | 移居聖保羅市，巴西 | |
| 1963 | 就讀聖保羅泛美藝術學院，巴西 | |
| 1968 | 畢業於Escola Anglo Brasileira Sao Paulo，巴西 | |
| 移居紐約市定居，美國 | ||
| 1990 | 退休 | |
| 1998 | 受前紐約市長魯迪·朱利安尼邀請於市府畫廊展出，紐約，美國 | |
| 1999 | 受前高雄市長謝長廷邀請於市府大廳舉行個展，高雄，台灣 | |
| 2006 | 回台灣定居高雄 | |
| 2010 | 台中市葫蘆墩文化中心編織藝術大賽首獎，台灣 | |
| 2012 | 榮獲第8屆台中大墩文化中心「大墩工藝師」，台灣 | |
| 2013 | 台中大墩文化中心個展，台中，台灣 | |
| 2016 | 台中市葫蘆墩文化中心個展，台中，台灣 | |
| 2017 | 3月國際拼布博覽會，鍚切斯，西班牙 | |
| 10月國際拼布博覽會邀請展，休士頓，德州，美國 | ||
| 2018 | 第8屆盧森堡國際拼布博覽會個展，盧森堡 | |
| 「The Quilt Time Exposition」，橫濱，日本 | ||
| 「The Manualmente Exhibition Torino」義大利個展，杜林，義大利 | ||
| 「24th European Patchwork Meeting St. Marie aux Mine」法國個展，法國 | ||
| 2019 | 國家拼布博物館個展，肯塔基州，美國 | |
| 國家拼布博物館個展，德州，美國 | ||
| 「Adelaide Craft」拼布展，澳洲 | ||
| 2020 | 高雄藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，高雄，台灣 | |
| 2021 | 「色動 • 心動」劉棟纖維藝術個展，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | |
| 台中藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台中，台灣 | ||
| 台北國際藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | ||
| 台南藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台南，台灣 | ||
| ONE ART TAIPEI 2021藝術台北，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | ||
| 2022 | ART SOLO 2022「藝之獨秀」藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | |
| 台北國際藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | ||
| 英國倫敦時尚和紡織品博物館，倫敦，英國 | ||
| 英國伯明翰拼布博覽會2022，伯明翰，英國 | ||
| 台中藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台中，台灣 | ||
| 新竹藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，新竹，台灣 | ||
| 台南藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台南，台灣 | ||
| ONE ART TAIPEI 2022藝術台北，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | ||
| 2023 | Kaffe Fassett The Power of Papttern，愛丁堡，英國 | |
| 台南藝術博覽會，晴山藝術中心，台南，台灣 | ||
| ONE ART TAIPEI 2023藝術台北，晴山藝術中心，台北，台灣 | ||
| 作品收藏 | ||
| 喬治布希總統圖書館暨博物館，德州，美國 | ||
| 國家拼布博物館，肯塔基州，美國 | ||
| 台中市葫蘆墩文化中心，台中，台灣 | ||
1.6.2023 – 10.9.2023
Fantasy in Fabric
Fiber Art Exhibition by Danny Amazonas
布的幻想
劉棟纖維藝術展