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Lot Essay
“Abstraction is the art of exploring spirit. It is a kind of drama, is absolutely dynamic, and allows me to respond and experience the world in a satisfying way. My artwork is not still, but actually comes from movement, conflict and power.“ - Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Effusive Vitality Chuang Che Retrospective Exhibition , p.16
Chuang Che was born in Beijing in 1934. His father, Chuang Shan-Yen, was a renowned calligrapher and the vice-director of National Palace Museum in Taipei. Under family influence, Chuang Che became deeply versed in traditional calligraphy and painting, and he developed an immense interest in artistic creation. During his years in the Fine Arts Department at Taiwan Provincial University of Education (now National Taiwan Normal University), he studied under the tutelage of Chu Teh-Chun, which marked the start of his life-long pursuit of abstract art. After graduation, he joined the “Fifth Moon Group” and became a key member of the group. After his travels around Europe in the 1960s, Chuang Che settled down in the US in 1973, where he continues to make art to the present day.
Chuang Che said, “I was shaped by the [artistic] influence. The calligraphic techniques and the changes of the scripts have become part of my artistic cells. My idea is to bring back the rawness of calligraphy, and to recreate natural scenery by rendering it with the semi-cursive techniques. Wouldn’t that make it richer?” Chaung Che infuses the spirit of traditional Chinese calligraphy into Western oil painting, revealing a singular unison of Chinese and Eastern artistic traditions in his work. He added, “Abstract art is a neverending adventure of exploring the spirit.” This shed light on the way his abstract landscape painting has evolved from depictions of nature to capturing its form and spirit, which illuminates the artist’s introspection and epiphany. Chuang Che mixes the semi-cursive techniques for forceful/subtle, dense/sparse, yin/yang, thick/pale, and dry/wet in his work. He translates the landscapes in his mind onto the canvas, capturing the infinite momentum between the sky and the earth. He introduces calligraphic lines, shapes and structures into his paintings, manifesting a spirited grandeur through the ethereal fluidity of his brush. The rhythmic pauses of his brushstrokes whirl to the accompaniment of colours. He also gives accent to the natural motions of drips, splashes and permeation of paints—they dart and move between dense and expansive undulations, blazing new trails between chaotic and soaring images.
Painted in 1988, 88-35 is a rare large-sized diptych among Chuang Che’s works. One can imagine his desire to display a sense of confidence that stems from an all-compassioning vision, and from the artist’s creative energy surging to its peak. The painting stands out as an iconic work by the artist from the late 1980s. The structure in the composition is constructed by colourful, running brushstrokes that flow and overlap with an ink-like fluidity. The heavy ink colour, rendered in semi-cursive style, cuts through the structure diagonally to create a sense of tension. A tremendous momentum emerges between the brushstrokes. The bold, free-flowing colours spell both vigour and tenderness, resounding with an Eastern poetic essence. Through instilling traditional aesthetics in Western art with perfect subtlety, Chuang Che offers the viewer glimpses into the eternal interaction and clash between human and chaos.
Chuang Che was born in Beijing in 1934. His father, Chuang Shan-Yen, was a renowned calligrapher and the vice-director of National Palace Museum in Taipei. Under family influence, Chuang Che became deeply versed in traditional calligraphy and painting, and he developed an immense interest in artistic creation. During his years in the Fine Arts Department at Taiwan Provincial University of Education (now National Taiwan Normal University), he studied under the tutelage of Chu Teh-Chun, which marked the start of his life-long pursuit of abstract art. After graduation, he joined the “Fifth Moon Group” and became a key member of the group. After his travels around Europe in the 1960s, Chuang Che settled down in the US in 1973, where he continues to make art to the present day.
Chuang Che said, “I was shaped by the [artistic] influence. The calligraphic techniques and the changes of the scripts have become part of my artistic cells. My idea is to bring back the rawness of calligraphy, and to recreate natural scenery by rendering it with the semi-cursive techniques. Wouldn’t that make it richer?” Chaung Che infuses the spirit of traditional Chinese calligraphy into Western oil painting, revealing a singular unison of Chinese and Eastern artistic traditions in his work. He added, “Abstract art is a neverending adventure of exploring the spirit.” This shed light on the way his abstract landscape painting has evolved from depictions of nature to capturing its form and spirit, which illuminates the artist’s introspection and epiphany. Chuang Che mixes the semi-cursive techniques for forceful/subtle, dense/sparse, yin/yang, thick/pale, and dry/wet in his work. He translates the landscapes in his mind onto the canvas, capturing the infinite momentum between the sky and the earth. He introduces calligraphic lines, shapes and structures into his paintings, manifesting a spirited grandeur through the ethereal fluidity of his brush. The rhythmic pauses of his brushstrokes whirl to the accompaniment of colours. He also gives accent to the natural motions of drips, splashes and permeation of paints—they dart and move between dense and expansive undulations, blazing new trails between chaotic and soaring images.
Painted in 1988, 88-35 is a rare large-sized diptych among Chuang Che’s works. One can imagine his desire to display a sense of confidence that stems from an all-compassioning vision, and from the artist’s creative energy surging to its peak. The painting stands out as an iconic work by the artist from the late 1980s. The structure in the composition is constructed by colourful, running brushstrokes that flow and overlap with an ink-like fluidity. The heavy ink colour, rendered in semi-cursive style, cuts through the structure diagonally to create a sense of tension. A tremendous momentum emerges between the brushstrokes. The bold, free-flowing colours spell both vigour and tenderness, resounding with an Eastern poetic essence. Through instilling traditional aesthetics in Western art with perfect subtlety, Chuang Che offers the viewer glimpses into the eternal interaction and clash between human and chaos.