Renown for his ink and oil paintings of repetitive, organic fields, Huang Zhiyang is one of the most important abstract painters from Taiwan. Described by critics as linking traditional Chinese techniques with American Abstract Expressionism, Huang's works recall natural motifs of bamboo and landscape, poised between restrained, calligraphic strokes and energetic, vigorous gesture. Born in Taipei, Huang graduated from the Taipei Chinese Cultural University in 1989. His more recent works have explored the immersive quality of painting through installation and sculpture.
Read MoreSpeaking of his own practice, Huang remarks "it’s always important to consider matters from the vantage point of a bit of time and distance. Consequently, I tend to view life from the sidelines, deliberately maintaining some distance from the mainstream, seemingly ‘drifting away’ from the main currents of everyday life." This 'drifting away' can be viewed as a deliberate effort from the artist to challenge complacent attitudes towards art, and to maintain a peripheral attitude.
Huang Zhiyang has been exhibited extensively throughout New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Taiwan, and Germany, and has shown at the National Art Museum of China (Beijing) and Shanghai World Expo. In 1995 he was the feature artist of the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and has earned his way into the collections of UBS Bank (Switzerland), US State Department’s Art in Embassies Program, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and Hong Kong Museum of Art. He has a permanent public installation in Xintiandi, Shanghai, and a retrospective of his work was held at the National Museum of China on Tiananmen Square in Beijing from March to April 2014.
