CHEN TING-SHIH

The exhibition’s point of departure begins with Chen’s early transformative stage, revealing his shift from narrative woodcut to abstract expressionism, as seen in such works as TOTEM(1964), The Beginning of Zen(1965), and Lonely Night(1965); the latter two of which were created and exhibited in the US. By examining this period, one will discover the strong connection in his works with the calligraphic and textual. In TOTEM, continuous lines compose the shape. Viewers can also see how the composition of The Beginning of Zen is inspired by the Chinese character of “Zen” from Chen’s note(see Asking the Heaven: Chen Ting- Shin Memorial Exhibition, P. 206).

Furthermore, shapes in works such as Ming, Wind, and Howl, all of which have never revealed to the public until now, are also related to the textual in their forms. In Lonely Night(1965), Downtown I(1966), and Downtown II(1966), the spiral arrangements of Chen’s forms are liken to both an expansive upwards gaze towards the stars and the moon or a commanding survey down upon a city or a tract of land. Such examples predict the emergence of Chen’s later important works Dawn and Hibernating, as well as his unique philosophy on art. In the late 1960s, Chen started his most completed series, which includes Day and Night, Stellar Symmetry, and Will. His early works Day and Night 15(1967), Day and Night 16(1972), and Stellar Symmetry 2(1974) establish how Chen’s practice was in dialogue with the contemporary abstraction movement of that time. These hard-edge, Punto-like compositions represent one of his most aggressive periods of art making. In contrast to the creations focusing on the sun, the moon, and the stars, the less often discussed Will is a series done in a style resembling seal carvings. However, Chen worked on the Will series for 13 years, beginning in 1973, which indicates the importance of this lengthy series to the artist. Will is more geometric and active, and reveals to us more about the intersection of Eastern and Western aesthetics that exist in the artist’s works.

Chen, who was born in 1913 and died in 2002, invented an artistic style that is minimal yet strong, aloof yet extraordinary; all despite having experienced the hardships of war, displacement, political strife, and the wave of Western Modernism all throughout his life. His calm and mysterious blackness inforsm the title of the exhibition “The Beginning of Zen.” Chen opened a new page of Chinese post-war art. From Taiwan to the world, he will eventually roam in the infinite energy of the universe.