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EVENT DESCRIPTION
Hanart TZ Gallery is honoured this September to present ‘Constructing Eternity’, an exhibition of ink paintings by late Taiwanese master artist Yeh Shih-Chiang (1926-2012).
Yeh Shih-Chiang was born in 1926 in Guangdong Province, China, and died in Taipei in 2012. He was among the last class of students at the Guangzhou Municipal Junior Art College under the directorship of the illustrious ink painter Gao Jianfu. In 1949, Yeh and a few classmates planned an art expedition to the famous Dunhuang Grottoes, but they were frustrated in the effort due to China’s civil war, which prompted them to redirect their journey to Taiwan instead; but here Yeh was caught up with the retreat of the National Republic government, and spent the rest of his life in Taiwan.
The experiences of his later youth, when he moved to Taiwan and was separated from his homeland, reflect the displacement, separation and mass migrations of the era. In Taiwan, he lived the life of a recluse in the countryside, and taught only part time at the Fu-Hsin Trade and Art School and the Art Society of National Taiwan University. His teaching style and mentoring, exemplified by his words and deeds are remembered fondly by generations of students. Over the years, he also became celebrated as a maker of ‘guqin’ (Chinese zither). In contrast to his fame as a maker of this music instrument, he was reluctant to exhibit his paintings and calligraphy, his true métier, although in time the legend of his art grew even with the limited works seen by Taiwan’s art circle. Living in extreme simplicity and isolation, Yeh sought to maintain the purity of his artistic pursuit by rejecting the institutional constraints of the art world, even as his lifelong vision was to find his place in art history. In Yeh’s final years, he rejected the offer of a major exhibition by the National Museum of History due to disagreement with standard curatorial practice.
Details
- Start:
- 14 September 2024
- End:
- 19 October 2024
- Admission:
- Free
- Event Category:
- Ink & Drawing
Venue
Organiser
- Hanart TZ Gallery
- Phone
- 25269019
- hanart@hanart.com
- View Organiser Website
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