Tommy CHEN Solo Exhibition: Rising from the East, Diver of Abstract Art

In the 22nd Art Taipei of this year, ESLITE GALLERY will formally launch the solo exhibition of Tommy CHEN, “Rising from the East, Diver of Abstract Art,” presenting his abundant productivity via 20 latest works. 

In his new works, CHEN diminishes the hard-edged geometric composition and identifiable symbols and pays more attention to the expression of vital ambience. The viewers can observe the textures resemble the underground strata and mines, the colors radiating like the ashes from volcanic eruptions. Each work seems to reflect the ever-transforming facets of the infinite world. CHEN’s works reveal the destructive and constructive urges of an epochal artist. Streaming through the dense layers and the tropical colors is his vigorous and explosive power of creation. 

About Tommy CHEN

Tommy CHEN was born in Jinan, Shangdong Province, China, in 1931. Amidst the turbulence of the era, CHEN came to Taiwan and built his family here, later classified as one of the Chinese diasporic painters after the Chinese Civil War. At 18, CHEN enrolled into the department of art at National Taipei Teachers College. Afterwards, he learned under LI Chun-Shan, who had recognized his bold use of colors then. CHEN was acknowledged by HSIAO Chin as the first Chinese painter of abstract art, even earlier than ZAO Wu-Ki. At the end of 1955, CHEN, together with friends including HSIA Yan, LI Yuan-Chia, HO-Kan, HSIO Chin, co-founded “Ton Fon Art Group,” and the eight founders were dubbed “The Eight Highwaymen of the East.”

Influenced by Cubism at earlier stages, CHEN adopted geometric and architectural compositions. Around 1955, he introduced the formal elements of oracle bone characters into his paintings, attempting to capture the fluxes of consciousness through his abstract strokes. He also experimented with the combined effects of paints and varying materials, so as to equip his paintings with the uneven texture of antiques. During the 1980s, he turned to acrylic and watercolor paints, and thus his paintings appeared brighter and warmer, his strokes more dynamic. Like a scientific researcher, CHEN has been eager to explore the variations of materials, formations, and colors. He shapes microscopic worlds through the piling of paints; the concrete matters and abstract momentum come to clash on the canvas, generating many atlas-like tableaus vibrating with musical rhythms.

As he remarked, “Make a change, or left behind.” His works reflect the destructive and constructive urges of an epochal artist, not just because he has loosened the yokes of formal languages, but also because he has widened the parameters of material expressions. Overall, his creation displays cosmic magnificence and oriental brilliance. Transcending the constraints of language, his works crystallize and transform the images of life into many a lyric scenes.

In 1959 and 1965, CHEN participated in “Sao Paulo Art Biennial” for twice. In 1962, he was awarded the silver medal in the 2nd International Art Saloon of Hong Kong. His first solo exhibition took place at ESLITE GALLERY in 2012. 

More Information

Exhibition: Art Taipei 2015 | ESLITE GALLERY | Booth: D03 

Artist: Tommy CHEN 

Date: 30 Oct.~02 Nov. 2015 (Fri. to Mon.)

Venue: Hall 1, Taipei World Trade Center 

(NO.5, Hsin-Yi Rd., Sec 5, Taipei, Taiwan, 11011, R.O.C.)