Exhibition view: Hsiao Chin, Harmony of the Grande Chi, Liang Gallery, Taipei (23 January–31 March 2021). Courtesy Liang Gallery.
The Grand Chi is where the universe germinated from, and where the heavens, the earth, and all things have transformed from. It is a pure vital force that nourishes mankind and evokes auspicious peace and harmony.
Born 1935 in Shanghai, Hsiao Chin relocated to Taiwan with his relatives in the year 1949, where he began his art training under the tutelage of Li Chun-Shan in 1952. Together with seven of his art contemporaries, they founded the Eastern Art Association, and the eight of them were dubbed 'the Eight Knights'. After he graduated from the Department of Art at the Taiwan Provincial Normal School in 1954, Hsiao Chin studied abroad in Spain funded through a grant provided by the Spanish government. He then participated in the international Jazz Salon in Spain for three consecutive years, where his exceptional art talent and unique Asian philosophical style were showcased. Hsiao relocated to Milan in 1959, and with decades of support from the contemporary art publishing powerhouse, the Mazzotta foundation, and Milan's gallery vanguard, G.Marconi, Hsiao then became an important contemporary artist in Italy.
Exhibition view: Hsiao Chin, Harmony of the Grande Chi, Liang Gallery, Taipei (23 January–31 March 2021). Courtesy Liang Gallery.
While living in Milan between 1960 and 1966, Hsiao Chin initiated the 'Punto International Art Movement' and held 13 exhibitions showcasing works by artists from various places. The word, 'punto', or point, was chosen to serve as a symbol of the movement, with the objective of inspiring the participants to stand steadfast in one point and to strive forward after getting a clear picture. Hsiao Chin's universal view was developed based on Eastern calligraphy and Taoist philosophy, and while in the West, he was able to cultivate his own unique cultural substance and apply it in his abstract art. The achievement Hsiao Chin had made through the Punto Art Movement marked a critical point in the artist's career, as he entered into a matured phase, showing clearly his exploration on the enigmatic universe and the pursuit of life's energy. His use of symbolic circles and squares echo with the Eastern cosmic concept of 'the spherical heavens and flat Earth', which is a steady theme in his oeuvre.
Exhibition view: Hsiao Chin, Harmony of the Grande Chi, Liang Gallery, Taipei (23 January–31 March 2021). Courtesy Liang Gallery.
A vanguard of Chinese modern and contemporary art in the mid-1950s, Hsiao Chin also spearheaded Chinese and Western contemporary art exchanges in Europe. Developed from Taoist and Zen philosophies, Hsiao Chin's art blends together Eastern and Western cultures and creative modern art experiences, with self-awareness realised through an approach that unveils innate characteristics in a straightforward and frank manner. Hsiao Chin doesn't see art as his ultimate mission in life but uses creative means to explore the journey of life, to explore spiritual potential, and to realize the true meaning behind 'being at one with nature'.
On view in this exhibition are early abstract paintings that were first shown by Hsiao Chin in Europe in the 1950s and extends to his masterful large-scale painting created in 2019, The Energy Between Heaven and Earth.
About the exhibition
Dates: 23 January–31 March 2021
Venue: Liang Gallery
Courtesy of the artist and Liang Gallery.
