WHAT
Born in 1935 in Shanghai, Hsiao Chin is considered a second generation Chinese diaspora artist. He moved to Taiwan in 1949, and in 1955 graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the National Taiwan Normal University, having studied drawing under Chu Teh-Chun. He played a major role in ushering a new era of Taiwan art to the world stage, and later founded the Punto movement, settling in Milan in 1959, and finally returning to Taipei in 1996 as a Professor of Painting at the Tainan National University of the Arts. Supported by the Hsiao Chin Art Foundation, the current solo exhibition showcases major paintings of the artist, from 1958 to the present day. Known for his abstract art capabilities, he is uniquely positioned in the art world, bringing Eastern spirituality and western abstract art together, arguably the most important living Chinese artist in Europe and the most important European artist in China.

WHY
The artist’s works can be found in a multitude of Western museums from New York to Italy. This exhibition not only showcases major paintings of various transformative periods, but also photographic documentation of his place in Spanish and particularly Italian avant-garde life during the time he spent in Europe. It also reflects the artist’s life-long passion for exploring the meaning of life and boundless energy in outer space from the 1960s till present, and through a significant transitional period in 1990 when he experienced the devastating loss of his daughter. More importantly, the exhibition reveals Hsiao Chin’s remarkable artistic achievement as a post war abstract master and his groundbreaking contribution, bringing Eastern spirituality and western abstract art together.