For this coming summer, MEZZO ART is pleased to present Years．Stories．CHUNG Chun-Hsiung, a solo exhibition featuring established and esteemed Taiwanese artist Chung Chun-Hsiang, curated by renowned Taiwanese art historian Hsiao Chong-Ray. 

Chung’s work, ranging from ink, oil, collage to pure expression of texture, is diverse and multifaceted, displaying experimental qualities and child-like innocence. He finds his inspiration from calligraphic brushstrokes, symmetric temple gates, paper-cutting craft and festive imageries, which originate from native memories and colorful visual characterisitic of Taiwan; moreover, he expresses them through an elegantly refined and reserved palette. He also learns from Western art masters, such as Joan Miró and Alexander Calder, and incorporates Zen and Buddhist concepts as well as his experience of living in Taiwanese countryside into his work to reflect his cultural root, express his feelings about life and seek innovative breakthroughs in his creative content. He builds upon the formal foundation of Western modern art and combines Eastern colors and inking skills to formulate his unique abstract style. In his recent works, Chung adds more attributes and allure of ink painting. With the free arrangement of form, color, black and white, his composition seems unrestrained yet steady whereas the palette changes from being brightly colored to understated, conveying a sense of simple warmth informed by child-like innocence while capturing viewers’ attention in an approachable manner. The passing years have only enriched his life stories without diminishing his great zest for life. Chini Gallery hopes that this exhibition of the artist’s new works provides a fresh perspective to interpret and re-examine this highly respected artist. Though already in his eighties, the artist still works diligently and steadfastly to unfold a new chapter of his creative career. 

Chung Chun-Hsiung

Chung Chun-Hsiung (1939-) was one of the first group of students taught by Li Chun-Shan after the art master moved from Taipei to Changhua’s Yuanlin. He was soon invited to join Ton Fan Art Group and Modern Printmaking Association, both of which were the forces behind the most crucial modern painting movement in post-war Taiwan in the 1960s. In the 1980s, Li’s students from his later years founded Modern Eye Painting Association, for which Chung was an important supporter. Being both an artist and art critic, Chung is a pioneering figure in leading and advocating the modern art movement in the great Taichung region, whose influence has touched many later artists.