• Duration：2017.12.09. Sat. – 2018.01.07. Sun.
• Opening：2017.12.09. Sat. 3:00pm
• Press Preview：2017.12.08 Fri. 3:00pm
• Artist：Lee Chung-Chung

Modern ink painter Lee Chung-Chung holds her 2017 solo exhibition, Poetic Universe, at Liang Gallery. Filled with poetic and artistic connotations, her artistic style features an inner spirit that integrates elements of Eastern philosophy. With the vast, limitless universe as her teacher, she creates wondrous and beautiful realms.

In the early 1960s, when Lee was studying at the Art Department of the Political Warfare Cadres School (today’s Fu Hsing Kang College), her teacher, Lin Ke-Gong, remarked: “Since the beginning, fine art has always served as a type of abstract symbol.” This statement sparked Lee’s interest towards abstract art. In 1968, along with such artists as Liu Kuo-Sung, she co-founded Chinese Ink Painting Study Association, which launched her lifelong practice and creation of modern ink painting.

In the artist’s pictures, the ink stains, splashes, outlines, rubbings, and dry erasing are coupled with a free and easy level of brushwork and a strategic application of force. New concepts for using traditional techniques and the meticulous arrangement of layered compositions allow her pictures to present a unity of heaven and earth, as well as that of mind and spirit. Along with the rhythm between intent and body, the brushstrokes further enable her creations to become a spiritual space for inner dialogues.

Looking back at the creative journey of Lee Chung-Chung over the last five decades, one can see her stable presence in the world of art. She never once deviated from her pursuit of abstract ink painting due to social environments or ever-changing artistic trends. She has steadfastly explored abstract art, spending many years to complete a personal context to her art. With ink art, Lee is able to reflect a uniquely elegant aesthetic and a divine rhythm. For over more than half a century, Lee’s artistic achievements and contributions have earned her an extremely important representative position in Taiwan’s post-war art history, and a wide level of respect in the art community.

Artist Biography

Lee Chung-Chung was born in 1942 in Anhui, China. In 1945, she settled in Tainan, Taiwan. She was born into a painter’s family, influenced at an early age she had an early start in ink creation, and now utilizes a mature art style. In 1968, Lee joined Chinese Ink Painting Study Association founded by Liu Kuo-Sung where she developed a style of ink painting permeated with modernity and zeitgeist. Lee applied the growth and expansion of ink as well as automatism to create a seemingly vigorous circulation in her works. Bright colors, according to the artist, are meant to feature the same vibration as “an elephant stomping its feet.” Her unique style, dominated by the charm of firmness and flexibility, has let her establish a solid position in Taiwanese abstract ink painting.

Since 1970, she has exhibited in the US, various countries in Europe, China, Japan, and Korea. Her artworks are in the collection of the National Museum of History, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Asia Art Center in Maryland, Fukuoka Art Museum, Qingdao Art Museum, including domestic and international private collections. Currently, she lives and works in Taiwan.