Min Tse Chen Oilpaintings00-07

PATH OF YEARNING

1996

GRE

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago SAIC SAIC

2007.6.24

Path of Yearning

– Author’s Preface

When I finished graduate school at National Taiwan University in 1996, it never occurred to me that I would be engaged in art throughout my

life.

My generation regarded artists as indigent vagabonds, or, at best, art teachers. Being an artist was considered not a career, but rather a hobby.

Children were instead encouraged to learn other fields that interested them so that they might secure stable positions in the future. I was not an

exception. Though my artistic talents emerged early in childhood, the fact that I could succeed in school in almost any subject I chose pointed

increasingly toward a future bourgeois life. I was too young to break ‘the social norm’ by chasing after my desire to make art into an unknown

future – so instead, I followed it. I then succeeded in passing one exam after another and finally obtained my master’s degree in engineering

from a top university. Everything looked as if it had been pre-arranged from the start.

Even though I had put this desire for art aside, my heart was conflicted. I could not help but feel envious when I spotted other students’ works

showcased in our high school’s Student Gallery. I did not pick up art study until I had successfully completed all coursework recognized by

society as defining a ‘good’ student. I went to Original Art Studio, a private studio in Taipei, and began with the most basic art skills – drawing.

Art then became a passion which I pursued with infectious vigor. My days were spent honing my talents under art instructor Chien Chung-Wei,

who focused and refined my skills.

Stepping into a role in environmental engineering was aimed at realizing my dream to help protect the environment and contribute to society.

However, the harsh truth of the matter finally disappointed me in the end, as I concluded that it was impossible for me alone to change anything.

Then, I turned to art which I had always longed for but had no opportunity to explore when I was young. To move increasingly toward my

dream, while working a high-pressure job, I commenced preparations for overseas study, including admission tests, TOEFL and GRE,

recommendation letters and an art portfolio. I relied on sheer determination to get me through that series of challenges.

With pride and ambition to compete with world-class talents, I made up my mind to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

The three years at that school set my life on a new course, though I was truly torn between heaven and hell. The course was so inspiring that it

allowed me to make breakthroughs in my thoughts and enhance my capability. In spite of the demanding course, learning itself was more than

fun. However, the expensive tuition and living costs were always been a truly heavy burden for me; the piercingly cold weather threatened my

already-fragile health condition. What was worse, the loneliness and discrimination of life in a foreign country was a constant torture, draining

me spiritually and mentally.

Thanks to those years abroad, I have clearer understanding of myself and the world. What impressed me most was the yearning for home.

Brought up in the hustling and bustling city of Taipei, I thought I had less emotional attachment to places. I liked to walk around in the

countryside sometimes to get close to nature, but such contact was not a necessity of life. Moving from Taipei to Chicago would be as normal

and easy as a tour to any other city in the world; as long as I got used to using the language, everything would be fine -- at first, I really thought

so. But things turned out differently.

Lake Michigan offers a truly panoramic view; however, it is the ocean with the salty air, deep blue water and strong waves hitting the shores

that commands a more extensive and profound vista than any lake can provide. No matter how magnificent the architecture and how developed

the urban green areas of big cities, it is the mountain forests and natural landscape that satisfy me; artificial scenery cannot substitute for real.

The green house in the botanic garden was one of the places I particularly liked to visit, as its damp air, smell of soil, and deep green tropical

and subtropical plants reminded me of the low-elevation mountains in Taiwan. A small library in Chinatown was another place that I often

visited to appease my hunger for Chinese reading. Dwelling in a land where I was not recognized made me realize the importance of our culture

and soil of origin.

Creation is motivated by a yearning for communication with others. As for who with and what to communicate, it is up to artists themselves.

The concept of the artist as a personification of individualism remains popular. I am convinced that the higher value of art is its power to touch

its audience and even inspire creative thoughts, positive emotions and feelings within them. Moreover, the ideal of an “art for all” is not only

my belief but also my goal. If you would emotionally move others, first do so for yourself. Thus, those subjects that I care about appear in my

art. I want them to convey the idea of yearning, an experience common to all that strikes a chord in our hearts. Yearning is a beautiful state of

mind, whose basis is love– no love, no yearning. Though it may sound clichéd, love can make the world better. This is my belief, and from it I

draw strength to continue making art.

Each artwork has its backstory. Through it, the paths of yearning can be mapped out – to that time, with those people, filled with those emotions.

It takes you back, and touches you. I would like to share my passions for art and stories, and I hope that my art can be a tool of service to others.

Chen, Min-Tse in Beijing, on June 24th

, 2007

2000

10 12

Valley in Mt. Yang-Ming My family and I used to go and have fun at Yang-Ming National Park in Taipei. This triptych is also a

milestone of my painting career, and thus is very special to me.

Valley in Mt. Yang-Ming oil on canvas, 91x337 cm, 2000

In summer 1992 I went on a trip to the Silk Road in northwestern China. On the way the highland area and Jiuzhaigou impressed me

the most, and Highland Barley Valley and Running Water were created based on photographs taken at those two places.

“Highland Barley Valley” was also the piece shown in my BFA exhibition at SAIC.

Highland Barley Valley oil on canvas, 91x152 cm, 2001

Running Water oil on canvas, 91x117 cm, 2003

1996

97

2003

17

1997

1997

Shuang-Lian Pond was a beautiful and impressive place to me during the years I participated in an environmental protection

organization called Society of Wilderness (SOW), and SOW has been working hard trying to protect this precious wetland. Shuang-

Lian Pond 1997 was based on an aerial photograph taken in 1997, in memory of its unique aspect before it suffered damage.

1997 Shuang-Lian Pond 1997 oil on canvas, 91x117 cm, 2003

Looking through the window of an airplane on landing approach, the night scene of the city is like the Milky Way on Earth, and the

homes of my friends and I are the stars scattered in it. In memory of a special flight experience that helped me make an important

decision of life.

Milky Way on Earth oil on canvas, 91x117 cm, 2003

2004

East Coast Taitong, the county at the eastern border of Taiwan, is my childhood hometown; the Pacific Ocean it faces is the

scenery I never get tired of, and it always comforts me when I am in need.

East Coast oil on canvas, 90x146 cm, 2004

Les Ulis

2003

Les Ulis

ERE 50

Les Ulis

Although I paint landscape, there is always a memory of a person or a group of people related to that place behind the painting – I

don’t miss Paris, except for the one who lives at the edge of the Woods in Les Ulis, a small town in suburban area of Paris.

Les Ulis Woods of Les Ulis oil on canvas, 65x91 cm, 2004

N

Edge of the Land is a landscape painting with an adjusted perspective of Kenting, located at the very south end of Taiwan. The title

of this piece is an equivoque – a description of the geographic location as well as a frame of mind. Kenting marks my solitary but

abundant year of seventeen.

Edge of the Land oil on canvas, 90x150 cm, 2007

The estuary of Tamsui River was a must-go place for school field trips when I was growing up. The original pictures of Estuary and

Field by the Estuary were photo records from a highway planning project that I participated in; the engineers working on that

project contributed a lot of effort trying to reduce the environmental impact of construction, and that moved me deeply.

Estuary oil on canvas, 105x75 cm, 2006

Field by the Estuary oil on canvas, 90x120 cm, 2007

Pine Woods and Bridge There are beautiful forests and natural sceneries up in the high mountains in Taiwan, waiting for people to

experience and protect them. What nature can bring to us is a lot more than we expect.

Bridge oil on canvas, 60x60 cm, 2006

Pine Woods oil on canvas, 90x120 cm, 2007

Le Temps Scelle

2004

The 13-layer Smelter at Jinguashi, originally the smelter for gold and copper mine, is now the most spectacular industrial ruin in

Taiwan. Golden Castle represents a dream – expecting its value in culture could resurrect it, and shines like gold once again.

Golden Castle oil on canvas, 90x240 cm, 2007

Map compresses the real space and objects on the ground into symbols. Unfolding the maps of places where you have wandered

around is like opening the boxes of memories; scenes and events in those journeys come to life again.

1 Map 1 oil on canvas, 70x50 cm, 2006

2004

”Living Jewels”

20

Untitled The patterns of insects turned into highly decorative abstract paintings.

1 Untitled 1 oil on canvas, 73x53 cm, 2004

In the Café oil on canvas, 73x53cm, 2005

Ansel Adams Salute to Ansel Adams oil on canvas, 91x117cm, 2003

Night oil on canvas, 60x60cm, 2007

Autumn Tone oil on canvas, 60x90cm, 2006

1 Impression 1 oil on canvas, 60x50cm, 2007

2 Impression 2 oil on canvas, 80x50cm, 2007

Ride Alone oil on canvas, 50x80cm, 2007

Look oil on canvas, 50x70cm, 2007

Couple oil on canvas, 60x50cm, 2007

Trio oil on canvas, 60x60cm, 2007

Group oil on canvas, 50x60cm, 2007

Spirits oil on canvas, 60x80cm, 2007

Your Place

Yearning is like the scent of rosemary permeating the air

Light, tender but could not be blown away

This is the way I miss you

Walk the paths you walked

Breathe the air you breathed

Wander in the landscapes you knew

Though I know now you are thousands of miles away

And would not show up to my face

But

At this place filled with the sense of you

I almost see your warm smile

In the sunlight coming down through branches and leaves

Just the same as before

1972

2001.5 (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bachelor of Fine Art)

1996.6

1994.6

2007 “ ”

2006 “ ” -

2003 “ "

“ ”

2006 “ ”

“ ”

2005 “Animal Logic and the Lack Thereof”, Three Walls,

“A Friend is a Friend is a Friend”, Axtyryx,

2004 “Sketches, Scrawls, Scribbles and Such III”, The Wiggle Room,

“ ”

“Burnin’ Down the House”, Unit B (Gallery),

2003 “Sketches, Scrawls, Scribbles and Such”, Unit B (Gallery),

2001 “Turn”, Gallery B,

“Parson's Group Show”, Parson's Group

“Ink”, Walsh Gallery,

“ ”, Gallery 2,

“Art Window”,

1999 “Artbash”, Gallery 2,

1998 “ ”

“ ” 2005

“ ” (Brian Clegg) 2005

Min-Tse Chen Born in 1972 in Taipei Education

2001 Bachelor of Fine Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1996 Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University 1994 Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, National Taiwan University

Solo Exhibitions

2007 The Returned of Beijing, Gallery 41, Taipei 2006 Weird Resplendency, Stock 20 in Taichung Railway Station, Taichung 2003 Based on Reality, Smoke & Snake Art Center, Taipei Min-Tse Chen Landscape Paintings, SOW Gallery, Taipei

Group Exhibitions

2006 19th Century Europe Meets 21st Century Taiwan, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Taichung Alluring Rendezvous: a meeting between artists of today and tomorrow, Windsor Hotel, Taichung 2005 Animal Logic and the Lack Thereof, Three Walls, San Antonio, Texas 4-people show, Cathay Bank Art Center, Taipei A Friend is a Friend is a Friend, Axtyryx, San Antonio, Texas 2004 Sketches, Scrawls, Scribbles and Such III, The Wiggle Room, San Antonio, Texas TrinOty, Art Gallery at National Taiwan University, Taipei Burnin' Down the House, Unit B (Gallery), Chicago 2003 Sketches, Scrawls, Scribbles and Such, Unit B (Gallery), Chicago 2001 Turn, Gallery B, Chicago Parson’s Group Show, Parson’s Group and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Ink, Walsh Gallery, Chicago BFA Thesis Show, Gallery 2, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Art Window, Michigan Avenue, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago 1999 Artbash, Gallery 2, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago 1998 Discovering the Beauty of Original Art, Original Art Association, Taipei

地圖1號 Map 170x50cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2006


河口 Estuary105x75cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2006

河口旁 Field by the Estuary90x120cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

橋 Bridge60x60cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

黃金城 Golden Castle90x240cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

天涯海角 Edge of the Land90x150cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

松林 Pine Woods90x120cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

源頭活水 Running Water91 x 117cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2003

雙連埤1997 Shuang-Lian Pond 199791x117cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2003

陽明山坳 Valley in Mt. Yang-Ming91 x 371cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2000

青稞谷 Highland Barley Valley91 x 152cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2001

Les Ulis的森林 Woods of Les Ulis65 x 91 cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

東海岸 East Coast90 x 146cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

地上的銀河 Milky Way on Earth91x117cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2003

作品清單

List of Plates

秋調 Autumn Tone60x90cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2006


望 Look50x70cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

夜 Night60x60cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

三 Trio60x60cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

群 Group50x60cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2006

偶 Couple60x50cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

人物印象1 Impression 160x50cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

靈 Spirits60x80cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

千里走單騎 Ride Alone50x80cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

人物印象2 Impression 280x50cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2007

無題1 Untitled 173x 53cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

向Ansel Adams致敬 Salute to Ansel Adams91x117cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2003

咖啡館內 In the Café73x53cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

無題3 Untitled 365x 91cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

無題2 Untitled 291x65cm布上油彩 oil on canvas2004

David Parker

Author Min-Tse Chen

Editor Min-Tse Chen

Photographer Tsai-Ming Hu, Yang Chao, Min-Tse Chen

Translator David Parker, Min-Tse Chen

Min Tse Chen Oilpaintings00-07

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