Hsiao Chin: The Artist as Astronaut

2021.3.13—2021.6.13

Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

Hsiao Chin is one of the few abstract masters who have been active since the Second World War. His works are derived from the philosophy of Taoism and Zen, creating a distinct character in the field of abstract painting and gaining recognition in the Western world.

Cause Of Life-1 (1964) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

In 1961, Hsiao Chin co-founded the far-reaching "Punto International Art Movement" with the aim of promoting Oriental philosophy of “calm observation”. He is the only Chinese artist to launch the European modern art movement.

Exhibition scene of “The Artist as Astronaut: Hsiao Chin”Song Art Museum

In this exhibition, Hsiao Chin appeared as an "astronaut". The exhibition displays the works of Hsiao Chin in his 70-year career - covering three important periods of China, Europe and America, with the theme extending all the way and flying over the vast "universe".

Exhibition scene of “The Universal Energy series”Song Art Museum

Hsiao Chin's solo exhibition in Song Art Museum focuses more on his role as a pioneer in promoting Chinese modern and contemporary art in the mid-1950s and he was also the first to promote the exchange of contemporary art between China and the West in Europe.

The Origin of Chi-3 (1962) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

Punto International Art Movement

"Punto" is the transliteration of the Italian word "dot", which means the beginning and basic element of the universe. Since then, "dot" has also become a representative symbol of Hsiao Chin during this period and throughout his life.

Hsiao Chin(on the right)Song Art Museum

Like other expatriate artists, Hsiao Chin had to leave his homeland before he realized the importance of Chinese traditions. He began studying Taoism in Milan, Italy, in 1960, and devoted himself to spreading traditional Chinese culture internationally. 

Exhibition scene of “TAO SERIES, ZEN(CH'AN) SERIES, CHI SERIES”Song Art Museum

His works are rooted in his own Eastern cultural background. He returns to his inner self to explore the essence of art, and opens up a way of cultural contention between the East and the West, so as to contend against the powerful and single Western discourse.

La Forza (1962) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

Hsiao Chin's paintings are based on Oriental philosophies. His early paintings include large amounts of white space, calligraphic strokes that emphasize the fluidity of the body, and the geometric square and circle symbolizing "the sky is round and the earth is square".

Exhibition scene of “The Artist as Astronaut: Hsiao Chin”Song Art Museum

Between 1961 and 1966, the Punto International Art Movement held 13 exhibitions in Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. It became the only international avant-garde art movement initiated by Asian artists after the war.

Sky Mirror (2020) by Victor WongSong Art Museum

Constructing the cosmos of Oriental aesthetics

In the 1960s, as the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gargarian entered space for the first time, and the American Apollo spacecraft landed on the moon, the world was swept up in a wave of interest in cosmic exploration.

Radiation (1965) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The then young Hsiao Chin was full of fresh curiosity and wonder about the world. He yearned to cross the depths of outer space, and penetrate the mysteries of creation.

Vibrazione Universale (1965) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

His visual expression also made a turn here toward total abstraction. He began frequently using elements such as light rays, the sun, and beams of radiation as imagery to strike at the power of life, and root his views of nature and the cosmos in an abstract painting practice.

SUN-5 (2015) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The planets follow their orbits day after day, and in this period, Hsiao Chin's circles came to represent cyclical gatherings of energy. 

Dancing Light-5 (1963) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

Since 1963, Hsiao Chin has created the important series of Dancing Light.

By using straight or curved rays as modeling elements and using simple colors and patterns, he creates a universe space full of binary opposition but harmonious. 

Tension-VI (1968) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

A period of calm and rationality

Hsiao Chin's first trip to New York in 1967 began his exploration of hard edge art. Hsiao Chin's works at this stage began with intuition and constructed a world moving in stillness.

The Hidden Secret (1974) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The creation of this series is mostly based on rational composition. The painting is carried out with propylene as the medium to make the works look pure and smooth

Nero (1967) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The neat dots and straight lines seem to be different from the previous creation ideas, but they still reflect the refinement of traditional Chinese thoughts and the new artistic expression of the present.

Exhibition scene of “THE ETERNAL GARDEN SERIES”Song Art Museum

Rediscover the meaning of life

If 1960s is the first important period for Hsiao Chin, then at this moment he has ushered in another turning point in his creative life. In 1990, Hsiao Chin's daughter Shamanda died unexpectedly, which prevented him from creating for nine months.

Transcending the Eternal Garden-2 (1993) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The loss of daughter in middle age also gave him a new understanding of life and his past outlook on life. Bright Light-Homage to Ascendence, Transcending the Eternal Garden and other works of this period were created by Hsiao Chin from a new perspective.

Force of the New World-1 (1996) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

Force of the New World

With a new understanding of life, Hsiao Chin believes that the end is the beginning, and the energy of life will not die with death, every loss will lead to a new beginning.

In the Force of the New World series, the viewer feels a giant ball with texture and magnetic field in the middle of the image, with a few dynamic and rotating atoms in the corner, like the Yin and Yang in a Tai Chi diagram.

Force of the New World-6 (1996) by Hsiao ChinSong Art Museum

The universe formed by these textures is a spiritual world of philosophy and ideas for Hsiao Chin. All things are balanced and stabilized by the understanding of these orders, and the spirit is transcended and settled by this understanding.

Exhibition scene of “The Artist as Astronaut: Hsiao Chin”Song Art Museum

The biggest highlight of this carefully prepared "The Artist as Astronaut: Hsiao Chin" solo exhibition includes the immersive exhibition hall showing Hsiao Chin's works for the first time.

Exhibition scene of “The Artist as Astronaut: Hsiao Chin”Song Art Museum

Immersive technology is created by Hong Kong technology ink artist Huang Hongda himself. The enduring universe in Hsiao Chin's works breaks through the plane painting and becomes the starry sky in which viewers can place themselves. 

The Infinity (2020) by Victor WongSong Art Museum

Entering the exhibition hall of Song Art Museum, you will be immersed in a world of brilliant: huge sun, radiant light, dazzling colors... This is the mysterious universe created for us by Hsiao Chin, and everyone becomes an "astronaut" because of him.

Credits: Story

Image Courtesy: Hsiao Chin Foundation
Co-curator: Philip Dodd, Calvin Hui
Exhibition Supervisor: Wang Duan
Host: Song Art Museum, Hua Yi Brothers Art
Co-organizer: Hsiao Chin Foundation,3812 Gallery Limited,Blanc Sharing Bonded Art Platform
Image Courtesy: Hsiao Chin Foundation 
Special thanks to TECH-iNK artist Victor Wong and his team.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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