Hsiao Chin: The Artist as Astronaut

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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. 

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.