From December 8th, 2022 to January 7th , 2023, the Art Center of National Chung Hsing University will hold the exhibition “The Breath of the Mountains: Chen, Wen-Chin Oil Paintings Exhibition,” which will feature more than 60 pieces of oil paintings and enamel glazes works, taking the audience on a tour of the ever-changing beauty and charm of Taiwan’s mountains, demonstrating Chen, Wen-Chin’s talented and liberating brushwork of colors, and conveying alpine spirituality and captivating temperament.
In his journey of conquering mountains, Mr. Chen was able to acquaint himself with the facets of mountains, recognizing the vastness and versatility of the alpines, and at the same time, he was able to refine his character and gain new insights into his painting techniques; rendering in wash drawing techniques to emphasize the hazy beauty and enigmatic atmosphere of the alpine clouds, expressing the majesty of the mountains with brush palette knife strokes, piling up the ever-changing moods of the mountains with a variety of overlapping colors, displaying the space and vastness of the undulating mountains through light and darkness, and constructing a vibrant mountain-scape.
Another unique feature of this exhibition is that Chen, Wen-Chin is experimenting with the use of enamel glazes on steel plates and then applied high temperature baking to demonstrate the extraordinary phenomenon of turbulent clouds in the mountains, a first for art creation in Taiwan.
Chen, Wen-Chin (1968~ ) was born in Dadu District, Taichung, Taiwan, and graduated from the Western Painting Division, Department of Fine Arts, Chinese Culture University. He is currently the director of the Dadun Cultural Center and has extensive experience in cultural administration. During his studies, Chen’s works had won the Chungshan Rotary Art Newcomer Award, the Merit Award of Arts Exhibition of Middle Taiwan, the Winner of the 1st Taichung County Color Brush Painting Hometown Oil Painting category, the Merit Award of Nanying Award, and the Honorable Mention of Ministry of Education’s Literary Creation Award. Among them, Mr. Chen also won the first place in the Taichung County Art Exhibition for two years in a row and was awarded the qualification of exemption from preliminary review. He is currently the executive director of the Middle Taiwan Fine Arts Association and has served as a juror in countless art exhibitions, being invited to numerous solo and group exhibitions in Taiwan, and is a nationally acclaimed Taiwanese mountain painter.
In his paintings, Chen, Wen-Chin illustrates both the physical image and the scenes in his minds, reinterpreting them with his own aesthetic sensitivity after reconciling them with his spirited colors. Mr. Chen not only depicts the topography of mountainous terrain in Taiwan but also the interaction between human beings and the mountains and nature, offering viewers the opportunity to explore the endless treasures of Qilai, Hehuan, Nenggao, and Taroko, as if being in the nature themselves and sharing a heart-to-heart conversation, which all are invited to partake.
