An artist who has spent a lifetime exploring the potential of abstract images, Chuang Che has succeeded in integrating the brushwork techniques of traditional Chinese ink-brush painting into abstract oil painting, and has developed a unique personal style that combines the spontaneous spirit with the bold, sweeping deployment of color. Chuang Che was born in Beijing in 1934. His father, Chuang Yen, was a noted painter and calligrapher, and held the position of Deputy Director of the National Palace Museum in Beijing; Chuang Che’s family background thus gave him a solid background in the arts. Chuang Che moved to Taiwan with his family in 1948, and subsequently became a leading member of the Fifth Moon Group art association. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Chuang Che was actively involved in the movement to modernize traditional Chinese painting. Combining an impressive grounding in traditional techniques with an innovative spirit, over the course of an artistic career spanning several decades, Chuang Che has constantly been experimenting and moving forwards, repeatedly extending the boundaries of what is possible with abstract art, and opening up new vistas of possibility for Chinese ink-brush painting.

“A Mid-summer Night’s Dream” is an outstanding mature work that Chuang Che completed in 2005. Over 70 at the time he painted it, Chuang Che still displayed undimmed creativity; his many years of experimentation, combined with his experience of living and working in various different countries around the world, had enriched his artistic vision. “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream” makes use of a deep black background, on which appears a dazzling white touched with red, yellow, purple and brown, creating a visually spectacular effect. The composition combines strength and softness, with a wellbalanced variation in intensity; the smooth, flowing ink-brush strokes provide a wealth of variation, coupled with the same kind of spontaneity and sense of dynamic rhythm that is characteristic of drip painting. The overall structure of the painting is complete and well-integrated, without losing the lyrical sense of freedom. The overlaying of the mysterious dark night with magical colors creates the atmosphere of a spectacular party, and opens up limitless space for the imagination. In 2005, the year that Chuang Che painted “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream,” the National Museum of History in Taipei City, Taiwan held a large-scale exhibition of Chuang’s works entitled “Primal From – An Exhibition of Chuang Che’s Painting.” This year (2015), Taipei Fine Arts Museum is hosting another major exhibition of Chuang’s works: “Effusive Vitality – Chuang Che Retrospective Exhibition.” Regarding the question of what it is about Chuang Che’s artistic vision that people find so attractive, Liu Yung-jen, the curator of the “Effusive Vitality” exhibition, commented in the main article on the exhibition that “The question of whether the formal language of Chuang Che’s painting is abstract or representational is not really the key issue; the important thing is that Chuang’s brushstrokes guide the viewer to an understanding of the images portrayed, so that the core visual element of each work is the expression of its real significance.”