“Venice”, completed in June 1968, showcases Liao Chi-chun’s seldom but bold use of light yellow to elegantly depict the graceful, untrammeled manner of this famous city on water. With several simple strokes, he outlined the busy gondolas and the enthusiastic Venetian people. The rhythmic pink seems to be the gleaming reflection of the wavy water as well as the expression of a delightful mood. Since traveling to the U.S. and the European countries in 1962, the artist had painted several landscapes about Venice, sometimes with pink and sometimes with powder blue. He has gone through various stages of life, and along with the change of mood, his Venice also takes on several different looks.

A highly representative piece of Liao’s journey to Europe, “Venice” represents an amalgamation of the artist’s romantic and innocent artistic bearings. As an academic blessing, he bestowed this beautiful memory on one of his beloved students, who graduated in 1968 from the Department of Fine Art of NTNU. The original owner later bequeathed this painting to his family. Liao had a fierce passion for artistic creation, and such an enthusiasm also influenced his students. “Venice” has been privately treasured for 46 years and is a rare treat to be seen in public. The master and his apprentice have since departed from this world, but their spirits still soar freely in the boundless sky as the light of this unique piece of art continues to glow and dazzle on into eternity.