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Lot Essay
Hsiao Chin began producing abstract works in the 1950s. To enhance his understanding of developments in Western art , he traveled to Europe and the US between the 50s and the 70s. Living at various times in Madrid, Barcelona, and Milan, he acquainted influential figures in the Avant- Garde movement such as Antoni Tàpies, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Willem De Kooning, and Robert Rauschenberg. He was a promoter of Taiwan's post-war Eastern Art Association, and introduced contemporary Western works and theories. In addition, he helped found the Punto International Art Movement in Milan in 1961, along with other founding members Li Yuan-Chia, Italian artists Antonio Calderara and Eduarda Emilia Maino, a.k.a. Dadamaino, Japanese artist Azuma Kenjiro, and Lucio Fontana. The Punto group advocated a philosophy of 'quiet observation,' emphasizing the expression of 'strict structuralism, reflective thought, and pure, still observation.' as well as the authenticity of the thoughts and the understanding of the truth of life". The concept of freedom in Chinese Taoist philosophy coincides with Hsiao Chin's idea of 'the finite within infinity', as evidenced by Chuang Tzu's narration in Wandering Where You Will,
'If instead one had risen through the naturalness of Heaven and Earth, travelled on the six elemental forces and voyaged into the unknown and unlimited, one would have had to depend upon nothing!'
Also, in Chuang Tzu –The Great and Original Teacher, it is written, 'They wander beyond the mundane world and stroll in the world of non-action.'
Hsiao Chin indeed said that the ideas of Chuang Tzu and Zen Buddhism resonated much with his character, and such ideas were "the origin" which he had long pursued. He created with the methods of integrated thinking and intuitive thinking which were popular among people of the East.
The two 1960s works from an European collection, Untitled (Lot 472) and Onde Notturne (Night Waves) (Lot 467) , represented Hsiao Chin's exploration of geometrical structures and the Eastern sense of abstraction. The large areas of empty space in Untitled, and the energy of its single flowing black line, are clear extensions of the spirit of calligraphy and Zen thought, reflecting at the same time the cultural confidence of the artist. In Onde Notturne Hsiao Chin adopts a geometrical style, arranging contrasting groups of warm and cool tones with a regular rhythmic feel as he develops a unique new vocabulary that melds cultural elements of East and West. By contrast with the more rationally-based geometric structures of the West, the natural images and movements in Hsiao Chin's work embody his inner perceptiveness and view of the universe.
Hsiao Chin achieved stylistic maturity during the '80s and '90s; his understanding of the basic substance of life and his continued probing of the universe were reflected in the greater depth he realized in his abstract forms. His Great Threshold - A (Lot 468), Meteor - 26 (Lot 473), Meteor - 25 (Lot 471), and The Eternal Garden (Lot 469) display the depth and richness of Hsiao's metaphysical artistic universe, expressed through a unique blend of reason and emotion, the appeal of colour, and the harmonious grace of his works. Red hot tones, surging blues, extended lines, and irregular blocks of colour, like the competing yet harmonious energies of the universe, move in repeating cycles as they push and pull against each other to achieve balance. In addition to his canvases and works on paper, Hsiao Chin also worked with ceramic panels, letting him produce different surfaces and textures. In Rain – 4 (Lot 474), flowing splatters of paint on a dark base convey all the vibrancy of nature after a rain.
'If instead one had risen through the naturalness of Heaven and Earth, travelled on the six elemental forces and voyaged into the unknown and unlimited, one would have had to depend upon nothing!'
Also, in Chuang Tzu –The Great and Original Teacher, it is written, 'They wander beyond the mundane world and stroll in the world of non-action.'
Hsiao Chin indeed said that the ideas of Chuang Tzu and Zen Buddhism resonated much with his character, and such ideas were "the origin" which he had long pursued. He created with the methods of integrated thinking and intuitive thinking which were popular among people of the East.
The two 1960s works from an European collection, Untitled (Lot 472) and Onde Notturne (Night Waves) (Lot 467) , represented Hsiao Chin's exploration of geometrical structures and the Eastern sense of abstraction. The large areas of empty space in Untitled, and the energy of its single flowing black line, are clear extensions of the spirit of calligraphy and Zen thought, reflecting at the same time the cultural confidence of the artist. In Onde Notturne Hsiao Chin adopts a geometrical style, arranging contrasting groups of warm and cool tones with a regular rhythmic feel as he develops a unique new vocabulary that melds cultural elements of East and West. By contrast with the more rationally-based geometric structures of the West, the natural images and movements in Hsiao Chin's work embody his inner perceptiveness and view of the universe.
Hsiao Chin achieved stylistic maturity during the '80s and '90s; his understanding of the basic substance of life and his continued probing of the universe were reflected in the greater depth he realized in his abstract forms. His Great Threshold - A (Lot 468), Meteor - 26 (Lot 473), Meteor - 25 (Lot 471), and The Eternal Garden (Lot 469) display the depth and richness of Hsiao's metaphysical artistic universe, expressed through a unique blend of reason and emotion, the appeal of colour, and the harmonious grace of his works. Red hot tones, surging blues, extended lines, and irregular blocks of colour, like the competing yet harmonious energies of the universe, move in repeating cycles as they push and pull against each other to achieve balance. In addition to his canvases and works on paper, Hsiao Chin also worked with ceramic panels, letting him produce different surfaces and textures. In Rain – 4 (Lot 474), flowing splatters of paint on a dark base convey all the vibrancy of nature after a rain.