Rowing a Skiff Through a Cliff Cave
Chiang Chao-shen (1925-1966), dated 1973
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, 43.3cm x 47.2cm

Angling Terrace at Yen-ling
Chiang Chao-shen (1925-1966), dated 1993
One of 4 vertical scrolls, ink and color on paper,
each 99cm x 61cm

Feng-kuei-tou
Chiang Chao-shen (1925-1966), dated 1993
Vertical scrolls, ink and color on paper, 146cm x 75cm

Landscape of the Soul:
An Exhibition Commemorating Chiang Chao-shen (1925-1996)
Gallery 104
2002/04/12 - 2002/06/30

Chiang Chao-shen grew up in She-hsien, Anhwei Province, a place with a long history of art and scholarship. As a youth, his mother and father looked after his studies, and he also came to learn calligraphy and seal carving. He followed local scholarly tradition in his study of poetry, establishing a solid foundation for the arts of literature and calligraphy. As he grew up, he carved seals for others or wrote calligraphy on couplets and fans. Consequently, Chiang Chao-shen's exceptional talent received the attention and praise of his elders.

In 1949, like the central government, Chiang Chao-shen moved from mainland China to Taiwan, where he taught at Keelung, T'ou-ch'eng, and Ch'eng-kung Junior High School. It was in 1965 that he held his first solo exhibit at the Chungshan Hall in Taipei, winning accolades from the art world. In autumn of that year, he was admitted to the staff of the Department of Painting and Calligraphy at the National Palace Museum. During his years at the Museum, he came to write many important articles and papers in addition to organizing scholarly exhibits. His achievements are still admired by many in the academic world. In 1978, he was then promoted to Deputy Director of the Museum. In that capacity, he also displayed exceptional administrative skills in handling and promoting Museum affairs. In time remaining from official duties, he continued with both his painting and scholarship, making even further strides in these fields.

Chiang Chao-shen's painting can be characterized as taking from the best of the ancients while adding his own unique talent, creating an exceptionally classical and rich literary style. In terms of landscape paintings, he not only followed traditional subjects, but he also recorded new and innovative pieces based on his extensive travels. Works such as "Album of Travels to Hualien" depict the wonders of Taroko Gorge, T'ien-hsiang, and Taiwan's east coast. His paintings "Ts'ao-ling", "Pa-t'ung Pass", and "Feng-kuei-tou" also describe and record the rustic pleasures of Taiwan's mountain scenery. Other works, such as "West Lake", "Huang-shan", and "One-thousand-island Lake" represent travel records of revisiting old places and of scenes near his hometown. He came to succeed at outlining the soul of nature with his refined use of brush and ink. Thus, he was able to inject a refreshing and neoclassical sense of peace, calm, and solitude into today's sometimes confusing art world.

Chiang Chao-shen was also an artist of other talents in addition to painting, calligraphy, and seal carving. For example, he made bamboo brush holders for his studio and carved his own inscriptions for ink stones. The exceptionally delicate manner of carving reveals his character of eternal refinement. The National Palace Museum now wishes to pay tribute to Chiang Chao-shen for his dedication to the museum world and for his achievements in the fields of art and scholarship. Through this special commemorative exhibition, the Museum hopes that visitors will come to appreciate the literary and classical elegance that marks Chiang Chao-shen and his art.