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In 1986, on the occasion of the Statue of Liberty's Centennial Celebration, Dr. T.F. Chen
dedicated one-hundred paintings in honor of this national emblem of freedom and hope. "Liberty York" is one of them.
Like the Liberty Lady that
proceeded from France to America, Chen lived in Paris for twelve years, earning his Ph.D
in art history at the Sorbonne, before moving to the United States. Their corresponding itineraries offer another
reason for Chen's sense of connection with and his resulting homage of one-hundred
artworks to the universal aspiration personified in the Statue of Liberty.
In this "Liberty
York," we see four of Van Gogh's picturesque boats from his "Fishing Boats on
the Beach" (1888) juxtaposed between the Liberty Lady and the New York City skyline. With the boats from the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,
it seems that a small portion of France has come to be honored in America. In this new harbor where immigrants arrive in
hopes of a better life, we can see that they still cherish the creative essence of their
old continents in their hearts. Born in
Asia, educated in Europe, and pursuing his creative dreams in America, T.F. Chen combines
the culture of three continents in his artistic expression.
Paul J. Kenney, museum curator
of the American Museum of Immigration and the Statue of Liberty National Monument wrote:
I was astounded and enthralled
at my first glimpse of Dr.T.F. Chen's Statue of Liberty paintings. The beauty, complexity, and humor of the works
delighted me. Even more, his obvious love and
fascination for this great symbol of America struck me.
As an immigrant, Dr. Chen has viewed Ms. Liberty with a fresh perspective and has
helped the rest of us to see her in all her complexity.
It is most appropriate that the creative energy of an immigrant, one of the
millions who have helped to build America over the last century, should produce this
beautiful gift to the Statue of Liberty on her Centennial.
(April 29, 1986)
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