Eastern Gouache

2012

Length:72.5 x Width:91 (cm)

Chan Chien-Yu (b. 1952, Zhuolan, Miaoli) earned his BFA from National Taiwan Normal University and his MFA from the Graduate Institute of Fine Arts at Chinese Culture University. He later taught at Chinese Culture University and Tunghai University, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Dean of the College of Arts. In addition to his work as a painter, Chan has conducted extensive research on modern ink artists such as Pu Hsin-Yu (1896-1963), Chang Ku-Nien (1905-1987), Lin Yu-Shan (1917-2008), and Kuo Hsueh-Hu (1908-2012), making significant contributions to the development of gouache painting and art education in Taiwan.
This piece is part of Chan’s Yushan Juniper series, which centers on the Yushan Juniper, a tree native to Taiwan’s high mountain ranges. The artist begins by outlining the form in ink, then layers natural mineral pigments over the surface using suihi colors and gilds parts of the trunk with silver leaf. The golden background enhances the contrast between the tree’s silvery-white branches and its emerald-green foliage, drawing the viewer’s eye to the twisted, winding shape of the trunk. Chan created this piece while his wife was undergoing treatment for cancer. Inspired by a resilient juniper he encountered on the eastern peak of Hehuanshan, the work expresses a deep emotional response to suffering and survival. The tree stands as a metaphor for human perseverance in the face of hardship.

Accession number:20170100015