Craft

2001

Length:75 x Width:63.5 (cm)

Wang Ching-Shuang (b. 1922, Shengang, Taichung) enrolled in the Taichung Craft School at the age of 15, where he was mentored by Yamaka Osamu (1886-1949), a pioneer of Taiwan’s Penglai lacquerware. With Yamaka’s support, he went on to study lacquer art and painting at the Tokyo Fine Arts School in Japan. Upon returning to Taiwan, he began teaching and, at the invitation of Yen Shui-Long (1903-1997), joined efforts in handicraft development. He later established the Nantou Craft Research Class in Caotun, Nantou (now the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute), where he focused on producing functional lacquerware. In his later years, Wang dedicated himself to creating lacquer paintings. He received the National Craft Achievement Award and was officially recognized as a preserver of lacquer craft.
This work, Listening Still: Peacock, uses black lacquer as its base to depict the instinctive behavior of peacocks halting in alertness upon hearing a sudden sound. Wang Ching-Shuang frequently sketched from life at the Peacock Garden near Sun Moon Lake. This piece was based on those sketches and reinterpreted into a stylized, decorative form.
Three peacocks appear in overlapping positions, arranged with a simple yet spatially dynamic composition. To decorate the birds’ radiant plumage, the artist employed traditional lacquer techniques such as high-relief makie (raised gold decoration), raden (mother-of-pearl inlay), and crushed eggshell application. Square-shaped cut gold (kirikane) accents further embellish parts of the work. The overall design is refined, graceful, and composed, reflecting Wang’s academic training in Japan and his signature pattern-based aesthetic.

Accession number:20200100064