Ink Painting

1989

Length:120 x Width:74.1 (cm)

Chiang Ming-Hsien (b. 1942, Tungshih, Taichung) was graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). In 1974, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain, and later lived in New York. He taught at the NTNU Department of Fine Arts and also traveled to Japan and China for plein air painting. His core artistic practice centers on ink-and-wash sketching, integrating traditional Eastern brushwork and ink-wash techniques with Western elements such as perspective and color use found in oil painting and drawing. In 1988, he received the National Award for Arts and has held solo exhibitions, academic forums, and participated actively in ink painting exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
This work features several blooming plum branches, accompanied by an inscription of “Awakening to the Way,” a poem by Luo Dajing from the Song dynasty. Chiang Ming-Hsien begins by using bold brushstrokes to shape the main branches, then adds delicate lines for the twigs, capturing the tree’s resilient form. The use of light and dark ink creates a sense of depth and layered composition. The blossoms themselves are rendered through a splashed-dot technique, producing a vibrant and dynamic visual effect. Chiang was first selected for the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition in 1961 with a work titled Plum Blossoms. He later studied at institutions in Taiwan and abroad, traveling widely for sketching trips. In 1989, he returned to the subject of plum blossoms, employing a new approach to ink painting to express the energy and vitality of the blooming flower.

Accession number:20170300243