Sculpture

1991

Length:51.6 x Width:38.7 x Height:39.8 (cm)

Chen Ying-Chieh (1924-2012, Dali, Taichung) was originally named Chen Hsia-Chieh and was the younger brother of Chen Hsia-Yu. In 1937, he enrolled at Taichung School of Industrial Arts, where his classmates included Lai Kao-Shan and Wang Ching-Shuang. Upon graduating in 1940 with top honors, he remained at the school as a teaching assistant before joining the Mobilization Division of the Governor-General’s Office. After the war, in 1946, Chen became an assistant to his brother at the art teacher training division of Taichung Normal School. However, the program was discontinued after only one term. He later moved to Tainan, where he was active in the Southern Taiwan Art Association and taught at institutions such as the Affiliated Industrial School of Tainan Institute of Technology, Tainan First Senior High School, and Tainan Home Economics College. He retired from Tainan First Senior High School in 1988.
Chen first gained recognition in 1946 when he was selected for the inaugural Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition. His early works focused on realistic portraits in the academic style of modern Japanese sculpture, featuring robust forms and simplified facial features. In the 1960s, he began reducing his figures to rounded, geometric forms, eventually moving toward highly abstracted shapes that abandoned anatomical structure entirely in favor of pure geometric beauty.
Stillness exemplifies Chen’s mature style. The human form is reduced to an ovoid structure that explores the concept of interior and exterior space. Smooth, flowing lines divide the head, body, and limbs, while the contrasting textures of polished and rough stone surfaces further define internal versus external elements. The work reflects the artist’s calm demeanor and technical mastery.

Accession number:20170300160