Sculpture

2001

Length:20 x Width:10 x Height:40.3 (cm)

Chen Ting-Shih (1913-2002, Changle, Fujian) was born into a literary family and trained from a young age in calligraphy, painting, and seal carving. During wartime upheaval in his youth, he adopted the pen name “Erh Shih” and produced hand-carved woodblock illustrations, which were printed directly onto publications. After relocating to Taiwan, Chen transitioned to modern printmaking and became a key figure in Taiwan’s contemporary art movement. He represented Taiwan in numerous international biennials and received first prize at the 1970 Korea International Print Biennale for his print Hibernation. In 1958, Chen co-founded the Modern Print Association with Lee Shi-Chi and Chiang Han-Tong, and actively participated in artist groups such as the Fifth Moon Group and the Modern Eye Art Society. In his later years, he turned to collecting scholar’s rocks and creating welded iron sculptures. His iconic piece Johnnie Walker was featured in the volume Masters of Iron and Space, securing his place in the global history of twentieth-century sculpture. Chen’s sculptures were typically assembled from discarded industrial materials, such as shipbreaking scrap metal, turbine blades, broken household items, and fragments of antique folk objects. Through cutting and welding, he transformed these rusted remnants into softened, abstract forms. The marks of age and use were not erased but recontextualized, becoming new visual symbols imbued with fresh life and aesthetic meaning.
Zhu is composed of discarded industrial objects reassembled into a new sculptural form. A round handle and an elongated iron piece suggest the silhouette of a human figure, while two vertical components joined by rivets evoke a sense of connection or gathering—gestures that imply collective presence.
By disengaging these parts from their original functional contexts, Chen Ting-Shih assigns them a new visual and symbolic role. The title Zhu (literally “all” or “many”) invites viewers to interpret the forms as representations of human interaction or community. Chen noted that his use of found materials in sculpture was inspired by Picasso’s assemblage works, a strategy that became a defining feature of his later practice.

Accession number:20170300068