When the 75-year-old George Chann held his solo exhibition, which proved to be his last, at a Los Angeles gallery in 1988, the local newspaper called him "a forgotten artist."
Indeed, Chann, the proprietor of Farmer's Market Art Gallery, who toiled a full eight hours every day at the easel in the back room of his shop for 40 years, hardly sold any work during his lifetime.
It was only after the Chinese ex-pat died in 1995 that his paintings slowly gained appreciation in the academic field and on the art market both here and abroad.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY GALLERY
After Chann's first posthumous exhibition, in Taipei in 2000, the life of the recluse began to unfold and his name started getting mentioned alongside those 20th century Chinese artists who were recognized much earlier, such as Sanyu (
In Chann's current exhibition, simply titled, "George Chann, Solo Exhibition" (
These Chinese calligraphy-incorporated abstract expressionist paintings are what Chann is most remembered for.
Chann started working in an abstract expressionist vein in the 1950s, when the school had become the mainstream of American modern art.
Although Chann once admitted in an interview to his admiration for abstract expressionist pioneers such as Mark Tobey and Jackson Pollock, he also realized that he had to explore different subjects and material if he was to develop his own style.
Chann did not have to look that far for inspiration, since his own art gallery -- not simply a display room for his own works, but a jewelry and Chinese artifacts shop -- had ample supply of calligraphy prints and rubbings taken from oracle bones, bronze vessels and steles.
According to art critic Wang Chia-chi's (
In many works, Chann made collages using these rearranged scripts on canvas. It was on these collages that the painter applied oil colors or, in some cases, wrote more calligraphy.
As if to create historical relics, Chann integrated fine sands on the painted surface to subtly imitate the time-worn veneer of artifacts.
These procedures resulted in some enchanting aspects to Chann's works.
While viewing an entire painting is enchanting, a closer look at the delicate traces of paint and the half-hidden elusive scripts, is as delightful as perusing a finely incised and naturally corroded Shang vessel. And in fact, the kind of azurite often found in the patina of Shang bronze is often an underlying color in Chann's paintings.
At the age of 12, Chann emigrated with his father from China's Guangdong province to California and was enrolled at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angles eight years later in 1934.
With a solid training in Impressionist techniques, Chann was an enthusiastic painter of the poverty of the blacks, Chinese and Mexicans, especially of the aged and orphaned among them.
Before Chann set up his art shop, he had good connections with several Los Angles dealers, and these works of social realism were frequently exhibited in his early years.
A less well-known line of painting Chann worked on involved scenes from the Bible. A Christian all his life, he donated 250 works to the Crystal Cathedral, near Los Angles, where they are now on permanent display.
George Chann Solo Exhibition runs until May 28 at Lin and Keng Gellery, No. 11, Lane 252, Tunhua S Rd., Sec 1 (
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
On Monday morning, in quick succession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) released statements announcing “that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) have invited KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to lead a delegation on a visit to the mainland” as the KMT’s press release worded it. The KMT’s press release added “Chairwoman Cheng expressed her gratitude for the invitation and has gladly accepted it.” Beijing’s official Xinhua news release described Song Tao (宋濤), head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CCP Central Committee, as
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
RSS