HONG KONG — Commemorating his 80th birthday this year, de Sarthe Gallery opens a solo exhibition of Taiwanese veteran artist Hsiao Chin on May 29.Showcasing 18 works spanning the period 1955-2004, this exhibition focuses on Hsiao’s groundbreaking contributions to the development of abstract art in a Chinese context, dating from his initial forays as a founder of the Ton-Fan Art Group, and a key organizer of the movement’s annual exhibitions beginning in 1957. Frustrated by restrictions on free expression during the Chinese Civil War and subsequent Cultural Revolution, many artists in Mainland China fled to Taiwan after the end of World War II to further their careers.Born in Shanghai in 1935, Hsiao left for Taiwan in 1949 and began studying under Li Chun-Sen in 1952. His rigorous abstract style soon led him to study in Spain starting in 1956 under a scholarship from the Spanish government. These forays would eventually culminate in what is known as Pintura-AO and Pintura Q, Hsiao’s take on the early 20th century Spanish art movement, in which a restricted range of colors was applied in broad strokes to his canvas. At the same time, however, the memory of the visual idioms and motifs from his native culture, including calligraphy, was also still in evidence, albeit through simplified, flattened forms.During the 1960s, Hsiao matured to become the founder of several European movements, such as Movimento Punto (1961), the Surya Movement (1977), and the Shaki Movement (1989). These represent a considered, harmonious fusion between the spiritual foundations and aesthetics of both West and East, seeking to create a universal, abstract beauty that transcends these geographical boundaries and territories.Hsiao Chin’s “A Solo Exhibition: 60 Years of Abstraction, Harmony and Form” runs May 29 through June 27, 2015 at de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong.Follow @ARTINFOHongKong
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