Chen Ting-Shih
Taiwan
1915-2002
Born in Fujian in 1913 and relocated to Taiwan in 1948, Chen Ting-shih was deaf from childhood. This impairment did not diminish his artistic sensitivity but rather focused him more on creative practice.
A pivotal representative of postwar modern art in Taiwan, his works spanned printmaking, sculpture, calligraphy, and painting. Characterized by conciseness, power, transcendence, and mystery, his artistic language integrates Eastern literati ideas with Western abstract forms, exerting a profound influence on Taiwan’s modern art development. Active in key modern art groups (the Fifth Moon Group, Modern Printmaking Society, Modern Eye Society), he participated in numerous overseas group and solo exhibitions across Europe, America, and Asia, gradually establishing his avant-garde status in postwar Chinese art.
After his passing in 2002, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum held Sound of Rarity: Chen Ting-Shih. His works are widely collected by international institutions and private entities, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Cincinnati Art Museum, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Chase Bank (Hong Kong), Citibank (Taipei), and IBM Corporation.
