Chuang Che

Green and Brown Gestural Abstract Expressionist Painting by Chuang Che (莊喆)

1975

Chuang Che was born in Beijing in 1934. His father worked as a scholar and calligrapher at the National Palace Museum. Chuang was introduced to calligraphy that later had a profound influence on his artwork. Chuang studied fine arts at National Taiwan Normal University, where he was introduced to the Eastern painting traditions. He felt that there was more that could be brought into Easter painting, and after he graduated, he joined several other artists and became one of the first members of the Fifth Moon Group. This group sought to modernize Chinese art and make it more contemporary instead of traditional. After Chuang was awarded a John D. Rockefeller III Foundation travel grant, he moved to the United States to study art. He first moved to Iowa and attended the University of Iowa. Chuang moved to New York shortly after to become Seymour Lipton's assistant. While in New York, he was surrounded by the Western style of painting, most common at the time was Abstract Expressionism. Chuang was inspired by these contemporary styles and decided to have his art act as a sort of confluence of East and West. He began painting works that were inspired both by his traditional Eastern education, often evoking calligraphy and by the bold abstractions of Abstract Expressionism that he encountered in New York. Chuang’s work was successful, catching the eye of many museums and galleries. He showed his work around the U.S. and Europe, and in 1992 a Retrospective Exhibition was held for him at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. Chuang lives in New York, working in his studio in the East Village. His work has been shown as part of Asia Week New York.