Curriculum Vitae

Su Hsin-tien Curriculum Vitae

Su Hsin-tien

Revised 17 January 2007

Self-Portrait Collage
Oil on Linen
136 x 173cm
2003

1940

Born in Fuchao Village, Peikang Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan. (In 1985, Peikang was Taiwan's 12th largest city; Fuchao is a farming village outside Peikang)

1947

Attends Peikang's Nanyang Primary School. Unacquainted with art until the third grade, Su marvels at the artworks of upperclassmen. (Taiwan-made crayons of the era were more akin to candles and would not yield good color)

1950

Fourth grade drawing class ignites intense interest in art, encouraged by praise from art teacher Chen Kun-yuan (a cartoonist who worked under the penname Le Yuan). Finishes top of his class.

1953

Sixth grade watercolor Avenue selected for showing at the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition. Earns school's top score in Preparatory Examinations. Attends Peikang Middle School. Elected "model student" by junior high school in second year, and commended by Yunlin County Government. (Pentel colors become widely available in Taiwan)

1956

Attends Tainan Provincial Normal School. Works as a voluntary school library assistant; copies paintings left over from Japanese era in his spare time.

1959

Takes first place in a southern Taiwan cartoon competition encompassing seven counties and cities. Realist sketches take second place. Borrows art books from Tainan USIS, frequently visits Tainan Social Education Center for art exhibition.

1959 - 1961

Frequently visits Taipei art exhibitions while living in Tamsui. As Western art exhibitions at the time are rare, often peruses Western art books in office of Professor Chang Ying-chao.

1962

Takes first place in "society" category at realist sketching competition spanning five central Taiwan counties and cities.
Majors in art at National Taiwan Normal University. (Wood-free printing paper widely used for watercolors in Taiwan.)

1963

Influenced, along with classmates, by teacher Li Shih-chiao. Although Taipei painting community closed, the new and the different were becoming fashionable, with new design and modern painting soon to become a big trend. Style shifts from imitation to expression.

1965

Takes second place in student watercolor division at International Women's Association realist painting competition.
In senior year art class, instructor Chao Ya-po, responding to Su's question "What is outside the universe?," quotes Chuang Tzu: "There is no external to the vast, no internal to the miniscule. The same foot-long stave could be cut in half daily for eternity." Begins to seriously ponder and study the extensive questions about the universe.

1966

Oil paintings take first place in NTNU Art Department Departmental Art Exhibition, NTNU Graduation Art Exhibition; takes first place in design competition. Academic performance ranks first in class. Takes first place in student oil painting category at International Women' s Association exhibition.

1967

Co-founds the Hua Wai Painting Association to promote modern art and research Buddhism. First Hua Wai Exhibition held at Taipei Provincial Art Museum.

1966 - 1967

Delves deeply into questions of "object analysis" and "the meaning of life." Develops an interest in pop art. Paints photo-realistic female nude (Oil Painting, 50F).

1968

Second Hua Wai Exhibition held at Tien Educational Center (undergoes military officer training at this time). Purchases and reads Japanese-language editions of Time Inc.-published Topology and Mathematics, which form fundamental influence on views about the cosmos. Organizes "HuangKuo- Su Exhibition" at Ching Kung Gallery in Taipei.

1969

Third Hua Wai Exhibition held at Tien Educational Center. Travels to Hong Kong for a period -sees bustling metropolis and profusion of European and American goods for first time, taking time also to see numerous movies.

1970

Fourth Hua Wai Exhibition held at Armed Forces Cultural Center in Taipei; exhibits "Modern Ching-ming River Scene;" begins to feel vague [political] pressure. ' Co-founds "70s Super Exhibition" at Tien Educational Center.

1971

Fifth Hua Wai Exhibition held at Sino-American Cultural and Economic Association in Taipei. Overseas at the time; did not participate. Holds solo exhibition in U.S. and resides briefly in New York.

1973

Solo exhibition "An Incredible Space" at National Taiwan Museum. Works now thematic, all 100F oil paintings.

1971 - 1979

Engaged in "Horizontal Illusion" works. The unseen hand of political harassment and interference continues upon return to Taiwan.

1974

Co-organizes " '74 Oil Painting Exhibition" at National Taiwan Museum.

1975

Co-organizes " '75 Oil Painting Exhibition" at USIS's Lincoln Center in Taipei. Sees proliferation of rising galleries on Taipei's east side and emergence of local art. Marries Sheng Tzu-yen in August.

1976

Son Su Hui-yu born in November.

1979

Holds solo exhibition at Taipei's Apollo Gallery.

1980

Leaves teaching position to concentrate on oil painting and artistic theory research, discovering a whole new generation of art publications compared with the 1960s.

1982

Modern Art Association founded.

1983

Exhibits The Early Pacific Dawn Shines Upon the Throes of Four Dimensional Space (1028 X 192 cm) at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum's Grand Opening Exhibition, where Su also publishes a paper, "The Significance of Avant-garde Modern Art".

1984

"Taipei New Painting and Arts Alliance" established, beginning post-modern movement. First Modern Art Association exhibition held at Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

1985

"Interactive Art Group" founded; exhibits at Kuo Chan Arts Center in Taipei.

1986

Completes individual papers on "Elements, Composition, Media and Technique" (unpublished). Researches automation control theory and computerized books.

1987

Begins work on paper "Flowing Process Aesthetics," roughly completed in 1994. Completes about 20 oil paintings.
Begins buying high-quality European and American pigments following revaluation of NT dollar.
Purchases foreign-published art books relating to four-dimensional space and the theory of relativity; confidence greatly bolstered.

1985 - 1991

Works on "Deep Illusion" painting series. 1988 Submits "Analytical Diagram of Computer-model Processing" for critique.

1989

Windfall profits on Taiwan stock markets send painting prices soaring, with early oil paintings leading the way; Taiwan's arts community revitalized.

1988 - 1989

Works on 200F oil paintings; completes 18 paintings while proceeding with theoretical research; extremely busy period.

1990

Grows tired of illusionary painting and begins pondering new approach. Constructs more than 140 Taiwanese cypress-wood framed canvases.

1991

Completes a number of preliminary sketches on curved space of a multi-dimensional world; Completes five 140F paintings. Completes draft of "Flowing Process Aesthetics," undergoes continual revision thereafter.

1992

Embarks on 40F works; abandons "internal-external interchange motif." Completes more than 200 preliminary sketches.
Completes paper "The Significance of Linear Space and Cyclical Space." (Art market booming; major increase in academic papers on Taiwan art history)

1993

"The New Face of Taiwanese Art (1945 - 1993)" exhibition is held at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, ostensibly to emphasize the orientation in Taiwan's art history, but is marked by serious sectarianism. Su and seven other artists place a protest advertisement in Artist magazine, running for eight issues from October 1993 through May 1994. Photographer Huang Sung-chang produces color and monochrome prints of Su's works.

1994

Completes more than 200 sketches; has now completed 40 40F oil "Poly-horizontal Space," some are destroyed and reproduced.
Su Hui-yu receives fourth-highest score on entrance examinations for National Taiwan Institute of the Arts; later passes entrance examination for National Taiwan Normal University, begins study at NTNU in September.

1995

21 May: Public hearings to select a new curator of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum shines spotlight on issues of corrupt and incompetent officials and the inequalities in Taiwan arts and art history. Hua Wai Painting Group members and associates pack the hearings.
Issue 15 of bi-monthly "Taiwan Painting" publishes "Taiwanese Survival in the Shadow of Political Terror" and "The Taiwan Painting Association Movement in the Early Post-War Period (1945 - 1975)," providing an introduction to four associations within the NTNU Arts Department. Begins research on academic paper "The Methodology of Taiwanese Art History."

1996

Begins work compiling art book "Cyclical Space." Color prints for the work completed. Compiles "Chart of World Art History," "Chart of Chinese Art History" and "Chart of Taiwanese Art History." Completes "Chart of Post-War History" and A Concise Political and Economic History of Taiwan (350 Years).
Collects art compilation books from various painting associations for an in-depth exploration of Taiwan's cultural spirit and definitive analysis of its art history.

1997

Produces Recasting the Scene - The Cigarette Confiscation Incident (210 X 172cm) which is exhibited at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum's "2-28 Memorial Arts Exhibition" along with a number of" installation.
Participates in opening ceremonies for National 2-28 Memorial, experiences lots of moving scene. Toils away at compiling "Cyclical Space" art book.
Completes Taiwan's Art History Pictorial Reference (unpublished).
Continues works in 100F oil paintings.

1998

Publishes CYCLICAL SPACE : Su Hsin-tien's Multi- Dimensional World in Painting. Exhibits Recasting the Scene at Nan Gallery's 2-28 Arts Exhibition.

1999

Exhibits oil paintings Coming Ashore in Keelung and Taipei 2-28 Demonstration at Taipei Fine Arts Museum's 2-28 Arts Exhibition.
Publishes "Chronological Chart of World History" and "Chronological Chart of World Cultural History."

2000

Launches 827 Drive to Save the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts with a group of Taichung artists to enhance artists' rights.
Exhibits two works, Incident at Shuishang Airport and Taipei 2-28 Demonstration, at Chiayi 2-28 Arts Exhibition.

2001

Participates in National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts "20 + 1" joint exhibition, showing "Chronological Chart of World History ," accompanied with its 827 Drive photographs, to remind the world of Taiwan's art history.

2002

Exhibits oil work The Role of the Taiwan Governor's Office in the 2-28 Incident at Presidential Office 2-28 Arts Exhibition.
Profiled in ArTop arts journal.

2003

Begins preliminary pencil sketches of composition of new cyclical painting, eventually amassing 50 sketches before proceeding with 100F oil works.
Publishes two pages of "General Chronological Chart of World History"

2004

Holds solo "Cyclical Space Oil Painting Exhibition" at the new facilities of Taipei's Nan Gallery, showing several new works revolving around the "Cyclical Horizons" theme.

2005

Continues to produce a number of other works on the "Cyclical Horizons" theme. Father passes away after long illness.
Accepts one-year grant from National Culture and Arts Foundation at year's end. Paintings Camping, Goats, Sunset and Sea Breeze accepted into Taipei Fine Arts Museum collection, Su's first to be bought by a public institution.

2006

Completes 10 100F or above and 11 30F oil paintings, along with 50 pencil sketches. Pens 60,000-plus character "The Five Phases of Cosmology" and the pictorial article "What is Cyclical Space Painting?"
December 1: receives official invitation from Taipei Fine Arts Museum to hold "A Retrospective of Su Hsin-Tien's Cyclical Space Paintings" and begins various preparations.

2007

"A Retrospective of Su Hsin-Tien's Cyclical Space Paintings" held at Taipei Fine Arts Museum (March 10 -June 24).
Publishes one page of "General Chronological Chart of World History." Publishes art book Su Hsin-Tien's Cyclical Space Painting and Cosmology.

(Translator: Brian Kennedy)