A central figure in the modern art movement for the past forty years, Chu Ko is known for his image of the unwinding knot. His work is featured on the cover of Michael Sullivan’s definitive monograph Arts and Artists of Twentieth-Century China (by University of California Press, 1996), in which Sullivan describes Chu as “one of the Taiwanese artists who have given new meaning to the term wenrenhua [literati painting].” While Chu utilizes traditional iconography and a traditional format and style of Chinese ink painting, his approach concertedly strives to revitalize traditional norms.
In 1949, he moved to Taiwan and enlisted in the military, remaining an active soldier for seventeen years. During that time, he enrolled in night courses at a local art college, expanding on his classical education in literature, painting, and calligraphy. In 1968, Chu joined the Antiquities Department at the National Palace Museum and became an expert in the field of ancient bronze vessels. It was during the 1970s, with the encouragement of friends and family, that Chu began to exhibit his works. In 1984, following a miraculous recovery from nasopharyngeal cancer, Chu devoted himself fully to his painting. In 1988 and 1992, Chu was selected as one of the two Chinese artists commissioned to represent the Republic of China at the Seoul and Barcelona Olympics, respectively.
In the past 50 years, Chu Ko has participated in over sixty solo and group exhibitions across the world. Following a retrospective exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1991, Alisan Fine Arts held its first solo exhibition for Chu in 1992, followed by two more solo exhibitions, one at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. In 2014, three years after Chu’s death, the Cultural Department of Taiwan Government organized the exhibition Walking Through his Paintings and Poems exhibit to commemorate this Taiwan icon.
His works have been collected by several important public institutions including the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul; the Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the JP Morgan Chase Art Collection.
BIOGRAPHY
1931 Yuan Te-hsing, a.k.a. Chu Ko, born in Hunan Province, China
1938 Began formal education with the “Three Character Classic,” “the Confucian Analects” and calligraphy
1947 Enrolled in Mi-Ho High School, inspired by the writings of modern reformers and modern poets such as Laoshe, Baijin, etc.
1954 Transferred to Taiwan
1957 Adopted the pen name Chu Ko for his art critique
1962 Became a Buddhist
1966 Published first poetry collection “Unripe Fruit”
1967 Invited to teach Art and Chinese culture at the Chinese Culture College in Taiwan
1968 Joined the Antiquities Department of the National Palace Museum, specializing in ancient bronze vessels
1970s Edited and written“Enamels in National Palace Museum” (1971)“Jade in National Museum” (1974), published “The Cultural Monuments of China”(1976) a survey of Chinese art for the general
1980s Published “Firebird Reborn” (1985), a collection of art reviews titled “The Life of Beauty” (1986)
2002 Lectured and demonstrated at Seattle Asian Art Museum, Seattle, USA
Retired researcher from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan
2011 Passed away in Taiwan
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
2014
2008
2007
2006
2004
1999
1998
1997
1996
1992
1991
1989
1984
1973
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
