Chen Chi-Hsiang is a professional visual artist, art critic (member of AICA), contemporary art historian, contemporary art data expert, and amateur horticulturist. Born in 1956 in Pingtung County, Taiwan, he graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the National College of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts) in 1979. During his studies, he enjoyed reading Western humanities, art, history, literature, was fascinated by existentialist philosophy, and had a thirst for Western modern art history and contemporary art. He also loved Chinese poetry (Tang and Song ci) and the history of Chinese painting, often auditing Professor Li Lin-can’s art history courses at National Taiwan University; these memories remain vivid, and he can still recite poetry or verses by the Indian poet laureate Tagore. His passion for creation and thirst for Western humanities, art, and knowledge led him to Paris, the city of art, in 1982 to engage in artistic creation and cultural research. Seeking to explore the true face of Western modern and contemporary art, he began diligently studying French, choosing a more arduous path of learning without attending an art school, instead independently exploring the broad scope of art in this open artistic capital. He tirelessly visited various museums and galleries, and even after 27 years, his enthusiasm and curiosity remain undimmed (these places are now like my kitchen); the Centre Pompidou and the Musée Municipal d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris became my artistic sanctuaries. Over the years, he became thoroughly familiar with images and trends of modern art and currently active artists, both famous and lesser-known. Since 1983, he has photographed every exhibition at any museum or gallery that allowed photography for archiving purposes. Today, he possesses a complete set of photographic records of contemporary art activities in Paris over the past 24 years (along with nearly 300,000 images covering museums, horticulture, and the Paris metropolis). He collects all first-hand materials, including press releases, brochures, free art magazines, and subscriptions such as Art Press, actively participating in various symposiums and lectures with tireless enthusiasm to broaden his diverse contemporary cultural horizons.

Starting in 1986, he began introducing Parisian contemporary art and publishing critical articles (in Taiwan Artist magazine and Lion Heart Art). On the occasion of the bicentennial of the French Revolution in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, he personally witnessed history, deeply experiencing unprecedented freedom and rebirth. In those awakening days, he pondered the significance of this moment, concluding the 1980s by completing the book European Postmodern Art. That same year, he received a research grant from the Center for Visual Arts of the French Ministry of Culture and traveled to Spain to investigate the development of its modern and contemporary art. If the 1980s saw a return to painting, the 1990s marked a return to objects, tracing their origins into the most controversial field of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp’s domain, attempting to understand the permeability and truth of objects. Within the realm of art consumption and the art of consumption, he arrived at the aesthetics of reality proposed by Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo. In 1990, he translated over ten important articles about contemporary objects from various contemporary art magazines into the book Descendants of Marcel Duchamp (unpublished). The following year (1991), feeling that Taiwan and Asia were situated within the US international strategic map, subject to American cultural dominance and influence as a matter of course, he sought to broaden Taiwan’s perspective on French contemporary art. He translated a book featuring profiles of French contemporary artists from contemporary art magazines (unpublished). Starting in 1986, he established systematic research methods, taking notes during exhibitions, readings, lectures, and symposiums, which, after organization, became references for his personal art writing and lectures on modern and contemporary art history. During this period, he wrote exhibition critiques and catalog essays for Taiwanese artists living in Paris.

In 1992, invited by the European-Taiwan Association, he gave a special lecture on "The History of Artistic Movements Since Taiwan's Lifting of Martial Law." In 1993, he compiled the Taiwan Artist Criticism Collection (unpublished) and held a solo exhibition at the Golden Water Gallery in Paris. In 1994, he was invited to participate in the Eslite Annual Newcomer Exhibition in Taipei. From 1995 to 1996, he wrote Paris Art Journey (a guide to Paris museums) for Taiwan Dadi Publishing House, receiving great praise with 13,000 copies published. Subsequently, from 1996 to 1998, he wrote Flower Capital - Exploring Flowers (a guide to Paris garden art) for the same publisher. Strolling through parks and gardens in the flower capital while living in Paris became part of his personal life; fascinated by garden art, he extensively collected horticultural books and materials, tirelessly traveling from Paris gardens to famous landscapes across Europe. Fascinated by Italian Renaissance gardens, he was introduced to Renaissance art, leading him to make pilgrimages to Italy almost every year to admire exceptional paintings, sculptures, architecture, and the captivating natural scenery of Florence. By 1999, he had completed a notebook on Renaissance painting. Starting in 1998, he made multiple trips to various parts of Japan to investigate "Japanese Contemporary Art and Enchanting Horticulture," broadening his artistic vision and writing scope, beginning to focus on the characteristics of Eastern and Western contemporary art and culture, and the various possibilities of Asian biennales and cultural development.

Concerned with globalized art trends, Northeast Asia, and local contemporary art in Taiwan, he began shuttling between Taiwan and Paris starting in the new millennium of 2000. He held solo exhibitions at the Zhuzhou Studio in Taipei and the Alternative Space in Chiayi, and was invited to lecture at fine arts departments or clubs in major universities. His topics were extensive, ranging from analyzing current European art situations, interpreting postmodern art, the status of French contemporary art, flower capital garden art, the importance of urban greening, emerging urban cultural perspectives, to the directions and prospects of Taiwanese contemporary art under globalization and the conditions for the rise of Eastern contemporary art (especially Chinese and Korean). Invited by East Rising TV's program World Travel, he introduced Paris flower capital horticulture in a 30-minute special feature, beginning to systematically collect data on Taiwanese contemporary artists. In 2001, he held a solo exhibition at the Tainan Cultural Foundation and was invited to lecture at university fine arts departments or clubs. Since 1996, he has attended the International Horticultural Exhibition at Chaumont-sur-Loire in France annually, and visited Rotterdam for the "Jerome Bosch" special exhibition. In 2002, he held a solo exhibition at the Tainan Xin Xin Art Museum, visited Bruges, Belgium, for the "Van Eyck" special exhibition, toured the Keukenhof tulip gardens in the Netherlands, visited English gardens in Kent, UK, museums in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, and the Expo-02 exhibition in Switzerland. From 2002 to 2003, he served as a guest lecturer in the Fine Arts Department of National Chiayi University. His book European Postmodern Art was published by Artist Publishing House. He participated in the symposium "Xiao Long Coast Vision" in Jiangjun, Tainan, the "Creativity Symposium" hosted by National Chiayi University, and the community planning symposium "Greening Garden Roads" in Taichung. He curated the special exhibition "From All Corners" at National Chiayi University. In 2003, Western Garden Art was published by Artist Publishing House. In 2004, he participated in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization International Critics Congress held in Taipei and was invited to lecture at university fine arts departments or clubs. Returning to Paris, he began organizing his years of modern art notes into the "Modernism Series." In 2005, German Art Hero - Beuys was published by Artist Publishing House. Invited by Tainan Social University, he taught a course on "Western Garden Art." As Art Director of Taiwan Cultural Heritage Company, he was interviewed by Taipei Baodao Xinsheng's "Chen Yu-hsiu New Art Program." He gave special lectures at National Cheng Kung University on "French Surface Supports" and "Conceptual Art: Then and Now."

In 2006, feeling the necessity of publishing and publicly communicating contemporary art criticism in Paris, he launched the website "Paris My City" (www.paris-my-city.com). One section, "Paris Art Exhibition Platform," specializes in introducing and critiquing active art exhibitions in Paris. Another section, "Paris Society and Politics Platform," focuses on introducing and commenting on significant social and political events occurring in Paris, with most discussions addressing French cultural and artistic political viewpoints. He also curated the group exhibition "Origin and Essence" at the Xingang Wharf in Kaohsiung, which was shortlisted for the Taisyn Award that year. In 2007, leveraging the development of the internet, he established his personal blog www.titien.net to convey contemporary Parisian art and humanistic information. Upon returning to Taiwan, he lectured at various university art departments on "Analysis of Taiwanese Contemporary Art under Globalization." In March 2008, he was invited to lecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing on "Global Contemporary Art Trends." He participated in the group exhibition "Paradoxical Pleasure" at Tainan University and Chiayi University, and "Sesame Open Sesame" at Kaohsiung New Thinking Humanistic Space. In 2009, he held dual solo exhibitions at the Tainan Xin Xin Art Museum and Taipei Dongjia Gallery. In 2010, he held the solo exhibition "Original Image Like Appearance" at Taipei Bema Gallery and the group exhibition "Mind Imprint" at Chiayi Fengshan Yunshui Studio. In October 2010, he curated the special exhibition "Each Other" at Taipei Bema Gallery. In March 2011, he curated the solo exhibition "Made in Hong Kong" by Leung Mei-ping at Taipei Bema Gallery. In November 2011, he held the solo exhibition "Original Image Like Appearance" at Chiayi Taiyu Aesthetics Hall. In 2012, he was a resident artist at the Kaohsiung Qiaotou Art Village and held a work presentation titled "Garden Under the Eaves." In January 2012-2013, he curated the solo exhibition "Chen Chia-jen - Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell" at Taipei Bema Gallery, alongside Chen Chi-Hsiang’s solo exhibition "As It Is" at the same venue. In 2015, he held the solo exhibition "Finding 'My' Sky in the 'Mirror'" at Tainan Dongmen Gallery. At the end of that year, he represented the President of the Taiwan Art Critics Association, Huang Hai-ming, at the International Critics Congress in London, UK. In 2017, he co-curated the YIA Contemporary Art Fair in Paris with Meg for Taiwan Shang Gallery. In 2018, he lectured at Hong Kong Baptist University on "Local Art Value under Globalization" and "Overview of Contemporary New Media Art," and participated in a symposium with "Young Creators in Hong Kong" at playdepot. From 2018 to 2019, he curated the retrospective exhibition "Endless Radiance - Homage to Painter Li Yu-yuan" at the Chiayi Cultural Center. In 2019, he participated in the solo exhibition "Untitled" by Christophe Chevance, a Taiwanese painter residing in France and from Chiayi, at the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office, sharing insights as an international art critic. He plans to hold the solo exhibition "Just Like This" at Taipei Shang Gallery in early 2020.

E-mail: titien029@yahoo.com.tw Paris Website: www.paris-my-city.com Blog: www.titien.net