Born in 1957 in Hualien, Taiwan, YEH Tzu-Chi studied at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan and then earned his Master's degree in Art Studies from Brooklyn College, City University of New York in 1989. After nearly 20 years of living in New York, he returned to his hometown of Hualien in 2006 and has been residing there since.
YEH's still-life and landscape works share many characteristics with portrait paintings; For the artist, still-life is like an indoor scenery, while landscapes if as an outdoor still-life, both representing the vast and boundless world filled with treasure. They emphasize contrasts in lighting and atmosphere between background and foreground, which accents the development of space. He employs traditional techniques of egg tempera and oil painting to create delicate changes in tone and hue to express a unified sense of light, and employs a minimalist composition and subtle arrangement, creating a profound tranquility and deep nostalgia.
Drawing inspiration from the natural environment around him, YEH portrays the slow changes in nature with intricate detail, such as the forming of mist or the colors of the sea before a typhoon. He elevates the "ever-changing" scenes of nature into sacred and transcendent images through his brushwork, infusing them with a solemn sentiment born from his deep love and nostalgia for his homeland, ultimately transforming them into "eternal" images of serenity, evoking profound silence and the comforting power that emanates from tranquility.
YEH Tzu-Chi has exhibited extensively, with shows held at prominent venues including the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Tainan Art Museum, Chimei Museum in Tainan, China Art Museum, Hong-Gah Museum, as well as various locations in New York such as the TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE, Alternative Museum, Helio Gallery, Alexander F. Milliken Gallery, and Westbeth Gallery among others.