Venue｜Guangdong Museum of Art
"Majestic: Yang Shih-Hung" marks artist Yang Shih-Hung’s first focused exhibition at Guangdong Museum of Art, and it is another comprehensive showcase following his solo exhibition at The Ueno Royal Museum in 2015. Hosted by Guangdong Museum of Art, with Asia Art Center as the supporting organization, and Discovery Channel as the video provider, this exhibition is curated by Director Wang Shaoqiang and academically supported by Yin Shuangxi, Wang Duanting, and Peng Feng. The exhibition features over twenty large-scale paintings, encompassing Yang’s recent works and historical documents, including rare letters, manuscripts, photos, and magazines from the 70s and 80s, providing a multidimensional view of his artistic journey and the development of his abstract art.
Born in Taiwan in 1947, Yang graduated from National Taiwan Academy of Arts (now National Taiwan University of Arts) in 1968 and moved to the United States in 1979. He was the first Chinese artist to receive a grant from the MoMA PS1’s "National Studio" Program in New York. In 1989, he was honored with the "Outstanding Asian Artist Award." Yang’s artistic repertoire spans photography, printmaking, drawing, ink painting, ceramics, and more. Central to his work is a reflection on the meaning of life. His art experience from figural to abstract, evolving from self-reflective existential themes to critiques of urban culture, and later, during the 1980s in the U.S., incorporating postmodern romanticism and symbolism. In the 90s, he introduced a "plant aesthetics" style in abstract painting, and from 2000 onwards, focused on spiritual exploration within the inner world.
The grand, vivid paintings on display embody Eastern artistic subtlety and poetry. Yang’s understanding of Chinese calligraphy is reimagined in his abstract brushwork, expressing an Eastern sense of profoundness and spiritual harmony.
Alongside his creative work, Yang has also contributed to art education. His book New Trends in Modern Art, published in 1987, introduced emerging Western art theories and movements to a wider audience, inspiring numerous artists. In 2013, Discovery Channel invited him to represent Chinese art in the documentary Chinese Art Chronicles, broadcast globally. His works have been collected by renowned institutions such as The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Huntington Museum of Art, Arkansas Art Center, The City University of New York, Singapore Art Museum, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and Guangdong Museum of Art. Yang’s decades-long artistic exploration bridges abstraction and realism, East and West, tradition and modernity, leaving a profound mark on his career and establishing his highly distinctive artistic aesthetic.