Cheng-po Chen

Chen Cheng-po was born in Chiayi, Taiwan in 1895 and graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1927. He was admitted to the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1924. His oil painting Outside Chiayi Street (1) was selected for the “Imperial Art Exhibition of Japan” in 1926. Chen was the first Taiwanese painter to have obtained such an honor. In later years, his works continued to be selected for the “Imperial Art Exhibition of Japan” and the “Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition.” From 1929 to 1933, he lived in Shanghai teaching at various fine art schools and appraising works of art at art associations. He participated in “The 1st National Art Exhibition of the Republic of China,” and attended the preparatory session of the Juelan Society.

In 1933, he returned and settled in Taiwan where he actively participated in founding the Red Island Painting Society and the Taiyang Art Society. During this period, Chen had freed himself from all restraints and expressed his inner passions without reserve in his works. He left a great number of masterpieces depicting his homeland. In 1945, the World War II came to an end, and Taiwan was returned to the Nationalist Government. He was actively involved in promoting art and planned to establish an art school. Chen Cheng-po was only 53 years old when the 228 Incident in 1947 claimed his life.

Throughout his life, Chen was involved in various modern art activities in Taiwan, Tokyo, and Shanghai. This fusion of diverse cultures has profoundly influenced his painting style, thus making him one of the most unique masters of Chinese art. His rich and splendid life reflects various changes in the art circle influenced by different political rules in Taiwan. At the same time, his life is also an epitome of the art modernization processes in East Asian art history. He contributed to actively promoting Taiwanese art and culture, thus becoming a highly influential painter in the history of Taiwanese art.