Spirit of Liberty Series
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In 1986, on the occasion of the Centennial Celebration of the Statue of Liberty, Dr. Chen, an immigrant from Taiwan and an American citizen since 1983, determined to paint 100 paintings to attribute to the Liberty Lady. Dr. Chen expressed them in his signature style of Neo-Iconography and continued to exhibit newly finished paintings at Lucia gallery in SoHo, the most crowded touristic area during the “Liberty weekend” on July 4th to July 14th, covering the national days of the USA and France.
Dr. Chen’s exhibitions met immediate and vast resounding: “I was astonished and enthralled at my first glimpse of Dr. T.F. Chen’s Statue of Liberty paintings” remarked Paul I. Kinney, Museum curator of the American Museum of Immigration, Statue of Liberty National Monument. He continued :”The beauty, complexity, and humor of the works delighted me. Even more, his obvious love and fascination for this great symbol of America struck me. As an immigrant, Dr. Chen viewed Ms. Liberty with a fresh perspective and has helped the rest of us to see her in all her complexity. It is most appropriate that the creative energy of an immigrant, one of the millions who have helped to build America over the last century, should produce this beautiful gift to the Statue of Liberty on her Centennial”. (April 29, 1986).
Lawrence Jeppson said: “In these past few months, Chen has created a commemorative cavalcade to Liberty that has no counterpart, either in number, variety, inventiveness, or passion, as he shows that Liberty is bound up inextricably with every human endeavor.” He continued: “This eye-popping cargo of Liberty litanies is also a hosanna to the flowering of Neo-Iconography, which is a limitless way to uniting time and space and esthetic diversity into fresh artistic expression and insights. Neo-Iconography can make us think, feel, and even laugh”.
On May 12, 1986, a special issue of the New York Magazine is totally devoted to the Liberty Celebration. Inside the magazine Dr. Chen’s “Sunday Morning, Liberty!” in full color and in full page was presented, along with paintings on Liberty Lady by Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein etc. On July 14, his honorable David L. Wolper, the conductor and General-Supervisor of the Centennial Celebration of the Statue of Liberty visited Lucia Gallery to see Dr. Chen and collected 5 pieces of artworks, including the most beautiful one “I Love Paris, I Love Liberty” together with 500 copies of Dr. Chen’s art book of Liberty Lady: “The Spirit of Liberty”. During the Festival, CNN reporters interviewed Dr. Chen twice at Lucia Gallery and edited with the extravagant Event which is broadcasted to the whole world.
- The Spirit Of Liberty #85030 48″ X 36″ ac “After experiencing the jolt of the dramatic close-up vis-a-vis encounter solely with the head of the Statue, […]
- I Love Paris, I Love Liberty #85056 58 X 44″ ac “France and the United States unite once more. Chagall’s Paris full of Eiffel Towers, lovers, […]
- City Gleaners #85051 72″ X 50″ ac ▪ J.F. Millet: “The Gleaners”, 1857. Louvre, Paris ▪ Gauguin: “And the Gold of their Bodies”, 1901. Museum d’Orsay, […]
- Sunday Morning, Liberty! #86004 60″ X 40″ oc In Chen’s book “The Spirit of Liberty”, he states: “The driving desire of all human beings to […]
- Reflecting Liberty 1 (Blue) #85101 36″ X 24″ ac serigraphy in four versions: blue, yellow, pink and white “Elegantly placed on Mondrian’s code of colors, the […]
- Reflecting Liberty 2 (Yellow) #85102 36″ X 24″ serigraphy in four versions: blue, yellow, pink and white “Elegantly placed on Mondrian’s code of colors, the Statue […]
- Reflecting Liberty 3 (Pink) 36″ X 24″ ac serigraphy in four versions: blue, yellow, pink and white “Elegantly placed on Mondrian’s code of colors, the Statue […]
- Reflecting Liberty 4 (White) #85033 60″ X 40″ ac serigraphy in four versions: blue, yellow, pink and white “Elegantly placed on Mondrian’s code of colors, […]
- Hail To The Statue Of Liberty #85018 72 X 50″ ac So many flags; so much freedom. Rousseau’s skybound and winged Liberty Lady trumpets invitations to […]
- Hail To The Statue Of Liberty (Variation) #85018 72″ X 50″ ac So many flags; so much freedom. Rousseau’s skybound and winged Liberty Lady […]
- Chagall Visiting The Statue Of Liberty #85017 72″ X 50″ ac “Chagall’s couples float idyllically over villages, over countryside, over other couples. They know and rejoice […]
- Challenging Free Frontiers #86002 72″ X 50″ ac “The sacrifice of your loved ones has stirred the soul of our nation and, through the pain, our […]
- Liberty Harbor ▪ Van Gogh: “Boats at the St. Maries,” 1888. Laren Collection V. W. van Gogh In Chen’s delightful Liberty Harbor, the composition is held […]
- Sailing In Liberty #86030 36″ X 48″ oc ▪ Signac: “Le Port de St. Tropez”. Musee de l’Annonciade, St. Tropez. In one omnipotent abracadabra Chen moves […]
- Burning With Cosmic Rhythm #86028 In the vast darkness Turn the constellations in a symphony of cosmic rhythm Only Beethoven can hear With his deaf yet […]
- Burning With Starry Night #85028 44″ X 58″ oc ▪ Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889, Museum of Modern Art, NY “She stands before and in the […]
- Liberty BirdIn Flight #85024 28″ X 22″ Indian ink on paper Soaring Like Birds “Over your head the vast expanse of sky under your feet, a […]
- Gracious Rain Of Liberty #86023 66″ X 44″ ac “It’s raining, but it doesn’t matter. It is a gracious rain. Hiroshige’s workers Still go to work; […]
- United Around Liberty Lady #85040 66″ X 84″ ac “They dance. They harmonize. The statue’s presence provides reasons for this festive jubilee. And with Matisse and […]
- Open To Liberty #86025 36″ X 48″ ac The Crescent still hanging in the darkness Hardly visible, Manhattan deep in her dream ….. Yet hoisting high […]
- Everlasting Cry For Freedom #90001 66″ X 96″ ac The striking power of this masterpiece resides in the astonishing presentation of the grand façade of the […]
- Rising Tide Of Liberty #85026 50″ X 72″ ac ▪ Hokusai, Great Wave off Kanagawa, #4, The 36 Views of Mount Fuji “Greet the Universal Tide […]
- The Awakening Gypsy #85027 66″ X 32″ ac ▪ Henri Rousseau: “The Sleeping Gypsy,” 1897, MOMA, NYC In Chen’s 100 commemorations, he often radically transformed the […]
- Greetings From The East #85022 66″ X 48″ ac “Chen’s being is filled with an incendiary mix of East and West, of old and new, of […]
- Violin Duet For Liberty #85040 60″ X 40″ oc ▪ Chagall, The Fiddler, 1912-13, The Green Violinist “Their music never stops. Chagall’s Fiddlers fiddle And Chen’s […]
- Floating Kandinsky #86043 33″ X 25″ mmp Liberty Lady What’s your dream at night? Do you sleep or not? I see you lift the lamp day […]
- Sailing In Liberty #86026 36″ X 48″ oc Soft breeze Blessed by the Lady Under the bright sky Sailing in liberty Homer’s children Sailing in the […]
- Liberty States #86016 50″ X 72″ oc My Liberty “America, so beautiful, and blessed with Liberty; Each morning I sing a song of thanks, so grateful […]
- Independence And Freedom #86027 56″ X 48″ oc artist unknown, First half of 19th Century: General Washington on a White Charger. “Riding, riding, riding….. these two […]
