Dr. TF Chen (Taiwan, Paris, New York）
Painter, writer, art historian, thinker
Master of Arts & PhD in Art History from the University of Paris,
7 years at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts.
Founder and advocate of the “Neo-Iconography”, promotes “Art for Humanity”
“United Nations Global Tolerance Award” & “Ambassador of Tolerance & Peace Culture”
Founder & Honorary Chairman of the “T.F. CHEN CULTURAL CENTER”
in New York and “T.F. CHEN CULTURAL CENTER” in Taiwan.
TF Chen has held more than 250 solo shows around the world & given hundreds of lectures in English, French & Chinese. His philosophy & works have been featured in more than 300 textbooks & magazines in 37 countries, especially in many world art history textbooks. This positioning in art history is an affirmation of artistic value. He has published 24 books & his works are widely collected.
“In this information age of computers and media, we need not only hardware and software, but also soul-ware.
” Dr. T.F. Chen acceptance speech for the “Global Tolerance Award” (United Nations Building, New York, 2001)
① The first Oriental painter and thinker with a doctorate in art history from the University of Paris. In the 1960s, he established the “Five-Dimensional World Culture View” in academic theory and advocated the focus of the Chinese cultural world. In art, he derived the “Neo-Iconography” that integrates ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. He spent 12 years in Europe (1963-1975) and more than 50 years in the United States (1975-present).
② A painter with an art history orientation. In 1963, he won a French scholarship and borrowed $100 to study in France. TF Chen has created thousands of works, held more than 250 solo exhibitions around the world, and has given hundreds of lectures in English, French and Chinese. His thoughts and works have been introduced in more than 300 textbooks and magazines in 37 countries, especially included in world art history textbooks in many countries. This art history orientation is an affirmation of artistic value.
③ His literary attainments enriched his artistic creation. He was the first translator to translate the French masterpiece “The Little Prince” into Chinese in 1968. Chen has published 24 books.
④ Contribution to the East and the World: Dr. Chen has promoted cultural exchange between the East and the West through creation, exhibitions, lectures, and book publishing for half a century. He is a “Renaissance” artist with cultural foresight and a sense of historical mission. He is 89 years old and has worked hard to create a peaceful and harmonious culture throughout his life, using art to promote cultural exchange between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and a new Renaissance based on “love”.
Dr. TF Chen has many uniqueness in the art
① In 1964, Dr. TF Chen wrote an article proposing that mankind needs a new Renaissance and a world culture that integrates Eastern and Western cultures. In 1969, he established the theory of “Five-Dimensional World Culture”.
② In 1980, he presented the “Five-Dimensional World Culture” to the “International Conference of Philosophers and Scientists” (ICUS), and proposed that in this computer age, in addition to software and hardware, humans must promote “Soulware”.
③ He was elected as the chairman of the Art Group by the International Artists Association, and gave speeches in English and French at the conferences in Paris in 1987 and New York City in 1988.
④ He was the only person invited to give a speech at the “State of world Forum” of the World Leaders Conference, present a paper and hold an exhibition (1998/2000).
⑤ He was the only person invited to give a speech at the World Peace Conference (2002 Washington).
⑥ He was the only painter awarded the “Global Tolerance Award” by the United Nations and was honored as its “Cultural Ambassador of Tolerance and Peace ” (2001). Through the “Art for Humanity World Tour” he promoted art education, the establishment of a new Renaissance and a “culture of love, tolerance and peace”.
The award ceremony at the United Nations Building was attended by many distinguished guests. His “Art for Humanity” World Tour had a good impact and effect.
⑦ He is the only painter in the East whose works are included in the “World Art History” textbook – the only painter whose works and ideas are introduced in the last chapter “Globalism” of “Arts&Ideas” (1993).
⑧ He created the only “Celebration Series”, which integrated ancient and modern Chinese and foreign images with his unique cultural perspective and “Neo Iconography” to create a “grand event of human civilization”. The “Celebration Series” includes “100 Statue of Liberty” for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986; “100 Post-Van Gogh Series” for the 100th anniversary of Van Gogh’s death in 1990; “Princess Diana” in 1997; “Las Vegas” for the 2003 Las Vegas Centennial Celebration; “Beijing Olympics” (2008); “Shanghai World Expo” (2010); Taipei Flower Expo (2011) and other series of works published to carry out cultural exchanges and cross-strait interactions, while promoting the universal values of the 21st century: one world, human harmony, and world peace.
Comments by some internationally renowned art critics
① “Dr. TF Chen’s Postmodern Art: The Image of Global Humanity” Art Forum “Dr. TF Chen is one of the 20 most influential artists in the world today”; Professor Thomas McEvilley, an authority on postmodern art and art critic, wrote: Album.
② Finding a new image in the fifth dimension of time and space – On Dr. TF Chen’s New Imagery Professor Huang Terry [Let the work shuttle through the past and present, span the East and the West, and even connect the world, so that the creation can go from the initial “art for art’s sake” and “art for life” to the lofty goal of “art for humanity”. Dr. Chen, along the way, did not seek officialdom or fame, but only wanted to become an artist with a position in art history. Even if we re-examine Dr. TF Chen’s “Five-Dimensional World Cultural View” theory and the “Neo Iconography” used in practice from the perspective of 21st century art, it is still avant-garde. Especially in the contemporary art with various forms and contents, there are few people who are as persistent as him. With a deep theoretical foundation, he has written a history of art that transcends culture and belongs to the world’s human beings with countless works in more than half a century of creation. Huang Wenrui, a doctor of art history from Harvard University, is currently the executive director of Motifu in the United States, and a visiting professor at Yale University, Oxford University, and Fudan University in Shanghai.
③ We spent several hours appreciating Chen’s album. Chen’s paintings are full of such rich fantasy and humor. Dr. TF Chen’s “Post-Van Gogh Series” makes me think that he is “reborn Van Gogh.” Dr. Jan Hulsker, leading expert on Van Gogh and former Minister of Culture of the Netherlands
④ “In Chen’s hands, the recycling of these images is not imitation or plagiarism. It is a clever stroke of genius.” “Dr. TF Chen is a painter of extraordinary talent and world importance. He is an outstanding painter full of thoughts and a thinker who expresses deep thoughts through his brush. In my book “Dr. TF Chen’s Neo-Iconography” written in 1978, I proposed the term “Neo-Iconography”, wrote his first book published in the United States, and planned his first museum exhibition in the United States at the Museum of Modern Art in Philadelphia in 1978. Because of Chen’s high academic status, some critics regard him as one of the 20 most important artists alive today. I rank him as one of the top ten. “In short, Dr. TF Chen is one of the artists that real art collectors and connoisseurs must collect.” “…There is only one Van Gogh in the world, and there is only one Dr. TF Chen in the world; but Dr. TF Chen’s works are rarely marketed, and their prices are relatively low. I think collecting Dr. TF Chen’s works can not only bring spiritual enjoyment, but also promote cultural exchanges between the East and the West, save taxes, and have unlimited investment prospects. In short, Dr. TF Chen is an artist worthy of your research, investment, and collection!” Jepson, former consultant of the National Museum of Art in Washington, art critic, appraiser. Art investment consultant
⑤ Dr. TF Chen presents a spiritual world republic. He is not unrelated to the reality of “mutual fusion” in the ancient Huayan Sutra. I think the essence of Dr. TF Chen’s art transcends the river of time and is in line with Eastern wisdom.
“Dr. TF Chen, a painter whose images “melt into each other”” Tadao Takemoto (art critic, professor at the University of Tsukuba)
⑥ In 1970, when there were no computers, Dr. TF Chen had the awareness of computer (synthesis), that is, his concept was contemporary and advanced, but his technique was traditional and classical, and he was called “the father of computer art” by Fushigi Eri. Professor, art critic
⑦ Dr. TF Chen is a leader in the international art world. He is often invited to participate in international conferences and gave speeches and held exhibitions at the World (all walks of life) Leaders Conference. He uses his brush to express his love for mankind and spreads his cultural ideas with artistic philosophy.” (Art Investment Magazine)
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