Following Chiu Hsiente's 2009 "Skies of Northern Tibet," depictions of the sky in an abstract mode, his 2010 solo show, "Celestial Realm," once again achieves a major breakthrough. Chiu paints these works—rugged yet finely detailed, with glowing colors and breadth of vision—with broad, expressionist strokes in a style partly derived from abstraction, giving the works overall a highly modern feel. In Chiu's 2009 Taipei solo exhibition, his large-scale watercolor works proved to have unexpected appeal and the show represented a fine success for the artist.
Chiu's work is a continuing subject of attention in the international art press: two years ago, Asian Art News published a six-page appraisal of his work, and in January 2009 the same magazine featured his work on its cover, with an accompanying five-page review by editor-publisher Ian Findlay-Brown. That degree of attention is rare from an important publication such as Asian Art News, which reaches readers in the US, Europe, and Hong Kong, and is based on Chiu Hsiente's ability to break through the widely held traditional assumptions about watercolors to present an entirely fresh visual experience. The experience is powerful enough to leave viewers astounded and moved as they stand before his paintings, sometimes even to tears.
Before the opening of Chiu's 2009 exhibition, collectors began arriving days ahead of time, eager to view his new work. Despite a slight upward movement in the prices of his works, Chiu achieved a fine sales record at that time, a particularly noteworthy achievement during a period of financial crisis and instability. Economic recessions are perhaps the real test of an artist, a time when those with genuine talent will gradually come to the fore, as the example of Chiu Hsiente's exceptional watercolor art has demonstrated.
Chiu's 2010 solo show, "Celestial Realm", represented his fourth solo show outside of Taiwan, and following the proud success of his 2009 Taipei showing, Chiu's Shanghai exhibition also brought excellent results. Crowds of Chinese and foreign viewers lingered at the showings, while foreign collectors did more than admire the paintings—they took action to show their appreciation through purchases of Chiu's work.
By overcoming the creative obstacles associated with watercolor, Chiu has essentially founded a new era for that medium. He has established a unique personal style, and the permanency of the museum-grade mountings for his work expresses a unique degree of confidence as well. A pioneer who has developed the potentials of the watercolor medium, Chiu has elevated it into the mainstream of contemporary art, which will make his position important both internationally and from the historical perspective.
We that we continue to promote Chiu Hsiente internationally based on our unshakeable confidence in this artist. Following the solid success of Chiu's 2005 New York showing, as well as his inaugural exhibit in Shanghai and his 2009 solo shows in Taipei and Shanghai, in the future we will focus on further solo shows at major metropolitan galleries in cities such as Paris and New York as we put our full efforts behind international promotion of the unique, large-scale watercolors of this artist.
