By Stephen Chen 陳中潔 Posted to the Taiwanese Site on Saturday, July 28, 2007

 廖繼春 (1902–1976, in Taiwanese, Liau Ke-chhun)

I first heard of Liao Chi-Chun (廖繼春) was from his student Shen Tse-Chai (沈哲哉 - another Taiwanese famous painter) whose family were the members of the Tung-Ning (東寧) Church I was pasturing from 1974-76. Shen’s house was covered with paintings like a gallery. All I knew then was that Liao was a top modern Taiwanese artist. Then between 1982 and 1986 I met Sut-Chung (述宗) – Liao’s fourth son, a well known research professor at the University of Chicago, and Sut-Tiong (述忠) - his fifth son, a scientist worked in the Ann Arbor area. I began to feel the impact of an artist’s family when once Sut-Tiong drove me through the University of Michigan campus in the fall. The trees were so breath-taking beautiful. Then Sut-Tiong (述忠) told me that we were like driving right into the God’s paintings.

Yes, I still remember it well years after that. The beauty of the nature, sometimes captured and reflected by the painters, stands by itself, without comparison.

Born in a poor farming family in Hong-Goân (豐原) in central Taiwan, Liao Chi-Chun (廖繼春) displayed his artistic talents in his childhood. He also showed his dream of educating others by entering Taipei Teacher’s school. Through the encouragement of his fiancée among others, Liao ended up graduating from Tokyo School of Fine Arts concentrating on western style oil paintings. Since then he never stopped working with his paintings and teachings, from Tainan Chung-Jung Middle School (長榮中學), Tainan First Middle School (台南一中) to Normal University (師範大學.) While his paintings dominate the arts circle of Taiwan, his students are all over Taiwan and abroad. Liao also had extended his influences by educating his children to have outstanding personalities and achievements with a strong sense of being a proud Taiwanese wherever they turn out to be.

As the saying goes, a painting is worth more than a thousand words. In almost 50 years, Liao’s paintings were evolving in styles with his life experience expanded while teaching and traveling throughout the United States and Europe. He remained as the master of colors. His works were selected and awarded in major government exhibitions such as the Taiten (Taiwan Exhibition 台展) and Teiten (Imperial Exhibition 帝展.)

While struggling through poverty, war and limited human conditions, his paintings demonstrate the endless possibilities of dream-like, sometimes wishful, yet definitely a better and more constructive tomorrow is always around the corner. Through his artistic touch, Liao gave colors to the eyes of the beholders, and beyond. He gave colors with abundant hope to humanity.

Liao’s paintings are available at these websites: http://over.tngs.tn.edu.tw/arts/arts-004/arts-004-004/arts-004-004.htm http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/fineart/painter-tw/liaochichun/liaochichun.htm