Born in Taichung in 1960, HUNG Tien-Yu graduated from Hsinchu Teachers College (the National Hsinchu University of Education now) in 1980. In 2000, Hung won the First Prize of LIAO Chi-Chun Oil Painting Award. Since he first started his artistic career, he has been fascinated by the observation on and the depiction of nature, dealing with his subjects by capturing the natural scenery. In his artworks, he meticulously depicts the transformation of light and shadow as well as the four-season natural scenery which changes with the passing of time. In 2001, he held the solo exhibition Memoir to the next Generation of Formosa at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, while in the exhibition he continued elaborating the subject of his catalogue Landscape in Blanks: Memoir of Formosa from 1700-2000, which was published in 2007, and furthered his artistic focus.

As a field researcher, HUNG Tien-Yu studies the geography, history, biology, and ecology of specific places, combining what he sees with the pre-existing written documents to tell the hundred-yearold story of Taiwan’s forest. Meanwhile, he juxtaposes the concepts of “primitive landscape” and “landscape in blank.” In his series works, he leaves the spaces where the human civilization intrudes the natural scenery in blank to demonstrate the gradual disappearance of the beautiful landscape, reflecting how the land of Taiwan has been destroyed and exploited by the progressive civilization. The series works after 2007 such as Mercy Feast and Altar focus on food culture, using blood-stained images to remind human beings, who are given the power to rule the earth, to be merciful to all living things instead of sacrificing these creatures for culinary pleasure. The works indeed full of the attempt to awaken the world. The series Money Rules the World – the Tropical Forests which has started in 2011 further explores how the international enterprises destroy the natural environment of the Third World, criticizing and revealing the harm of the global capitalism and commercialism.

HUNG Tien-Yu’s unique strokes have a handiwork-like touch. The broken fragments are exquisitely and meticulously woven into a piece, visualizing the landscape of Lushan. Adopting a wide-angle multi-point perspective, HUNG creates two images -- one depicts the luxuriant land full of life-energy while the other presents the ridiculous scene of the withering, barren, and devastated land through the forced blanks.The contrast of the two provides the critical intensity through displacement and alienation. HUNG Tien- Yu’s landscape in blanks is the natural ruins devoured by civilization which is filled with human’s filth. The forced blanks are like mirrors for reflection – the “reality” builds up the “blanks” while the “blanks” weave the “reality,” softly narrating the story of the wounded land which cannot be recovered.

Lushan (Mt. Lu)

People who are longing for embracing by the Nature always cannot help but enter into the quiet land and listen to the sounds of nature while safely hiding in a corner not to worry about being disturbed. It is as like the orchid in deep valley quietly exhales the mute mellowness in eternity as well as that one is intoxicated in unknown landscape.

A landscape as long as adored by the media and stamped as a scenic area would probably lose the amazing look it used to have. How do we “love” the Nature? We put the latest equipment and the most comfortable facilities in the city to the deep mountains and ravine. TV, air conditioner, computer, refrigerator, convenient store, tall buildings and high mansions…all are available there. So that one trip to the “Nature” won’t make your heels of the shoes muddy and your hands won’t touch one single tree bark. What you do is to sing karaoke, drink wine, eat some wild herbs and animals, bath in hot spring, and then dial remote controller for TV channels on the soft spring bed.

The ecstasy which one had to undergo the process from climbing over hills and valleys, soaking in sweats, trespassing through many cold creeks to enjoy the hot spring in early years has been long terminated by plastic water pipes and faucets. No longer sour and aching walking, no longer the joy from extremely relaxation, no longer flourishing dance by fallen leafs, no longer crystal-clear creeks and pools, no longer exclaims in surprise from the bites of giant river prawns, no longer short singings by plumbeous water redstart…the taste of the Nature is terrifying pale. Other than consuming and making profit from the Nature, we no longer know how to deal with the Nature. It is quite like those evil-minded persons often have no intentions in addition to sexually assaulting or human trafficking with pretty young girls. If this was so-called “love,” it would have been very miserable one!

- HUNG Tien-Yu

As an academically trained artist, HUNG Tien-Yu has always been fascinated by and devoted to various painting skills which range from classicalism, impressionism, to post-impressionism. However, he decides to get rid of the academic training, searching for the most truthful artistic essence from his observation on the natural scenery and developing his own artistic vocabulary on the basis of his life experiences which are closely tighten with the land of Taiwan. The co-existing relationship between human and nature is the focus of HUNG Tien-Yu’s artistic practice. The intentional “blanks” in his paintings become the unique transformation for him to interpret contemporary civilization.

The on-going series Landscape in Blanks features Taiwan’s landscape, while the artis transforms the progress of the civilization’s intrusion into continuous images on the basis of his studies, field research, imagination, and integration. The intentional blanks ironically expose how civilization intrudes and destroys nature. The imagined reality and the present reality are juxtaposed chronically in his paintings. His works thus go beyond the limitation of time and space to visualize the landscape, speaking out for the vanishing scenery through their visual dynamics and giving a voice to the wounded nature.