Born in Nanjing, he was given the name Wu-shuen. He graduated from the Private Chun-hui College of Commerce. In 1948, as a soldier, he moved to Taiwan with the troops. Art was his passion in his free time. In 1952, he studied painting in Liao Chi-chun’s Yun-ho Studio and began his art career. In 1958, he participated in the second East Painting Society Exhibition and formally became its member. In 1960, inspired by Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), the founder of Spatialism, he started to devote himself to a long-term exploration of Spatialism. In 1961, he began slashing his canvas to create spaces of hollowness and bulges. In 1965, he joined the Society of Modern Printmaking. In 1969, he began working with prints. In 1973, he explored the view of life of the Chinese with his “Chinese People” print. In 1975, he looked at the Chinese in the perspective of “quiet observation” philosophy that he then used to see the world. The representative piece of this period was his Bamboo Town series. After 1983, using the medium of tissue paper, he created “Purifi cation Art.” In recent years, he has developed a new approach of paper cutting and using colors of red, black and white.

The Happy Bamboo Town (1977) is based on the Chushan town in Taiwan. It is a record of the artist’s life journey from Nanjing to Taiwan. With a composition similar with “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” the classic panoramic painting about folk culture in ancient China, it depicts the bustling activities of a wedding ceremony. The artist transformed what he saw in daily life into a work of art and a testimonial of the era. Dexterous woodcutting skills, sharp lines and proper contrast of black and white are characteristic of his best work in Chu’s early career. In the piece, the carefree, simple townspeople enjoy a happy life of peace and harmony. That is the utopia Chu dreamed about and all of us yearn for.

In the 1960s, the Society of Modern Printmaking, the East Painting Society and the Fifth Month Art Group were regarded as the three major forces changing the art scene at the time. The Society of Modern Printmaking held joint exhibitions with the East Painting Society for several times. Many members participated in both groups like Chu Wei-bor whose work was frequently shown in these joint exhibitions. His prints feature expressive cutting techniques, black-and-white contrast, simplicity and innocence. They depict the relation between human beings and the world around us. He chose subject matters from real life but his realistic approach has a dimension of abstract expression. The artists sees the world with “quiet observation” philosophy and chooses familiar and secular subject matters.