Chen Yin-huei was born in Chiayi, 1931 and graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Normal University in 1954. He received solid trainings in painting from renowned painters Chen Hui-kun, Liao Chi-chun, Chao Chun-hsiang and Sun Tuo-tsi at the university. Chen was selected for the Provincial Fine Arts Student Exhibition in 1952 and received the Second Prize. Two years later, he bagged the Third Prize at the exhibition again. In 1957, as invited by the department head Mo Ta-yuan, he became a teaching assistant at his alma mater. With time, he was first promoted as a lecturer and then a professor, both without difficulty. With half of his lifetime contributed to art education, Chen has cultivated numerous young talents in Taiwan. In addition to teaching, Chen actively participates in the art scene. He created the Centennial Art Group with painter-friends Tsai Ying-tang, Wu Jung-lung and others in 1961. Throughout the years, Chen has never ceased to paint. In the 1960s, influenced by abstract impressionism and cubism, he developed a semi-figurative style with simple colors, flowy lines and solid shapes. His works became much more mature in the 1980s; the brushstrokes looked even more free-flowing, and his use of colors was also more daunting. Chen’s achievement is widely acknowledged by the art community. He received the Sun Yat-sen Literature and Arts Award in 1986 and the Wu San-lien Awards in 2002.

This early work of Chen carries a strong cubist style although the painted surface is not so clearly broken down into small areas of paint. The sturdy-looking colors and thick black lines deliver a sense of tranquility and composedness to this otherwise visually dazzling picture.

Chen Yin-hui was born in Taiwan during the Japanese Rule. He was among the first-generation painters who received full training in art schools after Taiwan was restored in 1945. At school, he was not only instructed by experienced local painters, who were trained during the Occupation Period, but also learned with Chinese artists who moved to Taiwan with the nationalist government. In the post-war period when Taiwan was impacted by many different cultures and thoughts, especially modern philosophy and art movements introduced from the west, Chen incorporated cubist forms, fauvist colors and surrealistic settings to create a unique style of his own. While at the first glance his paintings seem wild and daring, a subtle balance between sense and sensibility is carefully achieved. According to Chen, “A painting is not about how it looks, but what it delivers. Although overwhelming emotions may help express an artist’s passion, it can result in a chaotic picture lacking true content and form. However, if a painting is so rigidly painted in order to obtain the best arrangement ever, viewers may not be able to relate to the painted topic anymore because it lacks the emotional warmth.” Chen has well practiced his own words. His works, created with rationale, are still full of heartfelt feelings.