Acrylic and oil on canvas painting, entitled, "Landscape #30" and unframed. Signed by Chuang Che in Chinese, 莊喆 (Taiwan, based in New York, United States, born 1934) and dated 1974 on the lower right corner. Gallery label containing title, date, medium, and artist name on verso. 33.5 x 47.75 inch (85 x 122 cm). Water damage at the right edge, rippling throughout.

For nearly two decades, Chuang Che has remained ensconced in his New York studio, devoting himself to painting. His works remain spirited, fluid, profound explorations of the nature of art itself. As he has progressed he has incorporated all the phases of the past, or carried forward the special qualities of certain stages in new directions. Chuang Che's works are a reinterpretation of the same subject matter, but the two of expression. One is concrete and meticulous, the other abstract and freely expressive. His large-scale canvases are intricately beautiful, with the towering structure of monuments and a brush style that is puissant, transcendent and moving. This piece displays the hallmark of the artist, who was among the first significant abstract painters to arise from his cultural context: the merging of traditional Chinese techniques and pictorial concepts with the forms of abstract art that developed in the West, particularly Abstract Expressionism. While there were many artists of East Asian origin who moved to the United States in the middle of the twentieth century and blended their artistic traditions with the advanced contemporary trends they found there, very few of these artists have received sufficient attention for their work in their adopted lands, despite the evident high quality of their output. This is primarily due to the quite nationalistic insistence of major art critics of the Abstract Expressionist era that the style was utterly American in origin, and had no linkage to, influence from, or fruitful interplay with, the art of other cultures, such as that of Asia. Chuang Che held several exhibitions at the Arwin Galleries (1975, 1978, 1980) of which this piece was one of many which were exhibited.

PROVENANCE: The Arwin Galleries, Detroit, Michigan, United States (1975); thence by descent.

All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms:

By [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work is by the artist.

Attributed to [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.

In the manner of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : In our opinion, the work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

Circle of [Artist Name] : In our opinion, a work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

Follower of [Artist Name]: In our opinion, a work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).

American, 19th century : In our opinion, this work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

Bears signature : In our opinion, the signature on the artwork may be spurious.
Apocryphal : Of doubtful authenticity.