Did you know? To the artist’s eye, the seemingly ordinary plants at the Art Center—such as weeping lovegrass, fountain grass, purple fountain grass, perennial peanut, Eupatorium formosanum, and Mexican petunia—nearly 47,000 potted groundcover plants in total—have all been meticulously planned by Paul Chiang and the horticulturists. Describing the beautifully curved fountain grass, Paul Chiang says: “It appears small and humble, but it has a strong ability to regenerate and an extremely high resilience. Even in harsh environments, it can survive and bloom on schedule, making it worthy of our respect.” 

Since the Art Center opened a year ago, these plants have endured the changing seasons and occasional extreme weather with amazing adaptability, taking turns giving the Art Center a different look as the seasons change. For example, in the upcoming summer, the flamboyant trees will add brilliant color with their fiery red blossoms, while the nearby frangipani, symbolizing “hope and new life,” will sway in the wind and release a soft fragrance. Among the Eupatorium formosanum bushes, you may also encounter purple crow butterflies and blue tiger butterflies stopping by for nectar. During their migration, they treat this place as a “rest stop” to replenish their energy. In this way, Paul Chiang integrates nature into his art, letting plants, light, and weather continually shape the works.

Paul Chiang often says: “If parents could frequently bring their children to art museums to get close to art, how different would Taiwan’s society be in ten or twenty years?” In keeping with this original intention, the Art Center hopes to become a cradle for children’s artistic enlightenment. In the year since its opening, it has organized teacher workshops and held multiple exclusive guided tours for elementary and middle school students. 

In January of this year, we welcomed a total of 15 tour groups of teachers and students from Chenggong Township and Chishang Township. In order to get closer to the children's perspective of viewing art, the Art Center recruited volunteer partners to prepare lessons together. Everyone used their creativity, utilizing color blocks, cardboard, pipe cleaners, and the picture book “Light" to make their own teaching aids. Then, in an age-graded manner, they planned highly guiding art experiences for the children, such as how to understand an art museum, becoming a little curator for the In the Garden of Light artworks, and zooming in on the framed view of the tranquil pool to use as a viewfinder... One child gave feedback on the learning sheet: "So art isn't just about drawing." 

Children are like sprouting seeds of art. We welcome elementary and middle school teachers interested in bringing students to the Art Center to start a learning journey to apply for school group tours. You are also welcome to join the volunteer ranks.

Spring Music Salon

At the Art Center, paintings can be heard, and music can be seen. This vibrant spring, the Art Center has planned a series of music salons.

In March, flutist Chao-Che Liu, clarinetist Kaini Liu, and pianist Pei-Yao Wang will perform On Wings of Song by Mendelssohn, a classical composer Paul Chiang loves—the title is also the name of one of his famous painting series. They will also perform Wildflowers, a piece full of wild vitality by contemporary composer Eric Ewazen, echoing the gorgeousness of Paul Chiang’s In the Garden of Light series and letting visual color burst into blossoms of sound on a spring afternoon.

In April, Vesselin Paraschkevov, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, will perform on a 1710 Guarneri violin together with pianist I-Chun Huang in a program titled “Bach, in the Light of Taitung,” allowing the beauty of classical, rigorous structure to meet the light and shadow on the canvas. In May, a string quartet featuring renowned violinists Nai-Yuan Hu and Hsuan-Hao Hsu, violist Shih-Hsien Tsai, and cellist Simon Thompson will journey deep into the heart. Through Schubert’s Quartettsatz (Quartet Movement), which wrestles with anxiety and longing, and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, where rage and dead silence intertwine, the notes struggling in the dark and yearning for light resonate with the most authentic confessions of life in Paul Chiang’s creations.

The afternoon music salons are free to attend with admission to the Art Center. Concert-related expenses are supported by the Paul Chiang Arts and Cultural Foundation.

□ The Sound of Spring
3/14, 15 (Sat, Sun), 15:30

□ Bach, in the Light of Taitung
4/18 (Sat), 15:30 

[Ticketed Event] Happy Hour food, beverages, and concert from 17:15–19:00; please follow the official website and social media for details.

□ String Quartet
5/23, 24 (Sat, Sun) 15:30

Let Imagination Run Wild: "Jazz / Jinzun" Animated Short Film

What should you pay attention to when visiting the Art Center? To make the visitor guidelines less rigid, the Art Center invited Woolito Studio to transform Paul Chiang's 2024 Jazz / Jinzun series into an animation, allowing you to take in 24 artworks at once and intuitively see Paul Chiang's free agility between abstract flowing lines and geometric color blocks. 

During the animation production process, the biggest challenge was "how to preserve the abstract aesthetic without making it too abstract to understand." Director Yi-Hsuan Liu explained that she first laid out the Jazz / Jinzun image files in a row, then categorized them according to visual elements, and then arranged the color blocks and lines to create different "feelings," finally letting imagination run wild through motion and sound effects. In this way, the team found a captivating balance between abstract artistic language and concrete rules.

The works originally hanging on the wall seem to have gained new lives and stories, guiding each visitor to consider how we can all help protect this beautiful artistic and natural environment together. Click the image above to enjoy the full film (1:34).

Journey in Search of Light: Paul Chiang Art Corporate Promotion

Paul Chiang has always believed that art should accompany people’s hearts and illuminate their lives. Embracing the idea of bringing art into everyday life, the Paul Chiang Arts and Cultural Foundation and Wistron Corporation have joined forces to present the six‑month "Journey in Search of Light: Paul Chiang Art Exhibition" at the Wistron Operations Headquarters in the Zhubei AI Intelligent Park. 

The exhibition features 17 representative works presented as high‑quality fine art giclée prints and is organized into three stages—“Seeking Light, Encountering Light, Becoming Light”—to trace Paul Chiang’s creative journey over half a century: from the struggles of a dark period in his life, to the radiant freedom brought by the light and shadow of Taiwan’s east coast, and finally to transforming that light into giving back to society. Notably, the Mountain Ranges of Taiwan series is integrated with Wistron’s WiCanvas digital signage, allowing the layers of the paintings to breathe naturally within a technological environment.

There is a warm, ingenious touch in the exhibition hall: next to each piece, the age Paul Chiang was when he created it is noted. Viewers are invited to reflect on their own life journeys while viewing the exhibition—at this moment, what are you facing? And what light are you searching for? (The exhibition is not open to the public; please enjoy it through the video Journey in Search of Light: Paul Chiang Art Exhibition Opening Ceremony).