Author(s)

Ruei-Jen Diana Fan, Paul Juinn Bing Tan

Corresponding Author

Paul Juinn Bing Tan

ABSTRACT

This article describes the works of Wang Shu, an Austrian national-level artist, who was granted this title on May 14, 1986 by Austria’s Ministry of Education, Arts, and Sports after earning critical acclaim within the country. This article begins with an overview of Wang Shu as a person and the life that he led, followed by a discussion of his artistic achievements in Austria. In the main section of this article, a selection of his watercolour paintings that exhibit strong Chinese art elements (such as painting and poetry; painting and philosophy, painting and aesthetics and the flexible use of Western art materials) are further examined in detail. This article then concludes with a discussion of the links between Chinese culture and Wang Shu's watercolour paintings.

KEYWORDS

Philosophies of Laozi and Zhuangzi, aesthetics, Chinese culture, Taoism, Zen, poetry paintings, innovation