Wu Tien-chang

• Name — Wu Tien-chang • Native Name — 吳天章 • Born — 28 September 1956 • Birthplace — Changhua County, Taiwan • Education — Chinese Culture University (BFA) • Occupation — Visual artist

Wu was born in 1956 in Changhua, Taiwan. His grandfather emigrated to Taiwan from mainland China where he married Wu's aboriginal Taiwanese grandmother. Wu's parents moved to Keelung and worked in a movie theater where his father painted posters and his mother sold tickets. He grew up in Taiwan where martial law restrained the society with censorship, and threats of violence from the Kuomintang were a brutal reality. The lifting of martial law in 1987 created a drastic change in Taiwanese society, which brought democracy as well as secured freedom of expression. Wu's critical view on socio-political issues grew significantly during this era of turmoil.

Wu received a B.F.A. from Chinese Culture University in 1980. Two years later, he became one of the founding members of the 101 Painting Society along with Yang Maolin. They aimed to import Neo-expressionism, which was flourishing in Europe and the United States at the time, and interpreted the style based on Taiwanese experience and aesthetics. The 101 Painting Society also aimed to challenge the minimalism style which was prevailing in Taiwan at the time.

Wu's Neo-expressionist paintings depicted taboos and sensitive subjects that addressed political issues in his early career. Wu's exhibition of Four Eras (1990) at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum consisted of four large paintings of political leaders Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping. Each of these large-scale paintings is almost four meters in width. In the portraits, Wu boldly portrayed people's struggles and oppression, and depicted them inside the torsos of the former rulers. By juxtaposing the portraits of the mainland Chinese and the Taiwanese former rulers, Wu intended to generate a new dialogue for the future.

Wu had been included in many group exhibitions since he finished his education in 1980. After seven years, he was invited to have his solo show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and exhibited Syndrome of Hurting. Upon its success, he was invited to hold another solo show at the museum in 1990, and showed Four Eras series. Wu's work has been shown internationally, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan (2014, 2009); Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (2013) and Beijing, China (2012); Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2011, 2009, 1990, 1987); the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2011, 2010); the Soho Photo Gallery, New York, New York (2010); the Hong Kong Art Centre, Hong Kong, China (2010); Eslite Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (2010); National Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan (2009); the National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China (2009); the Taipei Cultural Center, New York, New York (2008); and MOMA Contemporary, Fukuoka, Japan (1997). Wu has also been included in the 1st Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial (1999) at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial (1996) at the Queensland Art Gallery, and selected as one of the artists to represent Taiwan at the 47th International Art Exhibition of the La Biennale di Venezia (1997) and exhibited as a solo artist for the 56th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia (2015).

The following is established of the heading itself.

On origins, the institutional record states the following. Born in 1956 at Changhua County. The same evidence establishes that wu Tien-chang is recorded at birth as 吳天章.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Recorded with the occupation painter. It is also recorded that wu Tien-chang is recorded with the occupation photographer. The record continues: wu Tien-chang is recorded with the occupation artist. Institutional cataloguing adds that wu Tien-chang is recorded as a citizen of Taiwan. Recorded with the gender male. The register further records that wu Tien-chang was born on 28 September 1956.