Draft:Chen Chi-Mao

Chen Chi-Mao (1923-2005) was a first-generation Taiwanese printmaker, known as the “trail-blazer of Taiwanese modern prints.” Throughout his life, he persisted in creating woodcuts, and developed mixed-media relief woodcuts on the basis of traditional wood engravings, which made him an iconic figure in the transition from traditional to modern woodcut printmaking. A graduate of Xiamen Fine Arts College, Fujian Province, Chen got a job offer to teach in Taiwan in 1946. He engaged in editing in his spare time, and thenceforth continued to study and create prints. He taught at Hualien Normal School and Dalin Secondary School. Then he moved to Taichung in 1964 and taught at St. Viator Catholic High School. In 1984, he taught woodcuts in the Department of Fine Arts, Tunghai University. He won the Gold Medal of the Free China Art Exhibition in the category of prints (1952), the Chinese Literary Award in woodcuts by the Chinese Writers’ & Artists’ Association (1961), the Golden Goblet Award by the Art Society of China (1973), the Golden Seal Prize by the Printmaking Society of R.O.C. (1980), and the Outstanding Artist Award conferred by the National Museum of Costa Rica (1991).