ABSTRACT
This paper explores how Taiwanese postwar architect and painter Chen Chi-Kwan, from the late 1950s to the 1980s, adopted the thin-shell structures that gained popularity in the West to reconstruct Chinese identity while simultaneously incorporating Western abstract painting techniques to transform traditional Chinese ink painting. By juxtaposing the “structural technology—spatial prototype” in Chen’s architecture with the “painting technique—thematic motif” in his art, this study investigates the intertextuality between the two disciplines and identifies three key aspects of his work: 1. Poetic Reconstruction of Traditional Chinese Imagery. 2. Chinese Spatial Composition 3. The Aesthetic Exploration of Void and Reality in Landscapes.
