Wu Kuan Te

Wu Kuan Te

Born 1979
Lives and works Taipen, Taiwan

About the Artist

Wu Kuan-Te, born in Taiwan in 1979, began his creative career in 1995. He graduated from the Fine Arts Institute of Taiwan Normal University, and has lived in France for several years starting in 2011. He puts Action Painting into practice and mixes in aspects of profound oriental philosophies. He draws inspiration from his rich life experiences and keen observations of Mother Nature, revealing the sense of peace and tranquility he has found in the vastness of the natural world.

In an almost ritualistic meditation before the blank canvas, Wu Kuan-Te replaces the brush and executes the ‘subtractive’ oil painting techniques— as opposed to the traditional norm of additive oil painting — by scratching away paint with found objects such as branches, stones and seeds, gesturing with the entirety of his body, mind and emotion unto each mark. The artist allows his imagination to take its course freely, allowing his work to organically grow and develop. The elements in the painting are independent yet they intertwine with each other, just like every living thing in the universe — a blade of grass, a big tree, a breeze, a cloud, a ripple.

Through the process of repetitive mark-making, Wu Kuan-Te enters an introspective state, reflecting pure imageries of nature in his strokes. It’s as if a seed has fallen onto the canvas, and blossoms exuberantly. The paintings expand naturally and freely, establishing a free-spirited essence. To quote Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, All existing things are really one. The artist believes everything is ultimately connected, and is a part of a bigger picture, and these components are sometimes contradictions that are able to somehow coexist perfectly. 

In recent times, the artist has been invited to exhibit in diverse locations, such as the United States, France, Italy, Australia, Japan and Singapore, and has participated in international art fairs such as Korea, Malaysia, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He has exhibited more than 50 times at the Taiwan History Museum, the Taiwan Art Museum, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, the National Institute of Education, and the Chi Mei Museum. In recent years, his works have won numerous awards and are widely displayed in famous hotels at home and abroad, construction project galleries, enterprises and both private and national collections.

View Wu Kuan Te’s Linktree

Wu Kuan Te

Shows

Solo Exhibitions
2022
光蘊如鏡 The Soul Is Like a Bright Mirror, Art Porters Gallery, Singapore
2020
Sharing the Moon, Art Porters Gallery, Singapore
2019
Heaven and Earth Eternal, Art Central 2019, (Art Porters Booth), Hong Kong
2018
Endless, Art Taipei 2018 at the Taipei World Trade Center (Julia gallery booth), Taipei, Taiwan
Awakening, at the Kaoshiung Art Fair, the second art district (Mizuiro Workshop booth), Kaoshiung, Taiwan
2017
Reviewing the Innocent at the Su Ching Art Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2014
Astral Travel at Art Solo Taipei Flower Expo (Julia gallery booth), Taipei, Taiwan
2013
The movements of silence – Personal exhibition of painting works in Parts at Shumin Art Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2012
Breaths of Life – Personal exhibition of watercolor works at Shumin Art Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2011
Clear Purity – Personal exhibition of watercolor works at Shumin Art Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2010
Introvert Look at Nature – Personal exhibition of oil painting works at Zhongtai Construction Gallery, Taichung
Happy Journeys – Personal watercolor exhibition at Shumin Art Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2008
Breath of Life – Wu Kuan-Te personal exhibition at Hsinchuang Art Center, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Drawing while walking – Wu Kuan-Te studies exhibited at Sanxia Laomulin Art Corner, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2007
Poetic Journey – Watecolor studies exhibited at Sanxia Laomulin Art Corner, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2006
Invisible marks of the breeze – Personal exhibition of painting works at the Yipiaoren Art Corner, Taipei, Taiwan
2005
Trudging along disquietly – Personal exhibition of painting works at Zhen-Shi Art Gallery, Hsinchu

International Group Exhibitions
2019
Art Expo Malaysia at MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2018
Fabriano International Art Exhibition, Fabriano, Italy
Shanghai International Art Fair, at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre, Shanghai, China
23rd Guangzhou International Art Fair in China Import and Export Trade Exhibition Hall, Guangzhou, China
Art Expo Malaysia at MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Korea International Art Fair (KIAF ART SEOUL) at COEX, Seoul, South Korea
2016
IWS International Watercolor Invitational Exhibition at Hua Hin Blue Pot, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Thailand
2015
Brimming with Nostalgia – The Humanistic Landscape of Taiwanese and Japanese Watercolor Paintings at Tenri Cultural Centre, New York, USA
2013
Flowing at Art Paul Gallery, Paris, France
2012
Tradition and Reform at Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia