Chen Chi-kwan (; 1921–2007) was a Taiwanese artist, architect, and educator, particularly for his paintings and architectural work for

Tunghai University Tunghai University (THU; ) is a private university in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). The university is known for its liberal arts educati ...

. He collaborated with

I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

to design the

Luce Memorial Chapel The Luce Memorial Chapel () is a Christian chapel on the campus of Tunghai University in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and Chi-kuan Chen. Name The chapel was named in honor of the Rev. Henry W. Luc ...

on the university campus, a hallmark of

mid-century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

ist architecture completed in 1963.

Biography

Born in 1921 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

(then known as

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

), China. He attended Nanjing secondary school, Zhenjiang secondary school, and Zhongnan Middle School, National II. Chen's youth was strongly affected by the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and his family relocated in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

. He studied architecture at the Southeast University School of Architecture (then known as Central University) and graduated with a BS degree in 1944. In 1944, he served as an interpreter in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946, he served as a designer at Nanjing Jitai Architects. Chi-kwan studied at the University of Illinois from 1949 to 1951 with

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

and Architects Collaborative, graduating in 1949 with a M.A. degree in Architecture. In 1950, he took classes at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) in the Department of Art.

, recommended him as a part-time teacher at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), where he taught from 1952 until 1954. In collaboration with

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

, co-designed

campus, Taiwan in 1954. He served as director for the Department of Architecture at

in 1960. Chi-kwan was involved in the design of the Portsmouth Square pedestrian bridge in

Chinatown, San Francisco The Chinatown (), centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four nota ...

. Chi-kwan often painted in watercolor and would borrow some aspects from traditional

Chinese painting Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as , meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which b ...

but apply it to modern themes or Western style line work, many of his works were abstract or referencing small landscapes. His paintings are in the permanent collection at various museums including

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

, the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, among others. In 2004, Chen was one of the recipients of Taiwan's prestigious National Award for Arts. Judges said the "decorative colors, architectural lines and mystical spaces" in his paintings "inspired us to see our surroundings in a new light." To commemorate the 90th anniversary of his birth, a selection of Chen's paintings were displayed at the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...

in Taipei. He died in 2007 in Burlingame, California. In 2007, an asteroid, ''236851 Chenchikwan'', was named in honor of Chen by its discoverers, C.S. Lin and Q.Z. Ye.

Key dates

* *1969, planned the overall design of the campus of the

National Central University National Central University (; abbreviated NCU; ) is a public research university based in Taiwan. It was founded in 1902 in Nanjing; initially located in Miaoli after moving to Taiwan, it relocated to Zhongli in 1962 and developed into a com ...

in Chungli. *1980, appointed Dean of Engineering at Ren Donghai University.

References

External links

Chi-Kwan Chen papers, 1946-1972
from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Example of artwork by Chi-kwan
on Artnet.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chi-kwan Taiwanese architects Chinese architects 1921 births 2007 deaths Illinois State University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty People from Burlingame, California Taiwanese people from Beijing Taiwanese expatriates in the United States Academic staff of Tunghai University