Balance, rationality, order. Do these words come to mind as you look upon this work? Different symbols appear within this painting, abstract but seemingly connected to real objects. Does the inverted U that keeps appearing make you think of a door? Is traversing the door like passing between a real and an imaginary space?

The artist Liao Shiou-ping was born in Mangka (Wanhua) in Taipei. After graduating from the Department of Art at National Normal Taiwan University, he left for Japan to study at the Tokyo University of Education where he came in contact with woodblock prints. He later pursued further education in France and New York where he learned different innovative printmaking techniques. He has also created works in international workshops and held solo print exhibitions in Europe and America.

While abroad for studying and making art, Liao Shiou-ping realized that as an artist from the East, cultural identity and showing cultural specificities are extremely important. Drawing inspiration from familiar memories of home such as Longshan Temple, Mangka (Wanhua)’s markets, and temple ceremonies as well as on a foundation of printmaking techniques, Liao combined concepts of modern painting forms with local Taiwanese codes to create a series of totems with an eastern aesthetic, successfully creating his own unique vocabulary to convey the cultural characteristics of Taiwan.

This work, “Festival of Stars”, was chosen to take part in the 11th São Paulo Art Biennial in Brazil in 1971.