Rock Climbing, from the series Dust in the Wind

Yao Jui-chung

2009

Handmade paper, ink and gold leaf

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Yao Jui-chung is a painter as well as a performance and video artist. During a 2007 residency at the Glenfiddich Artist Village in Scotland, Yao began to reexamine traditional Chinese painting in his works:Because the nights were so peaceful, I often painted until the sun came up. At the same time, the fresh air also helped clear my head so I had a lot of time to just relax and listen to my own inner voice. I used simple brush strokes to depict the details of my life [in Taiwan] over the last two years: hot springs, brand name tea, mountain climbing, appreciating flowers, playing chess, listening to the waves—all of the things I lik