#tamsui

20260703

first posted in facebook april 29, 2026

chen cheng-po -- "tamsui" (1933)

"in taiwan, i'd be like michael jordan walking down the street" … ang lee

"the distinctively taiwanese urban character that chen cheng-po sought to capture finally found its realization in the small town of tamsui. the winding path depicted in the painting is brimming with vitality; flanked by rows of closely packed buildings—where east meets west, and the old stands alongside the new—it exudes an intangible life force that seems poised to burst forth. chen cheng-po constructs a richly layered spatial composition by stacking the multicolored houses like building blocks, while the figures traversing the path resemble miniature dolls, infusing the scene with a sense of dramatic narrative intrigue. the dominant red palette, too, conveys that familiar warmth characteristic of his oeuvre" … national taiwan museum of fine arts

Afternoon in Tamsui