Qin Song(Chin Sung) (1932 - 2007) Zen woodblock print, paper mounted on board, one edition only executed in 1963 95 x 34 cm. (37 3/8 x 13 3/8 in.) FURTHER DESCRIPTION Qin Song was born into a scholarly family in China, and moved to Taiwan at a young age. He studied painting under the tutelage of Li Chungsheng in the 1950’s , and later joined the Ton Fon Art Association and even headed the gAoup; he and Liu Guosong of the Fifth Moon Group were known as the “Two Songs”. Qin Song was also a founding member and the first president of the Modern Prints Association in 1958. With his avant-garde, minimalist style, his print works received an honorary award at the Sao Paulo Biennial when he was just 27 years old, putting his name in the ranks of Yuyu Yang, Chen Ting-Shih and Lee Shi-Chi as trailblazers in the realm of modern art in Taiwan, holding a prominent position in the development of the art in Taiwan. Woodblock printing is a traditional art technique that originated in China, with nearly a thousand years of history. Woodblock prints with both water and oil have long become a unique aspect in print art. Zen was created by Qin Song at the time of the Modern Prints Association, building on the basis of woodblock printing by stacking multiple layers, the thickness of the oil paint and the ruggedness of the wood carving together create a rich texture. Abstract text is presented in a straight line to render a spatial arrangement that is full of tension, and the resulting image expresses both the seriousness of abstract art and the humble simplicity of Chinese Zen philosophy. This, along with the artist’s winning piece from 1959, Sun Festival, is recognized as a classic piece in oracle abstract style.