PROVENANCE:
Collection of former Director of the Shiy De-jinn
Foundation, Mr. Lu Sheng-Hua (acquired directly
from the artist)

This painting belongs to Shiy De-jinn's "Northeast Coast of Taiwan" series, which were created on the north coast of Taiwan. Its composition is similar to the works collected by National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. With his skillful technique in watercolor and delicate changes of ink, the artist leaves strokes of "flying white" on paper. Taiwan is an island with beautiful sea landscape around every corner: the reefs stretching from Taipei to Yilan are particularly magnificent. Chiang Hsun complimented Shiy in that he introduced the Chinese landscape into Taiwanese paintings. Besides his sketches in the mountains and on the fields of Taiwan, Shiy's seafront landscapes of his later years are also considered masterpieces.

Shiy was a sensitive artist who had an intense fascination with the sea, as he expressed: "I have an unstoppable yearning for the sea. Even if it is a harbor, with the air of the sea, I will also be allured… The waves and rocks along Taipei-Yilan Coastal Highway are captivating and compelling." In the simple, rustic ink of "Northeast Coast of Taiwan", the artist once again emphasizes the presence of beauty, creating a landscape imagery in which ink and wash harmoniously blend together in an articulate artistic vocabulary. The towering rocks complement the bold ink seem to be inspired by Li Keran.