View source for Chen Chi-kwan

{{Infobox person
| name               = Chen Chi-kwan<br>陳其寬
| image_size         = <!-- if image is smaller than 250px -->
| birth_date         = 1921
| birth_place        = [[Beijing]], China
| death_date         = 2007 (age 85–86)
| death_place        = [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]], [[California]], [[United States]]
| other_names        = Qikuan Chen, Chi-Kwan Chen
| nationality        = [[Republic of China]]
| alma_mater         = [[Southeast University School of Architecture|National Central University]]<br>[[University of California, Los Angeles]]<br>[[Harvard University]]
| occupation         = architect, painter, professor
| known_for          = [[Luce Memorial Chapel]]
| spouse             =
| awards             = National Award for Arts
| website            = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
[[File:THU Luce Memorial Chapel.jpg|thumb|Luce Memorial Chapel]]
'''Chen Chi-kwan''' ({{zh|c=陳其寬}}; 1921–2007) was a Taiwanese artist, architect, and educator, particularly for his paintings and architectural work for [[Tunghai University]].<ref name="Sullivan2006">{{cite book|author=Michael Sullivan|title=Modern Chinese Artists: A Biographical Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lg_-RQ3t3dYC&pg=PA16|date=3 April 2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24449-8|pages=16–}}</ref> He collaborated with [[I.M. Pei]] to design the [[Luce Memorial Chapel]] on the university campus, a hallmark of [[mid-century modern]]ist architecture completed in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aedu/201501160035.aspx |title=Renovation project on Tunghai University's iconic church launched &#124; Culture &#124; FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS |publisher=Focustaiwan.tw |date=2015-01-16 |access-date=2017-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=March 2020|title=Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres. The Outlier: Chen Chi-kwan and his Views on Chinese Painting|url=https://www.orientations.com.hk/search-index-result/?art_id=13289&backissue_id=13279&article=detail|journal=Orientations|volume=51 - Number 2|access-date=2020-11-22|archive-date=2021-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213204724/https://www.orientations.com.hk/search-index-result/?art_id=13289&backissue_id=13279&article=detail|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Biography ==
Born in 1921 in [[Beijing]] (then known as [[Names of Beijing|Beiping]]), China.<ref name="teldap1">{{cite web|date=2004-09-03|title=Chen Chi-kwan, The Mind's Eye- Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of His Birth|url=http://culture.teldap.tw/culture/index.php?option=com_content&id=430|access-date=2020-11-21|website=Digital Taiwan, Culture and Nature|publisher=Culture.teldap.tw}}</ref> He attended Nanjing secondary school, Zhenjiang secondary school, and Zhongnan Middle School, National II.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} Chen's youth was strongly affected by China's War of Resistance against Japan and his family relocated in [[Chongqing]], [[Sichuan|Sichuan Province]].<ref name="teldap1" /> He studied architecture at the [[Southeast University School of Architecture]] (then known as Central University)<ref name="teldap1" /> and graduated with a BS degree in 1944.
In 1944, he served as an interpreter in the [[China Burma India Theater|China-Burma-India Theater]] of [[World War II]].<ref name="teldap1" /> In 1946, he served as a designer at Nanjing Jitai Architects.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} Chi-kwan studied at the University of Illinois from 1949 to 1951 with [[Walter Gropius]] and [[The Architects Collaborative|Architects Collaborative]], graduating in 1949 with a [[Master of Arts|M.A. degree]] in Architecture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Chinese Painting at Mid-Century|url=http://www.renaissancesociety.org/exhibitions/269/chinese-painting-at-mid-century/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Renaissance Society|language=en}}</ref> In 1950, he took classes at [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA) in the Department of Art.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} [[Walter Gropius]], recommended him as a part-time teacher at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), where he taught from 1952 until 1954.<ref name=":0" />
In collaboration with [[I. M. Pei]], co-designed [[Tunghai University]] campus, Taiwan in 1954.<ref name=":0" /> He served as director for the Department of Architecture at [[Tunghai University]] in 1960.<ref name="teldap1" />
Chi-kwan was involved in the design of the [[Portsmouth Square pedestrian bridge]] in [[Chinatown, San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Demolishing-an-S-F-bridge-to-nowhere-is-16490956.php | title=Demolishing a 'bridge to nowhere' is first step in $66 million redesign of S.F.'s Chinatown park | date=27 September 2021 }}</ref>
Chi-kwan often painted in watercolor and would borrow some aspects from traditional [[Chinese painting]] but apply it to modern themes or Western style line work, many of his works were abstract or referencing small landscapes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 17, 1955|title=Chi Kwan Chen's Water-Colors on View|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/11/17/93811367.html?pageNumber=43|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The New York Times|page=43|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> His paintings are in the permanent collection at various museums including [[Smithsonian American Art Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chi-kwan Chen|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/chi-kwan-chen-850|access-date=2020-11-21|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Harvard Art Museums]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Chen Qikuan [Chen Chi-kwan]|url=https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/person/23748|access-date=2020-11-21|website=Harvard Art Museums|language=en}}</ref> the [[British Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Collections Online, Chen Qikuan|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG8916|access-date=2020-11-21|website=British Museum}}</ref> among others.
In 2004, Chen was one of the recipients of Taiwan's prestigious National Award for Arts. Judges said the "decorative colors, architectural lines and mystical spaces" in his paintings "inspired us to see our surroundings in a new light."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aedu/201511120038.aspx |title=Taipei event remembers prominent artist Chen Chi-kwan &#124; Culture &#124; FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS |publisher=Focustaiwan.tw |date=2015-01-01 |access-date=2017-06-01}}</ref> To commemorate the 90th anniversary of his birth, a selection of Chen's paintings were displayed at the [[National Palace Museum]] in Taipei.<ref name="teldap1" />
He died in 2007 in [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]], California.<ref name=":1" />
In 2007, an asteroid, ''236851 Chenchikwan'', was named in honor of Chen by its discoverers, C.S. Lin and Q.Z. Ye.<ref>{{cite web|author=Alan Chamberlin |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=236851 |title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser |publisher=Ssd.jpl.nasa.gov |access-date=2017-06-02}}</ref>
==Key dates==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
*
*1969, planned the overall design of the campus of the [[National Central University]] in [[Chungli]].
*1980, appointed Dean of Engineering at [[Ren Donghai University]].
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/chikwan-chen-papers-7402 Chi-Kwan Chen papers, 1946-1972] from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
*[https://www.npm.gov.tw/exh98/chikwan/english/english_page_02.html Exhibit at the National Palace Museum]
*[http://www.artnet.com/artists/chen-qikuan/ Example of artwork by Chi-kwan] on Artnet.com
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chi-kwan}}
[[Category:Taiwanese architects]]
[[Category:Chinese architects]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Illinois State University alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty]]
[[Category:People from Burlingame, California]]
[[Category:People from Beijing]]
[[Category:Taiwanese expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Tunghai University]]