Page 5 - 高惠芬-2015大地情懷-高惠芬畫集

Preface

Carol Kao has made art for more than 30 years; she has not only held countless exhibitions, but also published
several collections of her works, which preserve the results of her creativity, and also provide an exquisite record of
her art. This volume of her paintings and works from recent years is a further, sublime token of her artistic breadth and
depth.

Carol Kao's artistic style can best be characterized as "Chinese in substance, Western and application." Her earliest
works chiefly consist of traditional ink and wash paintings, and she long immersed herself in the world of Chinese
literati painting. As a result, her paintings are infused with precise brushwork and lively use of ink tones. At the same
time, her work contains the distinctive beauty and refinement of the finest female painters. Nevertheless, Carol has
never limited herself to purely Eastern techniques and themes, and she commonly adopts and reinterprets the artistic
essence of Western painting theory and practice, while incorporating them in her painting world using her own unique
methods. As a consequence, there is no clear dividing line between Eastern and Western in her art, and ink and wash
and pastels add to each other's resplendence. In her Eastern ink and wash painting, which is quintessentially traditional
and emphasizes mood, she also adds the realism and colors of Western painting. This artistic style blending East and
West, and employing both ink and colored pigments, is one of the things that make Kao's paintings so amazing.

In addition to not limiting herself to either Eastern or Western artistic concepts, Carol has also never restricted
herself to the medium of painting. After having established a foundation in ink and wash painting, she boldly began
experimenting with various painting media and techniques, and her works span the artistic categories of ink and
wash, watercolors, oil paintings, and porcelain paintings. Sometimes the boundaries between these categories cannot
be clearly distinguished in her work. This is another important characteristic of Carol Kao's art. Understanding the
conceptual essence of her work in her heart, she freely uses external forms, which very naturally shapes a painting style
expressed in many media.

After over three decades of ceaseless artistic creativity, Carol Kao still maintains tremendous creative ambition
and vitality. On her path of art, Kao has consistently preserved a pure and innocent embrace of art, while constantly
embarking on artistic experiments and innovative forays. "Eternal artistic vigor" is undoubtedly the most important
stylistic attribute of Carol Kao's art.

General Director
Cultural Affairs Department, Yunlin County Government

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