Wu Tseng Jung was born in 1942 in Taichung City’s Dongshi District. He graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering at the National Taipei University of Technology. He began learning painting at the age of 20, and later on founded his own architecture design studio in 1971. Wu first gained recognition as an architect with his design of the Dongshi District Office Building, taking inspiration from his experience herding cattle in his youth. He other notable projects include a public housing project in Taichung’s Lilin Borough, the Taipei City Hall (co-designed with LEE Chun-Jen and Wang Li-Fu) and an apartment building in Linkou District. Outside of his design duty, Wu served on the board of the Taipei Association of Architects, and taught at the architecture departments of the China University of Technology Taipei Campus, the Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology and the Chung Yuan Christian University. He also penned the interior design column at “Phoebes” magazine in 1982.
In his middle age, Wu abruptly ended his career in architecture and devoted himself to watercolor painting. His usual subjects include Taiwan’s mountains and forests, the National Taiwan University campus, as well as his family and friends. His paintings are a reflection of his stoic persona and inner spiritual pursuit. In his compositions, the artist drafts freely from figurative and abstract elements, from spatial elements to color patches, and between qualities of oil and ink brush paintings. Wu Tseng Jung’s mindset is that of a wandering poet in the contemporary world ---- his dwelling in the modern city of Taipei cannot contain his longing for the unbridled journeys in the endless skies and canyons.