Mind Set Art Center is honored to invite SHEN Yu-Chang, Assistant Professor at National Taipei University of Education, to curate a group exhibition focusing on the aesthetics of contemporary shuhua (calligraphy and painting), titled "Pulse Profile: Palpating Dots and Strokes." By adopting concepts from traditional Chinese medicine such as "reading the pulse" (palpation) and "pulse profiles," this exhibition attempts to offer different observations and discussions within the development of contemporary shuhua, distinguishing itself from traditional bimo (brushwork and ink) and common approaches to the contemporanization of shuhua. The exhibition brings together twelve artists across generations from home and abroad, showcasing works that encompass a diverse range of media, including ink, watercolor, acrylic, and print. The exhibition will run from July 11 to August 22, 2026, opening with a talk at 2:30 PM on July 11, followed by an opening reception at 4:30 PM on the same day. We cordially invite you to attend.
In today’s art ecosystem, where shuhua increasingly moves toward multi-media and cross-disciplinary practices, contemporary shuyi (calligraphy art), contemporary shuimo (ink art), and new media practices have progressively become significant components. However, as shuhua continuously borrows the vocabularies of modern painting and contemporary art to renew itself, a question worth reflecting upon emerges: has shuhua, in its pursuit of contemporaneity, gradually lost sight of its own unique expressive language? "Pulse Profile: Palpating Dots and Strokes" departs from this very inquiry, attempting to reopen discussions on bimo. The exhibition uses the "techno-temporal consciousness" of East Asian art and culture as an intellectual point of entry to examine what exactly dianhua (dots and strokes) means within shuhua, while leveraging the
concept of "palpation" from traditional Chinese medicine to re-understand the subtle and complex perceptual experiences in the creation of shuhua.
Curator SHEN Yu-Chang notes that in the modern era, bimo has frequently been translated into modern formal languages such as "dots, lines, and planes." However, as a crucial concept in modern art, xiantiao (line) implies a European way of seeing centered around geometry and the traces of movement. In contrast, dianhua, emphasized in traditional shuhua, points more toward the generative process of the body, breath, force, and texture. Though seemingly similar, the two reflect entirely distinct cultural mindsets and modes of perception. The exhibition also draws inspiration from medical historian Shigehisa Kuriyama’s comparative study of ancient Greek and ancient Chinese pulse-taking traditions: ancient Greek physicians measured the frequency and rhythm of the pulse, whereas ancient Chinese physicians diagnosed the diverse pulse profiles presented by the flow of meridians. Just as the difference between the pulse and meridians, xiantiao and dianhua may represent two entirely different ways of viewing the world. The exhibition therefore proposes the concept of "pulse profile," implying a subtle perceptual approach—akin to reading a pulse—to discern the texture, strength, rhythm, and spiritual resonance (qiyun) of dots and strokes. Through this lens, "Pulse Profile: Palpating Dots and Strokes" not only focuses on the continuation of traditional bimo techniques but also attempts to transcend existing technical standards, rethinking how contemporary creators continue to generate life-infused dianhua under different conditions of media and tools. The exhibition is less concerned with how shuhua becomes contemporary art, and more focused on reinterpreting its possibilities in contemporary culture from the foundational language of shuhua itself.
This exhibition features twelve invited artists: WU Tseng Jung, E.Y.Shih-Chih YANG, YU Peng, LIN Chuan-Chu, WU Yiming, LIU Hsing Yu, TSENG Chien-Ying, YANG Yu-Ning, LEE Kai-Chen, Matěj MACHÁČEK, CHIU Wei-Hsiang, and WANG Hsiang. Through their respective creative practices, they collectively present an interconnected thread within the postwar development of shuhua in Taiwan, characterized by breakthroughs such as "the replacement of xian (line) with dian (dot)" and "the replacement of xie (writing) with hua (painting)," thereby sparking a new round of contemplation on core issues such as bimo, scriptural quality, and painterly quality. At the same time, the exhibition invites viewers to adopt a pulse-reading manner of seeing to re-
experience the subtle nuances and vital rhythms within the exhibited works, searching together with us for the unfulfilled possibilities of bimo between the traditional and the contemporary.
Participating Artists
CHIU Wei-Hsiang
LEE Kai–Chen
LIN Chuan-Chu
LIU Hsing Yu
Matěj MACHÁČEK
TSENG Chien-Ying
WANG Hsiang
WU Tseng Jung
WU Yiming
E.Y.Shih-Chih YANG
YANG Yu-Ning
YU Peng
