TAI XIANGZHOU (b.1968) Cosmos Worlds 1 and 2, 2014 (2)TAI XIANGZHOU (b.1968)Cosmos Worlds 1 and 2, 2014Two paintings, ink on paper, each framed. 45cm high x 75cm wide (17 3/4in high x 29 1/2in wide). (2).泰祥洲(1968年生) 天象世界1和2 水墨紙本 鏡框 2014年作Born in 1968 to a scholarly family in the provincial capital of Yinchuan, Ningxia, in north-central China, Tai began his training in Chinese calligraphy at the young age of four. After studying interactive design in Auckland, New Zealand, he led successful careers in digital media and conservation, founding the cultural magazine 'Chinese Heritage'. In 2003, his encounter with the painter Liu Dan pushed him to further explore the techniques of traditional Song and Yuan dynasty paintings. By 2006, Tai had devoted himself to ink painting and had begun to investigate Chinese landscape paintings from the perspective of astrology. Under the mentorship of philosopher Bao Lin, he completed his PhD from Tsinghua University in 2012 with a dissertation entitled 'Phenomena of the Universe-The Concepts and Structure of Chinese Landscape Paintings.' This work was highly admired by renowned art historian Fang Wen, who recommended the book in the preface and recommended for publishing by the Zhonghua Book Company. Attending to the nature of the materials of painting, Tai has researched traditional papermaking techniques and now paints exclusively on paper and silk produced by tenth-century methods. He also only uses ink from the Qianlong era (1736-1795), which is considered to be one of the highest-quality inks. In addition to painting, Tai in 2010 created an interactive and multimedia installation based on classical Chinese cosmology, 'The Gateway of Expedient Means', modelled on medieval revolving repositories of Buddhist sutras and constructed in wood using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery. He currently lives and works in Beijing. Tai Xiangzhou's works are in the Art Institute of Chicago; the Arthur M.Sackler Museum, Harvard University; the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; the Brooklyn Museum; Princeton University Art Museum; and Yale University Art Gallery.For related paintings by Tai Xiangzhou, see Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang, Stanford, 2018, pp.44-45.