Ed Pien

Taiwanese Canadian artist Ed Pien (1958) expresses deep human fears in his work. Grotesque creatures are cropping up in his drawings; demons, spirits and ghosts. Thus he continues an age-old tradition in Western and Asian art, the representation of hell.

During a journey through China he discovered the cut-out drawing, especially used in clichéd images for tourists there. Pien took over this technique in order to create utterly delicate and complex representations of trees and woods, in which human figures are concealed. These cutout drawings are not only placed on the wall, like classical drawings, but are also used to build large installations that the audience can walk through.

The installations also bring forth video works like Shadow Play, in which Ed Pien himself moves through an installation with cut-out paper and networks of ropes that continue to be transformed by means of dynamic, dramatic lighting.

Very recently he started experimenting with aluminium in which cutouts are made by using a powerful water jet. In these aluminium works, he plays with the scale of the people, nature and architecture he portrays. The aluminium cut outs are placed slightly off the wall so the light can cast shadows behind the cut out forms.

1958 born in Taipei, Taiwan

education

1982 Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
1984 Master of Fine Arts, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
lives and works in Toronto, Canada

solo exhibitions

2013 North-South Encounter, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada
2012 VOLTA New York, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain
2011 Déliaison/Unbinding, Le Musée d’art contemporarain des Laurentides, Québec, CanadaMémento, Storey Gallery, Lancaster, the U.K.Haven of Delight, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Canada
2010 Haven of Delight, (touring) Museum London, London, Ontario, CanadaThe Room, St Johns, Newfoundland, CanadaGalerie Maurits van de Laar, The Hague, The Netherlands

The Drawings of Ed Pien: The Haunting, Campus Gallery, Georgian College, Barrie

(Ontario, Canada).

Underwater (curated by Angela Kingston). Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, UK

Memento, Himalaya Art Gallery, 501 Contemporary, Chongqing, China

2009 Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montreal, CanadaNational touring exhibition of HAVENGaleria Nina Menocal Project Space, Mexico City

The Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK

(touring through the UK, China and Canada)

The Tree Museum, Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

2008 Galerie Maurits van de Laar, The Hague, The NetherlandsBirch Libralato, Toronto, CanadaUniversity of Palermo, Petralia ,Sottana, Sicily, Italy

Axe-néo-sept, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Museé d’art de Joliette, Joliette, Quebec, Canada

Hot Art, Basel, Switzerland

2007 Cornice Art Fair, Venice, ItalyBellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, Washington, USACanada House, London, UK

Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

2006 SPACE Gallery, London, UKGalerie Maurits van de Laar, The Hague, The NetherlandsBizart, Shanghai, China

Rodman Hall Art Gallery, St Catharines, ON, Canada

Centre d’art de Basse-Normandie, France

2005 New Works, The Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, ON, CanadaIn the Realm of Others, Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge, ON, CanadaEd Pien, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal, QC, Canada

Tracing Night, Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, Mexico

Earthly Delights, Windsor Printmaker’s Forum, Windsor, ON, Canada

In a Realm of Others, The Robert McLaughlin Art Centre, Oshawa, ON, Canada

Strange Scene, Keyano College Art Gallery, Ft. McMurray, Canada

2004 Earthly Delights, Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico CityEarthly Delights, Museo Ex-Convento del Carmen, Guadalajara, MexicoGalerie Maurits van de Laar, The Hague, The Netherlands

Imaginary Beings, Galerie Alexander Ochs, Berlin

Earthly Delights, Museo Arqueologico, Mazatlan, Mexico

Celestial Bodies, Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Kingston, ON, Canada

Tracing Night, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Gallery, Corner Brook, NF, Canada

Tracing Night, St. Mary’s University Gallery, Halifax, NS, Canada

Ed Pien, Usine C, Montréal, QC, Canada

2003 In a Realm of Others, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
2002 Ed Pien: Survey, Middlesbrough Art Gallery, Middlesbrough, UK
2001 The Canadian Culture Centre, Paris, FranceMuseum of Contemporary Canadian Art, TorontoRobert Birch Gallery, Toronto, Canada

WALLY, Amsterdam

Miller/Block, Boston, USA

Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Canada

Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, Canada

Truck, Calgary, Canada

2000 De Overslag, EindhovenContemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, CanadaL’oeil de Poisson, Quebec, Canada

Gallery 101, Ottawa, Canada

L’Expression, Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada

1998 Oboro, Montreal, CanadaThe Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1997 Artcite, Windsor, Canada
1996 YYZ, Toronto, CanadaLangage Plus, Alma, Quebec, Canada
1995 Struts Gallery, Sackville, CanadaAccess Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1994 Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1991 Main/Access Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
1989 Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1987 Galerie Noctuelle, Montreal, CanadaAce Art, Winnipeg, Canada
1986 Articule, Montreal, Canada
1983 Gallery 76, Toronto, Canada

group exhibitions

2014 Duo exhibition with Karin van Dam, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, The Hague, NLAmsterdam Drawing, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Amsterdam, NLPapier 2014, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada
2013 Suspended Gravity (with Karin van Dam), OV Gallery, Shanghai, ChinaPapier 2013, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada
2012 SCOPE Miami, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Miami, Florida USAToronto International Art Fair,Galerie Pierre Francois Ouelette, Toronto, Ca.Contemporary Istanbul 2012,

Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Istanbul, TurkeySCOPE Basel,

Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Basel, SwitzerlandLiving – Being

, Song Zhuang Art Center, Beijing, China18th Bieniale of Sydney, Australia

Dimensions in Paper, University Hospital Leiden, The Netherlands

2011 TWENTY, 20 years Galerie Maurits vd Laar, The Hague, The NetherlandsRefiguring Nature, Creative Space M50, Shanghai, ChinaBande, La Biennial du Lin, Portneuf, Quebec, Canada

Paper Doll, Owens Art Gallery, NB, Curator, Canada

Selected works, Gallery Stratford, ON, Canada

Recent works, Art Amsterdam, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, The Netherlands

Recent works, Papier 11 Montreal, Birch Libralato, Toronto

Bleed Drawings, Papier 11 Montreal, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain,

Underwater, The Bluecoat, curator: Angela Kingston, Liverpool, U.K.

Art Rotterdam, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Underwater, Tullie House, Carlisle, U.K.

Shadow Play (DVD screening), The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. U.K

2010 Scream, Justina M. Barnike Gallery, Toronto, CanadaIt is what it is, National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2009 Museum of Arts & Design, New York, USASalon Du Dessin Contemporain, Paris, FranceGaleria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain

Fruehsorge Contemporary Drawings, Berlin, Germany

Ground, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Underwater, Towner Gallery, Eastbourne,

touring the UK

Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops, B.C., Canada

2008 Contemporary Istanbul, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Istanbul, Turkey The National Art Gallery, Enchanted Domain, Ottawa, CanadaCollyer Bristow Gallery, Contemporary Chinoiserie, LondonPulse Miami, Birch Libralato,

CODA Museum, Paper Biennial, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands

Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

Walter Philips Art Gallery, Bureau de Change, Banff, Canada

Art Sutton, Solace, Quebec (2-person), Canada

Edward Day Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2007 Art Chicago, Chicago, USAWeatherspoon Art Museum, North Carolina, USAK. E. Nash University Art Gallery, Minneapolis Minnesota, USA

Begona Melone Gallery, Madrid, Spain

Galerie Alexander Ochs, Berlin, Germany

University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, Canada,

Art Rotterdam, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

2006 e-Billboard Project, Toronto, CanadaThames Art Gallery, St Thomas, CanadaHart House, site-specific intervention, Toronto, Canada

Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada

The Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada

2005 Drops, Room, RotterdamKunstRAI, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, AmsterdamSelected Drawings, Chicago Art Fair, USA
2004 The Garden, Pinacoteca, Provinciale di Potenza, ItalyMoon Beings, Straal, Cinema de Balie, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsEarthly Delights, Musée des Beaux Arts, Montréal, QC, Canada

Imaginary Beings, Siemens Forum Bayern, Münich, Germany

Important Canadian Art, Zierhersmith, New York, USA

Just My Imagination, Art Lab & Museum London, London, ON, Canada

Normal, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT, Canada

Octo-boy, Maison de la culture Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal, QC, Canada

2003 Selected Works, Goethe Institut, Berlin, GermanyWater Gods Playing Tricks, Berlin Art Forum, Berlin, GermanyDrawings, Frankfurt Art Fair, Frankfurt, Germany

The Rest of the World, Neuffer Am Park, Pirmasens, Germany

Between Line and From, Art Gallery of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

The Last Judgement Project, Seattle Centre, curator Stefano Catalani, Seattle, USA

Metamorphosis, Maison de la culture Cote-des-Neiges, Montréal, QC, Canada

Liminal, Ryerson Art Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada

Imaginings, Mississauga Art Gallery, Mississauga, ON, Canada

Delight, Weewerk, Toronto, ON, Canada

Visions and Apparitions, Hart House, U of T, Toronto, ON, Canada

2002 The Fountain, Parkhaus, Berlin, GermanyManifestation, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal, QC, CanadaThe Garden, Parc Citroën, curator Pernille Grane, Paris, France

Earthly Delights, The Montreal Biennial 2002, Montréal, QC, Canada

Tekeningen, Quartair, The Hague, The Netherlands

Liminal, Bishop’s University Art Gallery, Lennoxville, Canada

Play Tonic, ASpace, Toronto, ON, Canada

Grief Mopping, Neutral Ground, Regina, SK

Galerie Maurits van de Laar (with Karin van Dam), The Hague, The Netherlands

Paper Art, Stormarn Kulturstiftung, Bad Oldesloe, Germany

Liminal, M.A.I., Montréal, QC, Canada

2001 Asian American Arts Centre, New York, USAMuseo de Arte y Diseno Contemporaneo, Costa RicaW139, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Open Space, Victoria (3 person), Canada

2000 The Drawing Centre, New York, USALa Biennale de Montreal 2000, Montreal, CanadaGalerie Maurits van de Laar (with Dieter Mammel), The Hague, The Netherlands

Trans Hudson Gallery, New York, USA

The Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Reactor Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1999 W139, Amsterdam (3 person), The NetherlandsARTIS, Den Bosch (3 person), The NetherlandsPaul Petro Art, Toronto, Canada

Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada

Glendon Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1997 The New Paradise, Taipei (2 person), Taiwan
1996 Artspace, New Haven, CT, Canada
1995 Presentation House, Vancouver, CanadaOO Gallery, Halifax, Canada
1994 Artspeak Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1993 The Alternator Gallery, (3 person), Kelowna , Canada
1992 The Red Head Gallery, (2 person), Toronto, Canada
1991 The Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, CanadaThe Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1990 Agnes Etherington Gallery, Kingston, CanadaArtspace,(3 person), Peterborough, Canada
1988 Embassy Cultural House, London, Canada
1987 Oakville Galleries, (3 person), Oakville, Canada
1985 Mercer Union, Toronto, CanadaArt Gallery of York University, Toronto, Canada
1984 Galerie UQAM, Montreal, Canada
1981 Trajectory Gallery, London, Canada