Artists

Photo Credit: NIU Chun-Chiang

Chiang Kun-sen

Open studio presentation 2.
Signing books at Le Salon du Livre et de la Presse de Jeunesse.
Photo with editor Yeh Chun-liang and Loïc Jacob at Le Salon du Livre et de la Presse de Jeunesse.
Group photo with fellow artists at Salon du Livre Jeunesse 2023 de St Gervais la Forêt.
Exhibition opening in Saumur.
Exhibition display in Saumur.
Campus workshop presentation 1.
Campus workshop presentation 2.
Open studio presentation 1.
Open studio presentation 3.
Visitors at the open studio day 1.
Visitors at the open studio day 2.
Visitors at the open studio day 3.
Visitors at the open studio day 4.
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Chiang Kun-sen

Location France / Paris
Residency Cité Internationale des Arts
Year of the Grant 2021
Work Allons Voir La Mer
Personal Website Chiang Kun-sen's Personal Website
Chiang Kun-sen is an illustration artist with a warm and delicate painting style. His works seem to bring to readers healing and comfort. Chiang garnered 8 international illustration and design awards in 2019 alone and was hailed by Le Monde, a prestigious French press. Chiang's works have been honored by the Bologna Illustration Exhibition (Italy), World Illustration Awards (UK), 3x3 International Illustration Show (USA), and JIA International Illustration Award (Japan). Chiang's works have been selected as "the book of the year" by OpenBook and the "best book for teenagers" by Reading Good Books Together.

Artist Statement:
During my residency at the International City of Arts (Cité Internationale des Arts), I participated in several exhibitions, such as Exposition le Souffle de la Nature au Théâtre le Dôme in Saumur; the biggest children's book fair in France, Le Salon du Livre et de la Presse de Jeunesse; Salon du Livre Jeunesse 2023 de Saint Gervais la Forêt; and Regards de Taïwan in the city library in Tour. I also attended book-signing events at independent bookstores, such as Les Traversées in Paris and Les Enfants Terribles in Nantes, to showcase the rich culture, creative energy, and beautiful scenery of my hometown to the locals and deepen their positive impressions of Taiwan.

"Memory, connection and relationships" are common themes in my creations. I aim to express my life experiences and emotions, explore more possibilities of life, and gain self-understanding from different perspectives. Through the residency, I felt my world had opened wide up. That little boat in my heart, once lost, now finds its way to navigate forward, on and on.

Here's my residency presentation:
1. The Birth of an Illustration Book: From Drafts to the Final Work
tried to demonstrate the process of creating an illustration book, from initial sketches, rough drafts, coloring, final artwork, to compiling into a book. I selected a few pieces to be printed as hanging paintings to show more texture and detail.

2. Everything's Gonna Be Okay: Musical Associations of a Bed and the Sea
The bedsheets at the artist village were blue, with wave-like seams. I used the sheets as an ocean and placed hand-painted pictures on them. Music has been an important element and source of inspiration in my artworks. I played a new song that I made with Merlin, my music partner at the village.

3. This Is My Sea; I Come from Taiwan
The last part of this final presentation was a wall of photos. I picked some photos of the sea I took in Taiwan, for more people to learn about the beauty of the island.

During the six-month residency, other than exploring local life, I acquainted myself with some French artists. I plan to hold interviews with them to learn about the opportunities they have and the difficulties they face. The records of the interviews will be provided to artists or art groups in Taiwan as references for future development.

Author: Chiang Kun-sen
Edited: Brix
About Cité Internationale des Arts