High Life

HIGH LIFE 33 B orn in Hsinchu, Taiwan in 1979, Cai Guojie has spent years in Taiwan’s art circles and had built an exceptional reputation. However, after marrying a girl from Macau, he found himself attracted by the blend of eastern andwestern cultures inMacau. Specializing in art installation, Cai moved his family to Macau in 2011 andwas quickly inspired by the history of Macau as the gateway for western watercolor to spread into China and began to think about how he could integrate eastern andwestern cultures through watercolor. Through constant research and exploration, Cai summed up some techniques and theories and began to adopt them in many of his artistic creations. The result is watercolor paintings full of light and speedy lines. Although most of his works depict architectural space, they are full of dynamic feeling due to the use of a soft brush typical of traditional Chinese paintings. Cai adopted Chinese writing techniques in western watercolor forms, paying particular attention to speed control when painting, composing Western abstract paintings that bring out a feeling of “flying sprit” and “oriental charm” in his watercolor works.