YUAN Chin-Ta

Figures in gray costumes, each wearing a different mask, stand as if on a stage. Theatrical and ritual elements — echoes of Taiwan’s puppet and folk performance — frame a scene about public roles and what they hide. Painted in 1988, one year after martial law was lifted, the work hints at a society in transition: new freedoms arriving while old habits of concealment may remain.
    YUAN Chin-Ta inscribed on the painting the line “life is a play,” turning the image into a direct reflection on appearance and truth. Trained at National Taiwan Normal University and later in New York, he combines ink and oil techniques to examine identity and social change. The picture leaves the question open: what happens when the masks come off?