Tu Ping-Lang

TAIWAN, Chiayi

Born in Putzu, Chiayi, Tu Ping-Lang began learning to paint at a young age from Chen Tien-Lu. When he was a high school student, he studied fine arts under Liao Chi-Chun. He was admitted into the Department of Fine Arts at National Taiwan Normal University in 1948 and was a gifted and active student who participated in several school clubs. In 1952, he was imprisoned for discussing political issues. After he was discharged 10 years later, Tu re-involved himself in the arts and began teaching. He was invited by Yang Ying-Teng in 1981 to participate in the construction of Kaiyuan Temple in Tainan and Henan Temple in Hualien. Since 1986, he has devoted himself to the creation of Buddhist paintings. He has organized solo exhibitions at the Kaohsiung Public Library in 1996, and at the Kaohsiung Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center in 2001.
A major feature in Tu’s paintings is the depiction of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In addition, he paints ladies, flowers, and birds. Based on traditional style, his compositions are filled with creativity, and comprised of gentle and beautiful hues. Tu’s paintings, Western Pure Land and Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, were exhibited in the Taiwan Pure Land Art Exhibition in 2004, which was a joint production organized by the Torch of Wisdom Buddhist Association in Taipei, and Feng Chia University in Taichung.