CHIANG Chiu

Born in 1962 on the Ganzi Plateau in Sichuan, China, Lama CHIANG Chiu grew up in an environment deeply rooted in Tibetan culture and Buddhist traditions. The vast highlands, the sound of monastery bells, the lives of nomadic herders, and the changing seasons of the plateau formed his earliest memories and continue to serve as a spiritual and emotional homeland throughout his artistic practice.

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At the age of seventeen, he traveled to Sonada Monastery in India and entered monastic life. Under the guidance of the First Kalu Rinpoche, he began decades of Buddhist study and practice. In 1987, he received the Shangpa Kagyu Five Golden Dharmas empowerments and later undertook extended retreat training under the instruction of Lama Lodrö, his retreat master. For CHIANG Chiu, spiritual practice is not merely a religious discipline but also a way of perceiving the world—a means of understanding the nature of life through everyday experience.

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In 1993, Lama CHIANG Chiu came to Taiwan to teach the Dharma and has lived there for more than three decades. The journey from the Tibetan Plateau to an island society, and from monastery life to urban environments, has given him a unique perspective on place, memory, migration, faith, and daily life. Over time, these experiences have become an essential source of inspiration for his artistic work and have shaped his distinctive creative vision.

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Unlike many academically trained artists, CHIANG Chiu's artistic practice did not emerge from formal art theory but from years of contemplative observation cultivated through spiritual discipline. Working primarily in painting and sculpture, he draws upon themes such as plateau landscapes, Buddhist imagery, cosmic symbolism, flowers and fruit, still life subjects, and animal life. His works often occupy a space between representation and inner vision, emphasizing atmosphere and reflection rather than narrative. Clouds, light, mountains, rivers, and Buddhist figures appear not merely as visual subjects, but as expressions of an inner spiritual landscape.

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In 2011, Lama CHIANG Chiu held his first solo exhibition at Eslite Gallery, marking his public debut as a professional artist. Since then, he has presented solo exhibitions at Eslite Xinyi and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, gradually establishing a body of work that bridges contemplative spirituality and contemporary artistic expression. For him, art and spiritual practice have never been separate paths but complementary forms of inquiry. Painting is both observation and cultivation, expression and aspiration.

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From the Ganzi Plateau to Taiwan, from monastery life to the canvas, Lama CHIANG Chiu has forged a unique path between art and spiritual practice through decades of lived experience. His work not only reflects the cultural and philosophical traditions of Tibetan Buddhism but also reveals an ongoing contemplation of life, nature, and the world through the eyes of a lifelong practitioner.