The Medici Art Initiative｜Artist：HSU Pei-Cheng

The Medici of Our Time

The Medici family was one of the most influential forces behind the development of Renaissance art in Italy, and an important patron of masters such as Michelangelo. Gallery de Sol’s Medici Art Initiative grew from a simple idea:

Instead of the fleeting bouquet, could we find a more meaningful and tangible way to support artists in continuing their creative practice?

With this in mind, we have transformed the traditional gesture of presenting flower baskets at exhibition openings into an act of sustained support for art. Every contribution becomes a source of nourishment for an artist’s future work; every gesture of encouragement becomes a lasting and genuine form of companionship.

In the past, art patronage was often a privilege reserved for those with wealth, power, and resources. Today, everyone can become a Medici in their own way.

A Craft in Decline: Multi-Color Letterpress Printing ​ ​

Each supporter will receive a set of four limited-edition multi-color letterpress prints (edition of 100 sets), adapted from HSU Pei-Cheng’s Dream of Blooming Youth series of ink line drawings. The fluid tones of ink are meticulously broken down into halftones and layers of color, while the distinctive relief and tactile qualities of letterpress printing bring each work to life as a small yet richly textured object.

Unlike digital printing, traditional letterpress printing begins with a matrix—a physical surface, such as a zinc plate, that carries the image to be printed. Each plate is used to print a single color, so multiple colors require multiple plates. These inked plates are then precisely aligned and printed onto the same position on a single sheet of paper, layering one color upon another to build the complete image.

Even for ink line drawings, achieving subtle gradations and variations in ink density requires several plates, which are printed successively from lighter to darker tones.

Left: the first layer, in light gray
Right: after the addition of the second, darker gray layer

This form of letterpress printing requires the skilled hand of an experienced master printer, working with a semi-manual letterpress machine—a traditional piece of machinery from a bygone era. At one of Taiwan’s few remaining traditional letterpress workshops, a master printer with 40 years of experience works between the rhythmic inking and pressing of the machine, feeding each sheet into position with remarkable speed and precision, while constantly monitoring and adjusting the color and density of the ink.

The mixed-media elements that frequently appear in HSU Pei-Cheng’s paintings are translated into print through a technique known as blind embossing, in which no ink is applied. Instead, the thickness of the plate itself presses into the paper, creating subtle indentations. In some cases, a thin layer of pale ink is added to accentuate these impressions, creating a sense of depth and texture that extends beyond the flat image.

Gallery de Sol’s Picks: Emerging Artists to Watch

Raised in a family steeped in literature and the arts, HSU Pei-Cheng has, from an early age, gradually constructed a garden of his own within his paintings, shaped by a sensitive and solitary way of perceiving the world.

His practice brings together memory, everyday life, and the subconscious. Through delicate, multilayered compositions, he unfolds a subtle and fluid psychic landscape where flowers, figures, and different moments in time intersect and overlap.

Quiet and restrained at first glance, his visual language is in fact rich and expansive. The memories and longings he holds dear within the limited span of a human life unfold into a sense of boundless permanence. Entering HSU Pei-Cheng’s compositions is like entering a dream: a multifaceted field of vision in which multiple moments coexist, as though every experience were unfolding simultaneously, with no need to look back into the past.

As he entered middle age, experiences of marriage, parenthood, and teaching also became part of his creative practice. Fragments once divided by the demands of reality are ultimately gathered, reassembled, and transformed into the dreamlike light, shadows, and foliage that inhabit his paintings.

Every Act of Passionate Support Can Inspire New Possibilities

Your support matters.

We invite you to join us through this initiative, and together, in a spirit of passion and generosity, help create a meaningful chapter in HSU Pei-Cheng’s artistic journey.

All proceeds from this initiative, after deducting administrative and operational costs, were used to fund materials for the artists’ creative work.

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