Interview with Jason Yu-ting SHIH

Jason Yu-ting SHIH ("JYS") interviewed on Monday, 27 May.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

JYS : Jason SHIH（Yu-ting SHIH）was born in 1972 and grew up in Lu-kang Town, Chang-hua County, Taiwan, which was a district prospered with traditional folk arts and crafts. He was so fascinated by those ancient temples, paintings, ceramic and wood figures that motivated him to pass a special test for a fine art class in an elementary school in the capital,Taipei. Following the fine art class in junior and senior high school, Jason SHIH studied at Taipei National University of the Arts for the BFA program and graduated as a Metal Sculpture-major (1996). After 15 years fine art school training and widely exploring in the area of arts, Jason SHIH was confirmed the passion to the creation of form. In order to become a professional sculptor, after 2 years army service in duty, he studied abroad at School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, USA, and majored in Metal Sculpture. After graduating with the MFA degree (2001), Jason SHIH worked for Albert Paley, a world-renowned metal sculptor in New York, as an assistant to learn more technology and practical experience of public art and metal craft. In 2002, after well prepared, Jason SHIH decided to come back to the artist's hometown, Taiwan, to begin his professional sculptor career. 20 years so far, he has completed more than 80 public art works. During this period, Jason had also participated in the artist residency programs of Wangsan Festival in Gangneung, South Korea (2003), JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design in Adelaide, Australia (2004) and New Taipei City Goverment Gold Museum, Taiwan (2008). While developing his professional sculptor career, Jason SHIH never forgot to pursue the nourishment of academic theories. He obtained his Art Ph. D. from China Academy of Art, China (2015) and a MBA from National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan (2022). Now, Jason SHIH and his twin boys live in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, and consistently engages in the both areas of sculpture and public art.