Ho Kan was a founding member of the pivotal “Ton Fan Art Group,” where he was instrumental to the development of modern art in Taiwan. Ho was born in Nanjing, China in 1932, and graduated from Taipei Teacher’s School Department of Art in 1953. He then studied extensively in Milan, during which time he established his unique approach towards geometric abstraction where Eastern calligraphy and seal carving is poetically integrated. He started from the most simple but universal elements of □, △, and ○ to create his own lexicon in the arrangement of image and shape -- embedding eastern philosophy in the western framework of abstraction, resulting in a forward-looking and universal aesthetic. Ho Kan remains a central figure in Taiwan's history of abstraction.
Ho Kan’s institutional solo exhibitions include: Where the Mind Goes, the Heart Follows: Paintings by Ho Kan, Yancheng Cultural Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2020); Reverberations•HO KAN, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2016); Age 80•Ho Kan’s Drawing Exhibition, Da Xiang Artspace, Taichung, Taiwan (2012); Universal Eternity – Ho Kan Solo Exhibition, Tsing Hua University Art Center, Hsinchu, Providence University Art Center, Taichung, Cheng Kung University Art Center, Tainan, Taiwan (2011); Ho Kan Solo Exhibition, Da Xiang Art space, Taichung, Taiwan(2010); Ho Kan’s Poetics of Space, Dimensions Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan (2005); Oriental Constructivism, Dimensions Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan (2001); Solo Exhibition, Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan (1994); Solo Exhibition, Casa Veneta - Museo di Muggia, Trieste, Italy (1992); Solo Exhibition, Comune di Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Florence, Italy (1986); Solo Exhibition, Comune di Macerata Pinacoteca e Musei Comunali Amici dell’Arte, Macerata, Italy (1979); Solo Exhibition, Istituto Italo Cinese, Milan (1973); and Solo Exhibition, Abbazia dei Padri Benedettini, Final Pia, Italy (1973).
Ho Kan’s work has been featured in renowned institutions worldwide including Selection of NTMoFA’s Collection, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan (2020); Magistrate Residence Living Centre Inaugural Exhibition, Magistrate Residence Living Centre, Tainan, Taiwan (2020); 1960 - The Origin of Taiwan’s Modern Art, Asia Art Center, Taipei (2016); Milano, Breathing, Taipei, Pro-partner Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan (2014); Formless Form – Taiwanese Abstract Art, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong, China (2013); Formless Form – Taiwanese Abstract Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2012); Exploring the Wasteland – The Eight Highwaymen of the East, Da Xiang Art Space, Taichung, Taiwan (2012); Surrealists in Taiwan, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2008); Between Modern and Postmodern: Master Chun-Shen Li and Modern Art in Taiwan, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan (2004); Arti Visive, Circolo Culturale Bertolt-Brecht, Milan (2001); Li Chun-Shan and his Pupils exhibition, Dimensions Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan (1999); The Momentum of the Ton-Fan marked in Shanghai, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China (1999); The Memo of Ton-Fan, Dimensions Art Center, Taipei (1997); A Retrospective Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (1986); Masterpieces by Overseas Chinese Artists, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (1984); The Chinese Response, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong (1982); 25th anniversary joint exhibition of Ton Fan and Fifth Moon, Taiwan Provincial Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (1981); Premio incontro d’arte a Bossico, Palazzo del Comune, Bergamo Bossico, Italy (1974); Group Exhibition, Museo Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy (1967); Museu de Arte Brasileira da Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil (1966); and Museo Leverkusen - Chinesische Künstler der Gegenwart, Leverkusen, Germany (1963).
Ho Kan’s work has been collected by museums including Berkeley Art Museum, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, among others. Ho Kan was awarded the 5th Lee Chun-Shan Foundation Modern Art Achievement Award, the 1st Prize of Giuseppe Mori, and the International Art Prize of Development.
Ho Kan currently lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan.