Perhaps it is because rhino is an ancient animal.  For it used to wandering in the ancient book of “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”, or showing up on bronze ware of Pre-Qin and stone craving of Han Dynasty.  In this fast-paced world maybe what is so attractive about Shih’s rhino is rhino’s slow and steady feeling. The rhino is standing as solid as a rock, just like Huang- Zhong Da -Lu in the ancient Chinese music which reminds us certain nostalgia with intrinsically profound unsophistication while there are too much fast temple pop music driving us hysteria in such a lightweight pop art and the internet era.  Comparing rhino to other large mammals on land with similar size, while elephant is too flabby, and hippo is too chubby, rhino is just weighted with muscles and well-built.  Perhaps it is the main factor that stimulates Shih’s inspiration.  Besides, rhino’s muscular structure is a lot like a combination of armored warrior and mechanical vehicle that mix the valor ancient warrior and a sense of future into a gentle Chinese style.  This is probably one of the reason Shih especially loves rhinos.

Rhino was once one of the oldest creatures living on the land of China.  The "Ritual Vessel (zen or gui) shaped rhinoceros, one of the Seven Liangshen Bronze, unearthed in Shouzhang County, Shandong, and now was collected as one of the most reputable collection in Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, has been quoted in numerous studies of bronzes.  Because of how simple and playful it is, even after years of changes in standard of beauty and art, it is still considered as a fascinated masterpiece.

Going through so many museums spreading all over China, my overall impression of ancient Chinese sculpture is that our ancestors not only had good observation about wild animals as well as domesticated animals that reflected the sculptures realistic as living animals but also the ancient artists were always able to give the rein to their own imagination by performing distinctive shape and decoration of animals.  Last year, I bought an imitation rhino statue of Han Dynasty from Hunan Museum, the original piece of it was said to be a gift to former president of United State, President Clinton from the former Chinese regime leader Jiang Zemin. It was an ancient wine vessel for the use of loyalty.  The vessel is solid and lifelike in shape which represent a strong willing and steely strength, and the cloud patterned lines show the romantic style of Chu State’s culture.

Even though rhino can no longer be found in China, Shih still picked it as his the subject, and I am moved by this. Perhaps it is because for all trips I took to the zoo when I was little, rhino has always been my favorite animal to visit.  I could stare at a rhino as steady as the rhino is, it is like staring at an ancient and sincere object that its unswerving is speaking for the faith and strength of a life.

It is worth noting about the Chinese ancient animal sculptures that unlike stone sculpture, which are built for mausoleum bigger in size, most of bronze, gold, silver and other metal sculptures are made for indoor daily practical use of humans and considered as crafts.  Which means ancient Chinese sculpture are a combination of art and craft and a fusion of ideal and life.  However, Shih's rhino sculpture inherited western outdoor sculpture’s tradition that is dedicated to certain public space for art appreciation. Therefore, his rhino sculptures are related to western modern metal sculpture that originated after World War II.  It  is not only big in size but also highly incorporated with the characteristics of outdoor space and paying more attention on  overall linear composition and chiseled features.  Meanwhile, his rhino sculpture is nothing like the ancient one mainly focusing on representational image and decorated with patterned lines.  The sculptures he created were the result of his personal understanding of the object and bold creativity featuring with mixture of post-modernism.

What interested me is that Shih is making rhino based on the idea of family: Rhino Dad, the father with strong legs and mighty body who is capable of protecting and defending outside the family, and be a responsible leader; Rhino Mom, the mother on behalf of nurturing and the mother Earth with kindness and happiness; Rhino Boy in mechanical shape of sense of technology is symbolizing the prospects for the future, and the chic and lovely Rhino Girl presenting the sense of fashion.  At last, he is planning to make a Rhino House which has the main structure as Lamborghini sports car with a gorgeous streamlined design and classical style.

I had the honor to see the “Rhino Family” standing and looking back to each other with affection on the lawn of Jing’an Park in Shanghai last year.  The rhino sculptures that emerge in the modern metropolis are making us surprise as having a science fiction film and flying through the time and space, and the rhino family also moved us by the close and warm relationship.  The structure of the creation for family has revealed his deep understanding and affection for depicting Chinese culture into art.  In I Ching, the Book of Change, Qian-Yuan the creative power revolves, Kun-Yuan the receptive earth receives, Zhen-Lei the arousing thunder initiates, Dui-Ze the joyous lake blisses...  Shih has slid the Chinese oriental cosmology and dialectics into his blessed rhino family. 

The more interesting is that the rhino family do not be shaped each as the same method or be uniformed.  Shih used variety sculpting language to perform a diverse and compatible value of post-modernism.

Generally speaking, Shih’s rhino art is living in a growing and changing process with the style of western sculpture and Chinese tradition, as well as having experience from setting through indoor to outdoor, growing from palm size to giant sculptures, changing the classic bronze to modern titanium alloy.  For the two sculptures mounted in the Jin'an Park in Shanghai, "Run to Victory" and "Rhino Mon & Boy", they are quite realistic and the to focus on a happiness family in a relaxing environment.  Except that the "Run to Victory" rhino's horn is carving with thumb prints and the torch tail implies victory, both of them are rather a kind of realism in acting and classic in expression.  "Run to Victory" is mounted at the front door of the park in Nanjing West Road, which armed with heavy armor imitating a indomitable spirit to fight with the modern and to fight under the fierce competition between humans and environment showing passion of expressionism.  Since then, Shih's creation of rhino had split in two different directions.  One as the "Handmade Little Rhino",  playful and young, cute, shows the playfulness of the artist during the creation and the sculpting skill is tend to free, only to be sensed not depicting.  Another as the rhino covered with rivets, "Bullish" and stainless steel "King Kong Rhino" has successfully interpreted the image more sophisticated into contemporary style.

Speaking of the "King Kong Rhino", it should be noted that this sculpture has set Shih free from classic sculpting style into contemporary style with his own approach.  On December 20th of 2011, “King Kong Rhino” was mounted in Kelti’s headquarter in Sinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan and it is now the new landmark there.  It shows his modern rhino has successfully marched into city public space and the life of Taipei's citizens.  Prior to "King Kong Rhino", the rhino sculpture, "Run to Victory", was attracting attention in Shanghai Art Fair 2010 by many institutions and art collectors.  “King Kong Rhino” is no longer about reminiscence; it is about the faith living under the blue sky with confidence of future.  The chubby rhino was shaped sharply with heavy metal and geometric plates covering with luster of titanium alloys, which reminded a sense of future as those movies as "Star War", “Alien Planet”, “The Matrix”, “Cyborg Cop”.   ““King Kong Rhino” is a combination of the auspicious beast, Kylin and Rhino, marked with modern structure; showed the unique temperament and meaning of life, what a special choice of an artist”, said the president of Kelti International Co and a discerning art collector of this giant sculpture, Mr. Wugang Chen.

“Benevolent  loves other.”, said Confucius.  With his “Rhino Family” sculptures, Shih expresses his passion and love to nature and life, his feeling for family affection and a combination of determination and tenderness that leads him to explore and develop the view of the universe and his life spirit.  His painting and sculpture focus on depicting the feeling moved by the natural environment and animal family and the rhino family artworks especially speaking for the artist of is perspective of life and to the world.  Through the relationship between this animal family, it told us that Shih is tough with a soft heart, a sound gentleman.  His arts gave us an access to his heart to experience his beauty of personality, to the idea of concordance between human and animals, to the theory that human should learn unities from the animal society.  Like Feng Zikai’s painting, his art is full of naive playfulness, that make us smile while watching it and a positive energy toward life raised to inspire the life awed and to appreciate the earth.  Shih's rhino sculpture has started a new way in the contemporary art world, among the figure and concept installation, the rhino came from the classic and turn in to modern. It shows the world of Chinese endless power for creation.