By Chen Xiao-Ling

The Artistic Transmission: Fu Baoshi and Fu Yiyao Art and Collection Exhibition is currently being held in Exhibition Hall 1 of the National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall until November 6. The exhibition features classic works by Fu Yiyao, daughter of renowned painter Fu Baoshi, as well as several authentic masterpieces from the Fu family collection.

One highlight of the exhibition is Fu Baoshi’s representative piece “The Mountain Spirit”, inspired by the ninth poem The Mountain Spirit from Nine Songs by the ancient Chu poet Qu Yuan. Also on display is “Xiang Jun,” a round fan painting based on the third poem of Nine Songs and particularly significant as it was the last artwork Fu Baoshi created as a birthday gift for his wife. In addition, several of Fu Baoshi’s landscape paintings are being showcased.

Fu Yiyao followed in her father’s footsteps, studying in Japan in the 1980s. Now a Japanese citizen, she has lived there for over forty years and is recognized as a leading Chinese-Japanese artist. Her works are housed in many Japanese shrines and sacred temples. Known for creating large-scale paintings, her style is grand, emotionally intense, and rich in Zen philosophy, blending boldness with delicacy and freedom with restraint in her ink paintings.

Curator Dr. Ye Guo-Shin pointed out that several national treasure-level works that have never left Japan are being exhibited in Taiwan for the first time. The collection spans a wide range of artistic creations, including calligraphy, paintings, and ceramics, offering a comprehensive overview of different artistic periods. Notable works include Fu Yiyao’s large-scale mural paintings collected by famous Japanese temples, such as “Four Seasons of Sanzen-in” and “Compassionate Avalokiteshvara at Kyoto’s Sanjūsangen-dō.” Other featured pieces include works from her “Folk Festival” series, which were selected as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Cultural Support Projects, such as “Suwa Grand Shrine Pillar Festival” and “Nachikatsuura Fire Festival.”

The exhibition also highlights Fu Yiyao’s “poetic painting” series, which she inherited from her father’s literati traditions, including “A Stroll Along Yu Stream” and “Radiant Springtime Scenery.” Additionally, her “Imitating Father’s Brushwork” series pays homage to Fu Baoshi’s techniques with pieces such as “Imitating Father’s Brushwork: Song of the Pipa” and “Imitating Father’s Brushwork: Xiang Jun Crossing the River.”