【Reporter: Chen Anting】
The “On the Grand Avenue—The Fu Baoshi and Fu Yiyao Art Authentication and Appreciation Exhibition” is grandly opening today at Exhibition Hall 1 of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and will run until November 6. The exhibition showcases several classic works by Fu Yiyao, the daughter of Fu Baoshi, as well as multiple masterpieces and authentic works passed down through the Fu family. It is an extraordinary and rare art event.
The exhibition features Fu Baoshi’s iconic works, including “Qu Yuan’s Nine Songs: Mountain Spirit” (屈原九歌山鬼圖), inspired by the ninth song “Mountain Spirit” from Qu Yuan’s Nine Songs, and “Xiang Jun” (湘君), a fan painting created based on the third song “Xiang Jun” from Nine Songs. The uniqueness of the “Xiang Jun” fan lies in the fact that it was the last piece Fu Baoshi created for his wife on her birthday. Additionally, several of Fu Baoshi’s landscape paintings are on display, each a valuable masterpiece.
▲Fu Baoshi’s iconic work – Qu Yuan’s Nine Songs: Mountain Spirit (屈原九歌山鬼圖). (Photo courtesy of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)
The curator and authentication expert, Ye Guoshin, pointed out that several national treasure-level artworks, which have never left Japan, are being exhibited in Taiwan for the first time. The exhibition includes a wide range of classic artworks, including calligraphy, paintings, ceramics, and more. It features a collection of works from various periods of art, showcasing the essence of Fu Baoshi’s artistic legacy. Highlights include Fu Yiyao’s large-scale screen paintings, such as The Four Seasons of Sanzenin and The Kiyomizu-dera Kannon of Mercy—both collected by renowned temples in Japan. The exhibition also features works selected as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics cultural support project, including the Suwa Taisha Shrine Onbashira Festival and The Nachi Fire Festival. Additionally, Fu Yiyao’s “poetic painting” series, such as Wandering the Foolish Creek and Spring Glories the Beautiful Scenery, as well as his “Imitating Father’s Brush” series, like Imitating Father’s Brush—Pipa Song and Imitating Father’s Brush—Xiang Jun Crossing the River, will all be displayed—masterpieces highly praised across the art world. Visitors can appreciate these works in their entirety at this exhibition.
▲The large-scale screen painting The Four Seasons of Sanzenin, collected by a renowned temple in Japan, by Fu Yiyao. (Photo courtesy of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)
Fu Yiyao went to Japan to study in the 1980s, following in her father’s footsteps, and has lived in Japan for over forty years. She is now a Japanese citizen of Chinese descent. Her works are uniquely personal, with a distinctive vocabulary, and have been collected by many shrines and renowned temples in Japan, making them rarely seen in the public sphere. Known for her love of creating large-scale paintings, her style is grand and imposing, yet filled with intense emotion, delicate composure, and rich in Zen philosophy. She is an exceptional ink painter capable of blending boldness with intricacy, exuberance with restraint, seamlessly merging both elements in her art.
The organizers stated that this exhibition presents the unique artistic legacy passed down from father to daughter within the Fu family. Visitors can experience Fu Baoshi’s authentic works, which have never been publicly displayed, as well as large-scale pieces by Fu Yiyao collected by famous temples in Japan, without the need to travel to Japan. To give the public an opportunity to witness the brilliance of these masters, a seminar will be held on November 2 at 3 p.m., featuring Fu Yiyao in conversation with art authentication expert Dr. Ye Guoxin. The exchange between the renowned artist and the expert promises to be an inspiring and exciting discussion.
▲Fu Baoshi – Mountain Light and Cloud Shadows (山光雲影). (Photo courtesy of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)
