Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York proudly presents Brimming with Nostalgia-The Humanistic Landscape of Taiwanese and Japanese Watercolor Paintings, a group exhibition of watercolor paintings held at Tenri Cultural Institute of New York from July 6th through July 31st, 2015 with an Opening Reception (RSVP required, CLICK HERE) on July 9th, 2015 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.
Watercolor painting has a long history in the West, with watercolor associations such as the Royal Watercolour Society (est. 1804) and the American Watercolor Society (est. 1866) having been in existence for several centuries. But Taiwanese watercolor painting has had a short lifespan by comparison. It was not until 1906, when the Japanese painter Ishikawa Kinichiro began teaching watercolor painting in Taiwan that the art form arrived on the island. However, traditional Chinese ink painting, which like watercolor painting uses water as a mixing medium, has been practiced for over a thousand years; its power, and its significance as a basic form of cultural nourishment for the Chinese people, cannot be overstated. In the East, a mere few decades of experimentation with watercolors have yielded rich and striking results, creating a unique style of watercolor painting with Chinese or Eastern characteristics that is well worth our attention.
Because of the island’s colonial history, Taiwan has been the site of much cultural mingling and overlaying, creating a diverse, variegated culture that can be difficult to pin down. During the early development of watercolor painting in Taiwan, it became common for watercolorists to paint realist scenes taking inspiration from Taiwanese village life and people. “The Second Highest Mountain in Taiwan” by Ishikawa Kinichiro, " Train Station at Mt. Ali” by Ma, Pai-Sui, Shiy, De-Jinn ’s “The Shore,” and Ran, In-Ting’s “The Duck-breeder in Tamsui” are examples of works by the older generation of watercolorists, depicting the people and places of Taiwan in a true-to-life fashion, that are masterful and worthy of admiration. The 1970s native art movement created a new wave of interest in local culture, which had a great influence on the younger generation of painters, inspiring in them esteem for their home soil that has persisted up to this day.
This exhibition examines the influence that a handful of older, master watercolorists exerted on the development of watercolor painting in Taiwan. By comparing older and newer works by representative painters of the 1970s, exploring the changes in their styles and visual vocabularies, introducing viewers to a new generation of up-and-coming artists of the “Second Golden Age of Watercolor,” and examining the differences between the first and second “golden ages,” the exhibition aims to create an authentic portrait of Taiwanese watercolor painting over the past century.
Jointly organized by College of Humanity, National Taiwan University of Arts, Chinese Asia-Pacific Watercolor Association, College of Art, National Taiwan University and the Taipei Cultural Center in New York, this exhibition received support from the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture.
Exhibition Information:
Exhibition Title: Brimming with Nostalgia-The Humanistic Landscape of Taiwanese and Japanese Watercolor Paintings
Venue: Tenri Cultural Center in New York (Address: 43 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Exhibition Date: July 6-July 31, 2015
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 12noon-6:00pm; Saturday, 10:00am-3:00pm
Artists (listed on birth year)
Ishikawa Kinichiro (1871 - 1945)
Ran, In-Ting (1903 - 1979)
Yang, Chi-Tung (1906 - 2003)
Ma, Pai-Sui (1909 - 2003)
Lee,Tze-Fan (1907 - 1989)
Dong, Kingman (1911 - 2000)
Lee, Chun-Shan (1912 - 1984)
Liu, Max C.W (1912 - 2002)
Xiao, Ju-Song (1922 -1992)
Shiy, De-Jinn (1923 -1981)
Shen, Kuo-Jen (1924 -)
Teng, Kuo-Ching (1931 -)
Lee, Quan-Pui (1933 - 2012)
Chen, Ming-Shan (1933 -)
Lo, Huei-Ming (1933 -)
Ku, Ping-Hsing (1941-)
Liang, Dan-Huei (1948 -)
Kuo, Ming-Fu (1950 -)
Chen, Tung-Yuan (1953 -)
Hsieh, Ming-Chang (1955 -)
Hung, Tung-Piao (1955 -)
Huang, Ming-Zhu (1956 -)
Yang, En-Sheng (1956 -)
Izumi Nishizono (1960 -)
Huang, Chin-Lung (1963 -)
Yuko Nagayama (1963 -)
Cheng, Chen-Wen (1964 -)
Lin, Yu-Xiu (1967 -)
Chien, Chung-Wei (1968 -)
Wu, Guan-De (1979 -)
Lin, Jing-Zhe (1987 -)