A long-lost nude sculpture by late Taiwanese sculptor Huang Tu-shui (黃土水) is to be the central exhibit at a show at the Museum of National Taipei University of Education from today through April.
The exhibition, titled “Lumiere: The Enlightenment and Self-Awakening of Taiwanese Culture,” is to feature the newly rediscovered sculpture — Water of Immortality (甘露水), which was formerly known as Sweet Dew — along with paintings and writing by more than 20 Taiwanese artists and literary figures of the Japanese colonial period.
Curator Lin Mun-lee (林曼麗), who discovered the sculpture early this year, on Thursday expressed her happiness and excitement about the event, calling it “long overdue” and “highly anticipated” by art lovers and the general public.
Photo: CNA
This year marks the centenary of the sculpture’s completion, as well as the founding of the Taiwan Cultural Association, which launched the New Cultural Movement and ushered in a golden age for Taiwanese art, she said.
“We are fortunate to be able to include Water of Immortality, which is the last piece of lost art history, in the exhibition,” she said.
The sculpture portrays a young woman in a calm yet confident upright posture with her head tilted slightly backward and both hands holding either side of a large shell behind her back.
“I have been watching her since the day she was placed in the gallery, and I find her more beautiful as the days go by,” Lin said.
“She’s finally reborn after more than 50 years in the dark,” Lin said, referring to the sculpture being kept in a wooden case for the past half century.
Chou Wan-yao (周婉窈), head of the exhibition’s research team, said that the exhibitions title tries to capture the spirit of Huang’s era, with “lumiere” (French for “light”) highlighting that artists were searching for the light of a better, more progressive future.
“Water of Immortality is the central symbol of light, representing Huang’s anticipation for Taiwan’s society at that time,” Chou said.
The exhibition also features works that were recently found or displayed for the first time ever, including late Taiwanese painter Ran In-ting’s (藍蔭鼎) A Noodle Stand at Night and Chen Chin’s (陳靜) Embroidering the Skirt.
Works from iconic Taiwanese painters, including Chen Cheng-po (陳澄波), Kuo Po-chuan (郭柏川), Liao Chi-chun (廖繼春), Li Mei-shu (李梅樹), Chen Chih-chi (陳植棋) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), are also part of the exhibition, which runs through April 24.
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