Eighty years ago, the Shung Ye Group began as "Shung Ye Hang," intertwining its growth with Taiwan's modernization. Today, its original birthplace has been transformed into the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Fine Arts, a sanctuary dedicated to the love of this land and its culture. Featuring a curation of core collections, this exhibition orchestrates eighty years of cultural heritage and a century of Taiwanese art into a magnificent visual symphony of masterpieces.
[Overture: Revival of the Classics]
The exhibition starts with pioneering artists’ timeless masterpieces. Hsu Shen-Chou’s Bride Serving Tea, selected for the 3rd Taiwan Provincial Fine Art Exhibition, stands alongside Lin Yu-Shan’s majestic
and lifelike tiger, and Chen Chin’s draft of a modern beauty, selected for the 11th Teiten (Imperial Art Exhibition in Japan). Through delicate brushstrokes, these works vividly capture the grand spirit of the masters.
[Variations: Shifting Colors]
Influenced by Japanese artsit Ishikawa Kinichiro’s introduction of modern Western painting, this section explores a layered evolution of color. The journey shifts from the cool "Midsummer Green" of Chang Yi-Hsiung and Lee Shih-Chiao, to the "Vibrant Palettes" of Liao Chi-Chun and Lai Chuan-Chien that bridge abstraction and figuration, and culminates in the "Deep Red" of Chen Cheng-Po and Yen Shui-Long, which prompts reflection on the land. Through color, these artists compose emotional melodies that weave a profound devotion to their homeland.
[Coda: Echoes of Sea and Sky]
The symphony draws to a close amidst the violet and blue seascapes of Li Mei-Shu’s Morning Light over the Ocean and Lin Hsin-Yueh’s Green Island Viewed from a Distance. Set against boundless horizons, these works reflect the expansive vision of the artists. They further symbolize Shung Ye’s enduring journey—carrying forward eighty years of culture, humanity, and spirit as it moves toward a future of infinite possibilities with the public.