2026 ART TAICHUNG

Yu Cheng-Yao (February 28, 1898 – April 4, 1993), born Yu Shun with the courtesy name Cheng-Yao, was a native of Yangshang Township, Yongchun County, Fujian. In 1920, he went to Japan, where he studied economics at Waseda University before transferring to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in Tokyo. After returning to China, he taught tactics at the Whampoa Military Academy, retired with the rank of lieutenant general in 1946, and came to Taiwan in 1949, the year the Nationalist government relocated there. Having spent the first half of his life in the military and in business, he did not take up painting until the age of 56, earning him the title “the General Painter.” Self-taught and taking nature as his only teacher, he built up rock textures and dense mountain structures with fine, tightly woven brushstrokes. Shaped by his travels across China’s mountains and rivers in his early years, his ink paintings carry a grand, lofty spirit and a style entirely his own, securing him an important place in modern Asian ink painting. His major exhibitions include his first overseas solo exhibition, at the Chinese Cultural Center in New York in 1977; his first solo exhibition in Taiwan, held at the age of 88 at Hsiung Shih Gallery in Taipei in 1986; a solo exhibition at Hong Kong City Hall in 1987; Yu Cheng-Yao at Ninety: A Retrospective at the National Museum of History in Taipei in 1988; and A Heart-warming Glance: Calligraphy and Paintings by Yu Cheng-Yao at the National Museum of History in 2015.

Yu Peng was born in 1955 in Waishuangxi, Taipei, Taiwan, and passed away in 2014. He grew up in a relatively stable postwar era. After completing his military service, he worked as a street artist in Taipei’s New Park (now 228 Peace Memorial Park), drawing portraits for visitors. His years as a street artist sharpened his quick and keen powers of observation and made him a highly skilled figure sketcher. Yu Peng’s career can be divided into three periods: early (1980–1997), middle (1998–2004), and late (2004–2014). His early output consisted mostly of drawings and watercolors. His drawing style was deeply inspired by Chen Yigeng, and the influence of Taiwanese and international artists he encountered through “Lion Art” and “Artist” magazines is also evident. In 1997, at the invitation of his friend Zheng Zaidong, he moved to Shanghai, where he lived for three years and traveled widely across mainland China. This experience greatly enriched the depth and range of his ink landscapes and figure paintings, with his “Desire Landscapes / Figures” series standing as the representative work of this period. From 2005 until his death in 2014, he continued to travel frequently between Taiwan and mainland China, taking part in numerous projects and exhibitions. Although Yu Peng is best known for his ink painting, his early drawings and pastels reveal the source of its strength: the successful transformation of Western drawing lines into the remarkable brushwork of his middle and late periods. His works are marked by originality and a strongly personal mode of expression.

Bu Zi, whose real name is Zong Shen Chen, was born in Xixinliao, Annan District, Tainan, Taiwan. He is also known by the sobriquets Shao Jun and Xixin Sanren. In his early career, he worked at the National Museum of History in Taiwan and later served as a juror for the National Art Exhibition, as well as a collection committee member at both the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Bu Zi uses the traditional Eastern art form of calligraphy as the primary medium for artistic expression, particularly embracing kuangcao (wild cursive script) as a means of transcending the self and exploring the subjectivity of artistic creation. Through this practice, he reinterprets and renews the creative potential within classical calligraphic tradition, pursuing what he considers the creator’s ultimate “aspiration of life.” His distinctive style, known as “Bu Zi Spiral Script,” establishes a highly recognizable form of contemporary literati calligraphy.

別署古谿，1963年生於臺灣嘉義。臺灣藝術大學藝術碩士。長期從事「茶與文人」研究與美學創作，相關出版著作甚豐，現為台北故宮藏品徵集評委。基於對傳統文人生活的深刻體會，作品以現代水墨形式，從文人視野出發，藉由古代雕版字書寫出傳統文學、生活美學的經典哲思，佐以古雅內斂的視覺圖像。在瞬息萬變的時代，汲古創新，展現慢生活中的吉光片羽，也折射出科技浪潮披沙瀝金之後的傳統餘暉，深遠內斂，令人發思古之幽情，咀嚼再三。

1969年出生於廣島。1988年進入東京學藝大學書法系不久後，接觸到了井上有一的作品，深受啟發，決定走出自己的書法風格，並於20歲時自稱為書法家，正式展開其藝術創作生涯。曾參與東京UNAC的《井上有一全集》編纂工作，爾後決意走出井上有一的影響。2004年，在藝術評論家海上雅臣的邀請下，成立以井上有一為主題的群展「天作會」，並在34歲時首次以藝術家身分展出作品。 此後參與「天作會」長達12年，並於2015年在UNAC Salon舉辦首次個展《Machine》，引起廣泛關注。翌年出版藝術作品集《舟》（YKG Publishing）。2016年於Yumiko Chiba Associates舉辦個展《flying saucer》，2018年擔任全球首場以書法為主題的藝術博覽會「ART SHODO TOKYO」策展人。隨後陸續舉辦多場個展，包括2019年的《ENTRANCE⇔EXIT⇔LID⇔BOTTOM》，2024年的《Naming The World》，並於2020年參與Yumiko Chiba Associates舉辦的《現代書藝術的世界2：符號與時代》。2023年參與於台灣橫山書法藝術館舉辦的橫山書藝雙年展《法與無法交織的年代——書法作為一種視覺形式》。

Born in 1975 in Hualien, Taiwan, Chang Ling received his D.N.S.A.P. (Diplôme National Supérieur d’Arts Plastiques) from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2004. In 2006, he joined Hantoo Art Group, a Taipei-based artists’ collective. Chang Ling’s recent solo exhibitions include War Preparation at MOCA Taipei in 2023, Flowers Bloom in the Moment When Time Does Not Exist at Don Gallery, Shanghai, in 2022, and The Illusion Society: The Everyday of History at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in 2019. Recent group exhibitions include Memories of the Times: Highlights from the Collection at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Born in 1982 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Muran graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Tunghai University and later obtained a degree from the Graduate Institute of Plastic Arts (Printmaking Division) at Taipei National University of the Arts. From lush, tranquil forests and quietly blooming flora to serene domestic interiors and moments of everyday leisure, Muran’s work—whether in multi-color reduction prints or monochrome woodcut prints—goes beyond charming visual forms and decorative detail. Rather than focusing solely on surface aesthetics or intricate carving techniques, the true essence of his practice lies in a deep painterly sensibility and a sustained reflection on his personal way of living. For Muran, his art is a narration of daily life: a leisurely breakfast, the shifting light outside a window, potted plants on a balcony—infused with his imaginative sensibility. Calm and composed, his works evoke the gentle warmth of winter sunlight. Through each carved line, he expresses a quiet contentment—an inward fulfillment and ease that reflects his enduring appreciation for the subtle beauty of everyday life.

1991年出生於日本長崎縣。2012年畢業於佐世保市立看護專門學校，開始了醫護人員的職涯，當時，為了緩解當時的生活壓力與心中苦悶，她開始自學繪畫，因緣走上藝術創作的道路。2018年、2019年，她在日本獲得藝術類新人賞而初露鋒芒，作品於日本、韓國、台灣、倫敦、瑞士等地均有展出，並獲得觀眾的熱烈喜愛與讚譽。 東 真里江曾在急診室面對生命的誕生與逝去，如此強烈又衝擊的生命經驗，促使她一次又一次的在作品當中繪出生命脆弱、殘缺、短暫卻又強大具韌性的面貌。她希望能夠將「善與惡」或「美與醜」，這類看似相反但卻相互共存的感覺帶給觀眾。

Born in 1992, Meng Zhou received his BA in Painting from Camberwell College of Arts, London, and his MA in Moving Image from the Royal College of Art, London. As an artist and observer, Zhou begins with existing materials and inherited knowledge. His practice draws on natural ecologies, human heritage, myths, landscapes, and folk traditions across different regions, visualizing the transitions and transformations of “civilization” and “culture.” Through immersive fictional scenes, he abstractly explores the relationship between humans and their environment, the traces left by cultural change, and a return to the “source” of humanity—a place where one feels closest to the universe.