Hsu Yu-jen (b. 1951-) was born in Jiali, Tainan, and graduated from the Department of National Painting, National Academy of Arts in 1975. He was mentored by Lee Chun-shan, who inspired him to pursue creative freedom and explore the self. After his solo exhibition at the American Cultural Center in 1979, Hsu traveled to the U.S. with the hope of immersing himself in the modern and contemporary art scene and developing the absolute originality in his mind. Having traveled between Taiwan and the U.S. for three times in a decade, Hsu moved his entire family back to Taiwan in 1989. Hsu works with both ink and oil painting, and used to create stone sculptures as well. However, throughout his career, the exploration of the essence and innovative expression of Eastern ink painting has always been his steadfast and consistent endeavor. After 2000, he has published various series stemming from dissimilar concepts, including The Ocean Series, Thin-brush Ink Painting Series, Rough-brush Ink Painting Series, Color Painting Series, and Ink Scribing Series. This exhibition is the artist’s first large-scale retrospective in his five-decade-long career, which systematically teases out his sketches, drawings, early experimental works, and so on, showcasing his creative trajectory and spiritual context.
Credit: Taipei Fine Art Museum