Art exchanges between Taiwan and China increasing

With improved relations between Taiwan and mainland China, many paintings and art collections from China are now available for viewing in Taiwan for the first time.

From principal museums to provincial associations, the number of exhibits held in Taiwan has increased greatly in the last two years, as has the scale of the exhibits.

Artists are inspired by this situation and are proposing more communication between art students from the two sides in the future.

One of the most popular topics being discussed recently is the possibility of displaying a famous Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 A.D.) landscape painting --"Dwelling in the Fu Chun Mountains" by Huang Kung-wang (1269-1354) -- in its entirety at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. This is still in the planning stage.

In addition, other organizers are also planning to hold unique exhibitions and competitions for students to increase their understanding and broaden their views.

"I am planning to organize an exhibition to present a collection of pre-1949 works at the end of this year, " revealed Jaimy Chung, the president of the Cross-strait Chinese Culture & Arts Foundation, adding that these pieces have rarely been seen in Taiwan.

He is also planning to organize a painting competition for graduate students of the two sides.

"The competition probably will be held next year, " Chung indicated, and emphasized it is more meaningful to promote communication by means of education.

From the beginning of this year, the National Palace Museum presented an exhibition entitled "Gold and Glory–The Wonders of Khitan from the Inner Mongolia Museum Collection" featuring 115 artifacts, more than half of which were classified in China as items of first grade quality.

The director of the museum, Chou Kung-hsin, indicated that the exhibit, which ended last week, has provided Taiwanese people the opportunity to learn and witness rich artifacts of the Khitan culture, which were rare in Taiwan.

Active in promoting further cultural communication with mainland China, Chou went to the Shanghai Expo to promote the NPM at the beginning of this month.

She has also revealed that the museum will borrow works from China of the Southern Song Dynasty (around 1127-1279) to present in October this year.

In her trip to China, one of the important missions was visiting the Zhejiang Provincial Museum to borrow the remaining half of " Dwelling in the Fu Chun Mountains." However, according to the NPM, the final decision will be delayed until next month when the members of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum come to Taipei to discuss this issue.

Besides ancient art, Taiwan and China are also holding exchanges in modern art. The Taipei Fine Art Museum (TFAM) has cooperated with the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) in Beijing in April to present an exhibition entitled "The Moment of the Landscape–Oil Paintings by Contemporary Chinese Masters." For over half a century, the political barriers that have separated Taiwan and mainland China have meant their respective art worlds were covered in a veil of mystery to each other, said organizers of the TFAM.

Today, mainland China and Taiwan have very different faces, the result of their divergent historical development and social transformation, so that is why the TFAM has invited some Chinese contemporary artists to show their works here, organizers said.

The National Museum of History (NMH) has also announced that it will open a new exhibition entitled "Legends of Heroes -The Heritage of the Three Kingdoms Era, " this June, which will feature more than 60 pieces of state-class or first grade antiques among 146 artifacts.

In addition to displaying the relics, the museum will also use 3D virtual technology and modern online games to raise the interest of the younger generation, said Pauline Kao, Deputy Director of the NMH.

Many organizers have indicated that exhibitions in Taiwan focuses on interaction with viewers, which provides new ideas to the organizers in China.

"But we also benefit a lot due to this level of communication, " Chuang said, adding that Taiwanese artists and museum curators can learn a lot from their Chinese counterparts and artefact, especially in the areas of Chinese paintings and calligraphy.

Chung, who has led the foundation for almost a decade, has organized more than a dozen exhibitions so far. He expects more interesting activities in the future.

"Through cultural exchanges, people in Taiwan and China will understand each other more, which is the best way to earn friendship and to win peace," he stressed.