In an artist's creation, there is an immortal power that can transcend the limitations of time and allow his soul to exist forever. Huang Tushui, the first modern sculpture in Taiwan, left us this sentence: "There is only one way to achieve immortality, and that is spiritual immortality. As long as the works created with blood and sweat are not completely destroyed, we It will never die." This sentence expresses his persistence in art, which is also the true meaning reflected in his works.
The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts has recently launched the exhibition "Taiwan Soil. Free Water: The Resurrection of Huang Tu Shui's Artistic Life". This is the largest solo exhibition of Huang Tu Shui in the past century. It displays 37 of his classic works and related documents, allowing him to The artistic life is resurrected here. Huang Tushui integrates Taiwan's spirit, customs and customs into his works, transcending political, cultural and historical boundaries, and realizing his pursuit of "the coming of an artistic Formosa era".
Huang Tushui is the first Taiwanese artist to study in Japan and study Western sculpture. Although his creative techniques are influenced by the West, the content is a native product of Taiwan. Based on the nutrients of Taiwan's soil and free water vapor, he cultivated a unique artistic style that is full of the diligent spirit of Taiwanese people while expressing his deep concern for the land and humanity. He was also the first Taiwanese artist to be selected for the Imperial Art Exhibition, the most authoritative Japanese government-run exhibition in East Asia at the time, and competed with Japanese sculptors on the same stage. He led many young people to embark on the path of artistic creation and opened a new art era in Taiwan. From 1920 to 1924, his works "Children", "Nectar", "Women Posing", and "Suburban" were selected for the "Emperor Exhibition" four times in a row, becoming famous in the art circles of Taiwan and Japan and becoming one of the most popular sculptures in Taiwan. A representative of the world, his artistic expression exudes brilliance.
"Sakyamuni comes out of the mountain"
Huang Tushui was born during the Japanese colonial period, when Taiwan was serving as a laboratory for modernization. During this period, Taiwanese art experienced great changes. Huang Tushui is in the transitional period of Taiwanese art from tradition to modernity. At the same time, he has accepted the influence of Japanese culture and Western modern civilization. He has high expectations and beliefs in art with Taiwanese characteristics. His artistic creation is full of boundless enthusiasm and perseverance. . In Taiwan in the 1920s, Japan was experiencing the rise of modern Western sculpture. At the same time, Taiwan was also pursuing the establishment of local cultural characteristics. It was during this era that Huang Tushui emerged. His creative media included traditional wood carvings, as well as European marble carvings, plaster moldings and bronzes. He inspired future generations with his shaping techniques and concepts of sculpture art, becoming a key figure in the history of modern Taiwanese sculpture. The starting point, leaving behind valuable cultural heritage.
〈Nectar Water〉
However, Huang Tushui's creative life was short-lived. He died of peritonitis in a foreign country in 1930 at the age of 36. Although his life was short, he left countless immortal classic works for Taiwan, laid the foundation for Taiwan's modern sculpture to become modern sculpture, and opened the way for future generations of artists. He is undoubtedly a giant in the history of Taiwanese art. Huang Tushui's artistic achievements were ignored by political factors for many years. It was not until the Taiwanese art vernacular movement in the 1970s and the rise of Taiwanese local identity around the lifting of martial law in the 1980s that people again paid attention to Huang Tushui's works. Through the exhibition "Taiwan Earth, Free Water: Resurrection of the Art Life of Yellow Earth Water", people can get to know this sculptor again, allowing his original works to revive and reappear after hibernation.
Huang Tushui demonstrates the immortality of art with his soul. His works transcend the boundaries of time and space and become a shining mark in the history of Taiwanese art. His spirit will remain in his works forever, inspiring future generations to continue exploring and innovating, allowing the flower of Taiwanese art to bloom forever. If art is created with hard work and passion, the soul will never wither.
〈Buffalo statue〉
