The Landscape of Taiwan

　In the prime of his career, Fu Chuan-fu changed his painting style once again after becoming enamored with the landscape of Taiwan. In 1949 he traveled by ship to Taiwan, perhaps beginning at that time his fascination with seas "plumbing the depths as waves rise like mountains." He would thereupon often travel to Dali in Yilan County to watch the breakers there, inspiring him to develop a "blotting" method to depict waves crashing against the shore. He also made three trips along Taiwan's cross-island highway and six trips to Alishan, leading him to create a "fissuring" method to portray precipitous peaks and "staining" technique to render the majestic sea of clouds, respectively, bringing new expressiveness to ink painting. Many artists who had come from the mainland were interested in depicting the sights of Taiwan then, but only Fu Chuan-fu was able to create unique ways of painting as a result. He touted "sketching from life" and playing with light and shadow in the natural world to invigorate traditional brush and ink, paving the way for a revolution in ink painting and attracting many followers in his footsteps, making his influence in the art world particularly great.

　This exhibition not only features iconic views of Taiwan by Fu Chuan-fu, it also includes his depiction of more down-to-earth Formosan countryside scenery, the stretches of fields and paddies conveying a simple lifestyle. Such works as "Grotto of Clouds and Mists" and "Scene Along the Coast," although not necessarily depicting actual sites, nonetheless show how they were formed by his observations and studies of the Taiwanese landscape. They fully reflect why he was praised as "Unparalleled in clouds and waters, unrivalled in fissures and cracks."