The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government presents the “2026 Taichung Artists Relay Exhibition”, closing this year’s program with the “Mei-Ling Hsu Oil Painting Exhibition”, on view at Taichung City Huludun Cultural Center from now through October 11. Mei-Ling Hsu uses oil paint to capture the smallest moments of happiness in daily life, turning piano music, morning light, scenes at home, and the companionship of beloved pets into poetic and childlike painted worlds. Reality and imagination overlap, creating a dreamy, warm picture book-like atmosphere and unfolding a visual narrative rich with stories, waiting for viewers to read closely.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau said Hsu has long devoted herself to piano education, and in recent years has continued to deepen her oil painting practice, earning strong results in major art exhibitions in Taiwan. Moving from music to painting, she transforms melody, rhythm, and reflections on life into warm tones and semi-figurative visual language on canvas through delicate brushwork. Her works portray precious companionship and memories in life, as well as everyday moments of being loved. Her series featuring the pets at home, in particular, reveals a rich flow of emotion and a gentle gaze toward life.

“The beloved pets by my side do not speak, yet they heal my loneliness”. Hsu said dreams are not fantasies floating in the clouds. They are hidden in the details of ordinary life, perhaps in a touch of morning light on the piano or in the focused gaze of a beloved pet. In “Everyday Life-4”, a blue cat and a small white dog rest peacefully on a piano, as if forming a silent movement that composes a happy everyday scene where music and companionship resonate.

Another work, “Playing Music with Children”, turns piano keys, musical notes, and cats into an imaginative theater full of childlike wonder, where music education and artistic creation naturally meet. “Everyday Life-1 The Happiest People Are Those Who Are Nothing” responds to the pure philosophy of “living in the present”, reminding people that only by letting go of identities and labels can they feel the simplest form of happiness. The Cultural Affairs Bureau warmly invites residents to step into “The Everyday Within Dreams” and, in a painted world where dreams and daily life intertwine, realize that the companionship worth cherishing by our side is true happiness.