Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government-News-“The Yard” by Liao Chi-Chun Goes on Public Display for the First Time in 60 Years! Taichung Prefectural Hall’s First Mayor’s Invitational Exhibition Features Nine Masters Tracing a Century of Art in Taichung

A tribute to Taichung’s pioneering artists! The construction of Taichung Prefectural Hall coincided with a formative period in Taiwan’s modern art history. Western approaches to sketching from life, Japanese-style painting, glue-color techniques, and other artistic ideas gradually reached Taiwan, encouraging exchanges across different media and creative styles. These developments helped establish Taichung as an important center for artistic creation and development. Taichung Prefectural Hall will officially open fully to the public on October 15. To mark the occasion, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government will present its first Mayor’s Invitational Exhibition, “A Tribute to Taichung’s Pioneer Artists”. Featuring works by nine pioneering artists from Taichung, the exhibition traces a century of artistic development in the city, highlighting the creative journeys and defining moments of each era. It will run through December 24.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau said the exhibition is curated by Professor Pai Shih-Ming of the Department of Fine Art, National Taiwan Normal Universit. It brings together works by nine pioneering Taichung artists: Liao Chi-Chun, Yeh Huo-Cheng, Chang Hsi-Chin, Lyu Fo-Ting, Chen Ting-Shih, Chen Huo-Qing, Lin Bau-Jia, Lin Chih-Chu, and Chen Hsia-Yu. Spanning different generations and artistic styles, the exhibition features a wide range of media, including oil painting, glue-color painting, ink painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, and lacquerware. Some of these artists were born in Taichung, while others spent many years creating art or teaching here. Their important works across different periods helped build a strong foundation for the city’s artistic development. By bringing their work together in a carefully curated exhibition, the organizers hope to help more people understand the roots of Taichung’s art scene while paying tribute to these pioneering artists.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that the works have been selected from the collection of Taichung Art Museum and private collections. A particular highlight is “The Yard”, an oil painting completed by Liao Chi-Chun in 1966, which is being shown publicly for the first time in 60 years. The painting shows the artist’s mastery of color, form, and spatial relationships, offering visitors a rare chance to appreciate the master’s work up close. Audio guides are also available for every artwork. Visitors can simply scan the QR code on each artwork label to learn more about its features and creative background.
Curator Pai Shih-Ming said the exhibition traces a century of artistic development in Taichung, featuring pioneering artists from the Taichung area who brought fresh perspectives and made significant contributions to the local art scene. The exhibition brings together works by different artists according to their media, forms, themes, and periods of creation, with the layout designed around the spaces of Taichung Prefectural Hall. It is divided into two themes, “Eras, Memory, Tribute” and “Squares, Circles, Space, and Perspectives”. Together, they offer different views of Taichung’s artistic achievements and the changing character of its art scene over the past century.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau said Taichung has long been home to many influential artists. From the rise of modern art during the Japanese colonial period to the continued creation, teaching, and artistic exchange of successive postwar generations, the city has gradually developed its own distinct artistic tradition. By holding the first Mayor’s Invitational Exhibition as the century-old Prefectural Hall reopens, the Bureau hopes to revisit Taichung’s artistic history and, through the works of pioneering artists, help residents appreciate the city’s important role in the development of art in Taiwan.
“A Tribute to Taichung’s Pioneer Artists” will be held from October 15 to December 24 in Exhibition Hall A at Taichung Prefectural Hall. Opening hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the exhibition closed on Mondays and November 28. For more exhibition information, please visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government website (https://www.culture.taichung.gov.tw/).