A presidential citation has been awarded to late Taiwanese modern and contemporary painter Kuo Tong-jong (郭東榮), who passed away on Jan. 9, at the age of 96, in recognition of his contributions to Taiwan's art scene. Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te presented the presidential citation to Kuo's wife on Feb. 24.
Kuo was one of the founders of Fifth Moon Group (五月畫會), which is an important modern art group in Taiwan’s art history. Inspired by Western art, the founding members actively pursued the modernization of artistic creation in an attempt to break through the subject and form of academic creation.
With his excellent artistic performance, Kuo continued to develop in the art world in Taiwan and Japan as well as won several awards. Throughout his life, he had an enthusiasm for creation and his style was rich and varied. He continued to create art pieces until he was 75-year-old and published new works every year. Moreover, his works were collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.
Minister Lee stated that he admires Kuo’s adherence to the ideal of artistic creation. In terms of creation and education, he had made significant contributions to the Taiwanese art world. He certainly was an important promoter of the development of modern art in Taiwan.