To mark the upcoming 400th anniversary of Tainan City, the National Tainan Living Art Center (NLAC) has organized an exhibition titled "Lin Chin-hsin－Printmaking & Ceramic Art Exhibition (林智信版畫、陶藝大展)." Featuring life, folklore and traditional festivals in Taiwan, the exhibition opened on Apr. 14 and will run until May 29.
At the opening ceremony on Apr. 16, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te pointed out that Lin Chin-hsin's creations are not only works of art but also have rich cultural connotations. One of his works documented Taiwanese traditional worship culture "parade formation (陣頭)," which has been gradually fading away, to remind the public to cherish local traditions in Taiwan. He added that MOC will make an effort to recreate these precious traditional arts and culture.
In Lin’s speech, he specially mentioned two of his works－"Celebrating Matzu (迎媽祖)" and "Formosa the Beautiful (芬芳寶島)." He said, "It took me 45 years to complete them, and I believe they are the best gifts that I can leave for this land and our future generations." In addition, he stated that he incorporated his piety towards God and his childhood memories, including welcoming ceremonies of Matzu (the goddess of the sea in Chinese mythology) and traditional Taiwanese-style roadside banquets, into "Celebrating Matzu." In this painting, he created 1,066 characters, none of which were repeated.
During the exhibition, there will be many education outreach activities, such as forums, seminars, guide training and handcraft courses, and others. Moreover, Lin will publish "The complete works of Lin Chih-Hsin (林智信全集)" which contains his works in various art fields. Through these, the public will gain a better understanding of Lin as a Taiwanese veteran artist.