Ministry of Culture-Performance Venues & Architectural Heritage

On March 25, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) celebrated the opening of "An Undefeatable Quest for Freedom and Beauty: The Life and Art of Huang Tu-Shui (臺灣土・自由水：黃土水藝術生命的復活)" exhibition. Minister of Culture Shih Che attended the ceremony to inaugurate the exhibition and deliver a speech, emphasizing the importance of the Reconstruction of Taiwan's Art History project.

Those present at the ceremony included NTMoFA's director Liao Jen-I (廖仁義), Huang Tu-Shui's family Lin Li-Chun (林麗純), National Palace Museum director Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌), legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), and other distinguished guests.

According to the NTMoFA, since the Ministry of Culture launched the Reconstruction of Taiwan's Art History project (重建臺灣藝術史計畫) in 2017, Huang's works have been gradually unearthed through research and efforts of many enthusiastic scholars and experts. The iconic nude sculpture "Water of Immortality (甘露水) was selected to be displayed at the Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten) in 1921 and had disappeared without a trace since 1958. The sculpture miraculously reappeared in 2021 when the family members of Chang Hong-biao (張鴻標), the preserver of the sculpture, donated it to the country and handed it over to the MOC in the presence of President Tsai Ing-wen, and it is now in the collection of the NTMoFA.

During his speech, Minister Shih quoted Huang as saying, "There is only one way to be immortal, and that is through the spirit. As long as the works created with sweat and blood have not been completely destroyed, we will not die." This echoes the theme of "The Life and Art of Huang Tu-Shui" exhibition.

The Minister also mentioned that Huang, who was among the first generation of artists during Japan’s modernization, grew up in a time when Western theories and techniques were being introduced. Although he adopted Western-style painting techniques yet his works included elements of Taiwan. To remember the contribution and sacrifice of artists, Shih emphasized that the efforts to reconstruct Taiwan's art history must continue as he believes that "no nation can exist without history," while stressing the importance of preserving all the historical context, discovering more details, and enhancing the richness of Taiwan's cultural content.