Taiwan and Japan yesterday celebrated their friendship at the opening ceremony of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara’s solo exhibition in Taipei, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressing hope that the two sides could join hands to face global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Yoshitomo Nara’s exhibition was made possible thanks to the efforts of many people and most importantly, the friendship built up between Taiwan and Japan over a long period of time,” Tsai said at the ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.
Bilateral exchanges after the natural disaster gave the two sides an opportunity to share warmth and care with each other, she said, adding that the support could be felt in the exhibition.
Photo: Ling Mei-hsueh, Taipei Times
Tsai also thanked Nara, with whom she had breakfast earlier this week, for the painting Hazy Humid Day, which he dedicated to Taiwan.
Japanese Representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi also attended the opening ceremony for the free exhibition at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, which runs from today until June 20.
He thanked Taiwan for lending a helping hand after the earthquake and tsunami, and expressed hope that there can be long-lasting bilateral friendship.
While Nara did not attend the ceremony, he recorded a video in which he said that the exhibition was aimed to express gratitude for Taiwan’s generosity and huge aid donation for Japan after the disaster.
Having overcome the trauma caused by the earthquake and tsunami, Nara spent several years before going back to the canvas and emerged with the emblematic work Miss Moonlight last year.
Also stunning is Hazy Humid Day, which Nara said is not only a dedication to Taiwan, which he has visited several times, but also the best encouragement to himself.
The painting was completed in 10 days in January, after months of preparation, he added.
Giving a review of the exhibition, Nara said: “This is the best work I, at this stage, have created. This is my true level of competence and my most genuine self.”
The exhibition, featuring 53 works of art, is to move to the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in July and the Tainan Art Museum in November, co-organizer the General Association of Chinese Culture said.
Nara said he would return to Taiwan again to help with additional exhibition arrangements.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS