Kuo Hsueh-Hu

TAIWAN, Taipei

Kuo Hsueh-Hu, originally named Kuo Chin-Huo, was a painter who began studying the art at the age of nine. When he was 16 years old, he entered Hsueh-Hsi Art Hall to study painting under Tsai Hsueh-Hsi.
Kuo excelled in depicting Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Daoist gods, and natural landscapes. He was selected in 1927 to exhibit his painting, Pine, Ravine, and Flying Stream, in the first Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition. As a result, Kuo, alongside Lin Yu-Shan and Chen Chin, was reputed as one of the Three Young Artists of the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition. The following year, his watercolor painting of Scenery Near Yuanshan was chosen for an exhibition, and was awarded the Special Selection Prize in the Eastern painting section.
He founded the Hsueh-Hu Fine Arts Classroom, the first of its kind to be permitted by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan, to educate children in the arts. In 1935, Kuo established the Association of Six Archaistic Ink Stones, which included Eastern and Western paintings. Over the years, he made significant contributions to promote fine arts throughout Taiwan. In addition, he served as a juror and consultant for various exhibitions.
Kuo was skilled in the use of gouache and in producing paintings in local and classical styles, though his own style was fresh and unique. In 1952, he was sent to Manila to participate in the International Exposition, and in 1964, he moved to Japan to find new inspiration for his paintings. He later went to Thailand, the Philippines, India, China, and the USA to finish various series of paintings, becoming an artist of international acclaim. In 2008, Kuo was awarded the 27th Executive Yuan Culture Award and the Centennial Exhibition of Kuo Hsueh-Hu was organized in honor of his 100th birthday.
Among Kuo’s large collection of paintings are Scenery Near Yuanshan, Festival on South Street, and many more which are kept at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum; Early Spring, at the National Museum of History in Taipei; and Cicada on Bamboo and Plum, both of which are at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung.