This is the only overseas venue that these world renowned works - 55 significant masterpieces from modern art history - from Tate Modern, London, will be showing at. Each classic work showcased represents a moment in the past near-century, yet only with one ticket and in a single visit, visitors may explore all these masterpieces by world-renowned artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Hiroshi Sugimoto

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai says that Kaohsiung has been developing itself as a cultural city based on local and transnational energy, striving to create one-day art life circle, connecting the public’s life with multi-faceted artistic activities, and attracting diverse visitors from other cities/counties and abroad. As the only city beyond the UK to host this special exhibition in collaboration with Tate, London, Kaohsiung attempts to connect the local and the international through the power of art. Through this international exhibition, the profound curatorial energy of Kaohsiung’s art museum has been manifested, local people are encouraged to engage with the world, and the collections of a major Taiwanese collection are exhibited back in the hometown of the collection’s founder. As Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan (KMFA) celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding this month, Kaohsiung City Government invites young people aged under 30 to visit the museum for free and to explore diverse issues presented by KMFA through art. The teams of Kaohsiung City Government and KMFA will continuously make efforts to enhance local art vitality, build urban oases of art, and propel Kaohsiung towards the world. 

Emily Yih-wen Lin, Acting Director of KMFA, shares that thanks to the resources provided by central and local governments, as well as the generous support from private enterprises and individuals, the Capturing the Moment exhibition has been made possible through KMFA’s collaboration with Tate, London and the YAGEO Foundation. All their kind assistance and support have enabled the 55 iconic works from modern art history to arrive safely at KMFA for display. This special exhibition not only features world-class collections, but also demonstrates the strong strength of Taiwanese collections. Through the professionalism of curatorial teams, all these precious works, which can be included in art textbooks, are to be presented to the public. With the mission of giving back to the society and sharing the beautiful power of art with the public, KMFA has offered preferential ticket prices to provide easy accessibility to art, encouraging the public to experience these classic masterpieces at KMFA.

The Capturing the Moment exhibition presents a journey through painting and photography, showcasing classic works in the intertwined development of different artistic mediums in the past nearly century. Through a selection of 34 works from Tate’s collection and 21 works from the YAGEO Foundation’s collection, the exhibition reveals moments captured by the brush and the lens. Becoming a carrier of the times, KMFA will allow viewers to immerse themselves in a journey through various large-scale paintings and photographic works, from which viewers will see the cultural contexts behind these works indicative of contemporary society and visual arts. Gregor Muir, Director of Collection, International Art, Tate Modern, said that it was a great pleasure to work with KMFA again to share with Taiwan’s audiences the collections from Tate and Taiwan’s YAGEO Foundation. This curatorial collaboration facilitates mutual learning and a wonderful presentation of the exhibition. 

The representative of the Ministry of Culture indicated that these iconic works in art history on view at KMFA enable Taiwanese people to witness authentic masterpieces here in Taiwan. The Ministry of Culture is pleased to promote international exhibitions and support art and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and international artists/institutes.  Profound artistic collaboration can not only cultivate local professionals in art and culture, but also foster opportunities for central/local governments and private organizations to render assistance to and share resources with art and cultural exhibitions. The Ministry of Culture will support the upgrade of art museums through various collaborative approaches, thus providing the public with multi-faceted and comprehensive cultural experiences. 

Representing the main sponsor King’s Group, John Tsai, Vice Chairman of King’s Town Bank, expressed that, by sponsoring the Capturing the Moment exhibition, the King’s Group hopes to collaborate with KMFA and artists across the world to encourage more people to come into contact with world-class artworks and feel the charm of art. As art provides important approaches to improve the cultural literacy of society and promote communications, the King’s Group has spared no effort in supporting art and cultural industries, hoping that the glory of art can illuminate our lives and the beauty of Taiwan’s southern city can be appreciated.   

Having  been acclaimed as a must-see exhibition of the year in London, Capturing the Moment is one of the longest special exhibitions in Tate. As the only venue beyond the UK, KMFA will present this exhibition which explores the intertwined relationship between painting and photography over nearly a century and interweaves various classic creative moments from different periods. The first section of the exhibition, “Painting in the Time of Photography,” presents the new styles developed by painters in response to the challenge and impact brought by photography in the 20th century. The works on view in this section include Pablo Picasso’s The Sailor, Buste de Femme, and Weeping Woman (one of his representative works), in which he collapses multiple perspectives into one single moment in time. The second section, “Tensions,” demonstrates how artists utilize painterly materials and techniques to create layered compositions.

In the third section, “Painting into Photography,” where the boundary between painting and photography is blurred, Jeff Wall’s works challenge the notion that photography faithfully records the real world. His A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) is meticulously staged with the composition based on a woodcut by Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai, and Wall took more than a hundred separate shots to complete this. The new-generation photographers in the fourth section, “Photography as Painting,” draw on the traditions of painting to propose new ways of looking; their spectacular large-scale photographs and precise compositions provoke reflections on the act of looking. Andreas Gursky manipulates his photographs to explore the constructed nature of image-making. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes series comprises 220 black-and-white photographs developed over 30 years in different locations across the world, capturing the infinite: a universal image of the sea. 

The fifth section, “Capturing History,” reveals how painting can give photographic media a painterly physical presence. Gerhard Richter’s Two Candles is painted from a photograph. Wilhelm Sasnal’s photo-paintings contain elements of history, media, and memory, transforming photographic images into paintings and overturning conventional notions of photography and painting. The sixth section, “Convergence,” includes artists who experiment with the medium of painting, explore new approaches, and subvert concepts of uniqueness and painterly genius. Using silk screen printing technique to break the myth of the authenticity of self-portraits, Andy Warhol’s famous work Self Portrait manifests the most representative pop art and influences countless later creators.

KMFA has been endeavoring to develop unlimited opportunities and diverse ways to improve accessibility to art. To integrate art into everyday routine to create a beautiful life, KMFA has invited a Kaohsiung brand, YONSHIN FENGCHA TAIWANESE TEA & LOUNGE (永心鳳茶), to co-brand with the Capturing the Moment exhibition, through which special beverages based on the works by Andy Warhol and Peter Doig have been produced. These beverages were provided for first-time tasting in the opening ceremony. In addition to appreciating great art visually, participants can enjoy drinks made from a creative combination of local ingredients and classic masterpieces. It is hoped that art experience can be infused into quotidian routine, and everyone can create a beautiful everyday life.