Fifth Moon Group And Dongfang Group

10/7-12/31 2017

Fifth Moon and Dongfang Painting Groups

Taiwan in the late fifties was dominated by conservative and traditional thinking; culture was guided by the serious political atmosphere of the time. The Fifth Moon and Dongfang Painting groups broke the rules of this era, defying stereotypes by using feeling and emotion to create works that convey the spirit and ideas of mankind, opening a new chapter in Taiwanese Art.

Fifth Moon Group
Taiwanese painters Liu Guosong and several Taiwan Normal University alumni including Guo Yulun, Guo Dongrong, Li Fangzi, were encouraged by Professor Liao Jichun to set up the Fifth Moon Group in 1957. They set up the first exhibition in Zhongshan Church on May 10, and then arranged to hold this exhibition annually every may. Later the Fifth Moon group was joined by Gu Fusheng, Chen Ting poetry, Yang Yingfeng, Huang Xianhui, Zhuang Zhe, Li Yuanheng, Xie Lifa, Han Xiangning, Hu Qizhong, Feng Zhongrui, Chen Jingrong, Zheng Qiongjuan, Sun Duoci and other painters.

Borrowing the format of the Salon from Paris, the Fifth Moon group became a vanguard for art in Taiwan, leading through bold innovation and diverse avant-garde practices. In the beginning, the Fifth Moon group modeled itself after its Western counterparts, following the trends in Western Modernization. The specificity of the Fifth Moon group as an Eastern painting group was precarious as it walked in Western footsteps. But through self-reflection, the Fifth Moon group began to integrate Eastern and Western perspectives in their work, combining new ideas about modern art in the West with Ancient Chinese traditional art, using the freeness and passion of Abstract Expressionism to subvert traditional Chinese painting techniques.

Dongfang Group
The Dongfang Group was established in 1957 by founding members Li Yuanjia, Ouyang Wenyuan, Wu Hao, Xia Yang, Huo Gang, Chen Daoming, Xiao Qinxian, Xiao Mingxian, known in the art scene as the ‘Eight big horses’. They were later joined by members Li Xiqi, Xi Dejin, Zhu Weibai, and Qin Song. Compared to the Fifth Moon Group, the Dongfang Group emphasized the intersection between traditional Chinese art and modern art from the very beginning. The Dongfang Group was committed to making innovative and avent-garde work while preserving the ideology of Chinese philosophy. In 1971, the Dongfang Group were featured in the 15th exhibition at the Lingyun Gallery in Taipei.

This past summer, several members of Fifth Moon & Dongfang Groups were featured in the Iksell Museum in Brussels, Belgium, spreading global awareness of these painters. In addition to this recent show, YiCOLLECTA has also selected works to feature by Li Fangzhi, Gu Fusheng, Yang Yingfeng, Xia Yang, Han Xiangning, Chen Tingshi, Xiao Qin, Li Xiqi, and Qin Song, hoping to create a more in-depth perspective on the Fifth Moon and Dongfang Painters in Taiwan. These artists make up an important and engaging part of modern art history.

（Exhibition Ended）

Curator: YiCOLLECTA