From its founding in 1983 to today, Taipei Fine Arts Museum has collected numerous outstanding artworks. In 1986 the museum initiated a series of “Special Exhibitions of the TFAM Collection.” In the 1990s, the tradition expanded into “Special Research Exhibitions.” The most concrete example of this was “Liao Chi-chun's ‘Toledo, Spain’ – a Research Exhibition of Permanent Collection.” In 1995 the special exhibitions became more thematic, as the collection had become substantial enough to accommodate a wide range of categories, such as women, photography, oil paintings, or abstract art. By 1998, the museum’s collection had reached a sufficient level of quantity and quality to warrant a space for permanent exhibition, and the museum would celebrate its 15th anniversary that year with the exhibition “Taipei Fine Arts Museum Permanent Collection – Sprouting, Growing and Interacting.”

In November 2000 TFAM oversaw an inventory of more than 3,000 works, and in January 2001 TFAM held “2001 Highlights from the Permanent Collection.” Since that year, more and more new themes have arisen from the collection. In addition to the permanent exhibition galleries, there were also a series of “Special Exhibitions from the Permanent Collection” such as “Taipei in Images,” “Touring Taiwan,” “Boundless Visions,” and even “Ceramic Works by Foreign Artists from the Museum's Permanent Collection,” as well as the series of over 120 portraits, "Readings of People: Familiarity and Strangeness."

In 2008 “Jewels of 25 Years of the Museum Collection” featured 34 classic works that stood as milestones in Taiwanese art history. In 2012 “Beyond Gazing / Communion with the Permanent Collection” explored the pictorial language, artistic significance and cultural symbolism of works in the collection. In 2013 “Unveiled: Restoring the Permanent Collection” presented works from the permanent collection acquired since 1998 that had been restored for the first time, as well as unexpected discoveries from scientific analysis during the restoration process, such as evidence of artists’ unique techniques. And in 2015 “Formosa in Formation: Selected works from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum Collection” examined the multiple dimensions of Taiwanese art and culture prior to 1947 through sculptures and paintings of both Japanese and Western styles created during the Japanese colonial era. TFAM directors assumed the role of curator for in-house “experimental exhibitions” in 2013 and 2016 respectively. Through a contemporary narrative with new historical interpretations, the experimental shows provide a fresh look at the permanent collection, as well as its mechanism and meaning, in contemporary milieu to allow the museum a unique opportunity for trans-generational conversations. In 2017 “A Space Andante” focuses on the “space” factor and tries to evoke the viewers’ space perception. By exploring the changes of space concepts and space expressions, the sophisticated reasoning about space and spatiality becomes clear, showing the connections among sculpture, installation art and new media art.

These special themed exhibitions afford us an understanding of the breadth and depth of the museum collection. As the fruits of 30 years of art collection and decades of experience organizing exhibitions, they serve as a brilliant report card reflecting the collective efforts of the museum’s directors and staff.

25 Years Museum Collection   2007 Collection-Still Life