Foreword
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum has in recent years been persistently organizing retrospective exhibitions of Taiwanese postwar mid-generation artists, with the objective of rediscovering and organizing these artists' creative journeys and art contexts. This generation of artists was first noticed in the art world in the 1980s and continued to make art for over 30 years after reaching creative apex at the turn of the millennium.
With reviews and research conducted by our museum, including field research and the gathering of relevant literature and information, the efforts then culminated into the exhibitions presented, and the outcomes will form an important foundation for the proceeding construction of Taiwanese art history. This exhibition is the first ever large-scale retrospective exhibition of Yu Peng, whom passed away in 2014. The exhibition took five years to plan and another two years of organization, information collection, and to locate the artworks.
The exhibition is then finally realized in the historical exhibition area on the second floor of the museum.
Known as an ink painter, Yu Peng was also a contemporary artist. Guest curator Prof. Wu Chao-Jen examined the artist's oeuvre through various angles, and in addition to Yu's most iconic ink paintings, the process also unveiled many of his sketches, pastel drawings, oil paintings, and other exciting artworks.
Together, these artworks show the developmental course that led to the brushwork observed in Yu's ink paintings. From his earlier Western art training to the brushstrokes used in his later ink paintings, Yu's approach with how he executed lines incorporated both classic and contemporary elements and referenced various Western and Eastern schools of art. He created a diverse range of brushwork, including realistic, symbolic,  imaginatively fictitious, and liberated, self-assured lines, which all worked together harmoniously.
“Those that are not gutsy enough wouldn't be able to accomplish what I have done,” said Yu. He wanted to break stagnancy, fixed ideas, and existing formats, which not only represented the way he thought about art but also indicated the principle he upheld in life.
Through comprehensive planning, different stages throughout the artist’s career are incorporated in the exhibition. The unique way Yu used colors to frame his artworks is referenced and adapted in the exhibition to create installations to display his artworks in landscape settings or screen-like leaflets, with digital screens also used to show full views and close-up details of his paintings. The intention is to present Yu's art along with his philosophy and ideology on life, which formed the backbone behind his creative endeavor. A documentary film is also produced, with meticulous arrangements made by the curator to visit Yu Peng's loved ones and places that the artist frequented. It evokes a lot of emotions and memories in those that knew the artist and also provides the general audience with an intimate look into the artist's life.
Although there may be some artworks that are unfortunately not included in the exhibition, we are, nonetheless, glad that there are also many artworks that have been discovered due to this exhibition. We would like to extend our gratitude to the exhibition's curator, Prof. Wu Chao-Jen, and the more than 30 organizations and collectors that have loaned their artworks for this exhibition. Special thanks also go to Ms. Rita I-Wong, director of Li-Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation, and Yu Peng's wife Ms. Hou Chun-Li for establishing the Yu Peng Archive, which provided a foundation for the research conducted for this exhibition. On behalf of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, we would like to express our utmost respect and appreciation to them. As the exhibition shows, Yu Peng was more than just an artist from Taiwan; he was a contemporary Chinese artist, and also an artist that embraced the world.

Director, Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Lin Ping

Foreword / Lin Ping

On A Wanderer between Heaven and Earth: Yu Peng and His Life Work / Wu Chao-Jen
Yu Peng's Life from the Perspective of an Era / Chow Yu
Depicting the Multifarious Universe: Yu Peng's Sketches and Casual Jottings / Rita Chang Yuan-Chien
Remembering Yu Peng / Chang Tsong-Zung
Spiritual Cultivation of the Woman in Nude: A Preliminary Study on Yu Peng's Landscaping Painting / Fabian Heubel, Lin Shu-Wen

A Wanderer between Heaven and Earth: Yu Peng and His Life Work
　└ Sketches, Pastel, and Oil Paintings from Earlier Years
　└ Calligraphy and Small Paintings in Album Leaves
　└ Ink Paintings from Earlier Years
　└ Large-Scale Ink Painting Series
　└ Ink Paintings from Later Years
　└ Sketches, Pastel, and Oil Paintings from Later Years
　└ Archives

Appendix