Winner of the 2021 Taiwan Ceramic Awards, the country’s ultimate accolade for homegrown talents, Hsu is also recipient of the Grand Prix at the prestigious 2008 International Ceramics Competition in Mino, Japan.
Hsu developed a love of the art form in his late 20s while teaching at an elementary school in southern Taiwan. The urge to make art full time was so pressing, he quit teaching in 1998 after 22 years in the profession—only three years away from qualifying for retirement.
“Myth 2004-5” is a signature Hsu piece representing his transition to abstract art. (Courtesy of Hsu Yunghsu)
Before Hsu’s career change, he was already a well-known award-winning artist in Taiwan. Notable works in earlier years include a series of dance-themed pieces, many of which featured in his first solo exhibition in 1996.
A turning point for Hsu was to enroll at Tainan National University of the Arts for a master’s degree in applied arts at the age of 48. While attending school, he was often challenged to rethink his creative approach, prompting him to stop making figurative works around mid-2000s, with the Myth series marking a transition to abstract art.
Hsu felt a growing need to break ranks at the same time by creating what people had come to expect of ceramic works. The most remarkable deviation from the norm is size.
“2019-1” features in Hsu’s solo exhibition at Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. (Courtesy of Hsu Yunghsu)
Oftentimes, Hsu uses semidry clay, which he kneads into thin strips and bowl-like shapes before interlacing them to form large-size works with complex patterns. When he starts work on a piece, there is no rhyme nor reason as to what it will look like in the end.
Each of Hsu’s abstract works is the residue left behind as he continuously tries to transcend his achievements. Most are subsequently titled based on the year of a piece’s production and its place in the sequence of works.
Notably, Hsu creates every piece completely on his own, without the help of assistants. Numerous fingerprints left behind on the clay surface are a unique identifier enhancing the distinctiveness of his works.
By the end of this year, 44 solo exhibitions on Hsu will have been held in Taiwan and overseas. Some might find his more recent ceramics have an ethereal feel, even becoming translucent in parts as they get thinner.
But all are most likely on the same page: The newest creations could well further challenge the entrenched thoughts of critics and devotees on the art form. (E) (By Oscar Chung)
Hsu’s “2017-28” leaves art lovers in awe with its large size and graceful curves. (Courtesy of Hsu Yunghsu)
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(This article is adapted from “Pursuing Transcendence” in the May/June 2021 issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)