Opening new paths
Kuo already had his post at Yunhe Studio; later on, Liu Kuo-sung and Guo Yulun began living there, as well. The three young artists later decided to invite a fourth individual, Li Fang-chi, to join them, and in 1956 they put on a four-person exhibition at the NTNU Fine Arts Department. It was at this event that Kuo Tong-jong premiered his abstract painting Contemplation, which has since been described as the first abstract work by a Taiwanese artist to be publicly exhibited.
Most art historians attribute the first abstract painting to Russian Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) in 1911. In Taiwan, the breakthrough didn't take place until 1953, and it was enabled by the visit of Koji Ogino, who had come as a spokesman for the Pentel Company, a Japanese art supplier. Ogino composed an abstract work at a workshop in the presence of mesmerized young artists, and in that moment, a new age of Taiwanese artistic expression was born. In a sense, Ogino could rightly be called one of the progenitors of Taiwanese abstract art. At this same time, Zhao Wuji, a noted abstractionist, was studying in Paris. The years 1955-1960 witnessed many young artists venturing into the abstract realm.
"Abstraction was in vogue throughout the world-of course we all wanted to try it for ourselves!" Kuo recalls. Abstract painting is particularly able to convey the mood of its creator, and at the same time, its ambiguous quality opens it up to variable interpretation. These were the reasons that attracted him to the genre.
In 1956, with the encouragement of Professor Liao, Kuo and his three co-exhibitors decided to form an artistic fraternity with the four of them as core members. Drawing inspiration from the adventurous spirit of the French "Salon de Mai," the group accordingly took the name "Fifth Moon Group," and vowed to hold exhibits annually every May. In 1957, they invited a pair from that year's graduating class, Chen Jingrong and Zheng Qiongjuan, to exhibit with them at the group's inaugural show, held at Zhongshan Hall.
Kuo reflects back on their founding purpose: "When we started the group, our artistic motives were very pure. Everyone encouraged one another. We were all trying to push ourselves creatively while also expressing the zeitgeist of our generation. At the same time, we were aware of an important responsibility, namely to create art that was uniquely ours, a modern artistic path that could be said to be uniquely Taiwanese." The output of the group was by no means homogenous, but they were conjoined by shared ideals, and also by the agreement to make oil painting their primarily vehicle.
Independent Amidst Chaos (2004) makes use of abstract calligraphy to express the concern Kuo, an old man who had resettled in his native land after years abroad, felt watching the events of that year's presidential election.