Second leg of Yoshitomo Nara art tour to open in Penghu Friday

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The second stop for renowned Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara's 10-year "Traveling with Hazy Humid Day" touring exhibition in Taiwan will be in outlying Penghu County starting Friday.

Attending a press conference held in Penghu County Government square to announce the exhibition on Thursday, Nara said he wanted to display his artworks in a place with no trains that is difficult to reach by bus, but did not expect his "biggest wish" to be fulfilled in the second stop.

The artist personally chose the 90-year-old Penghu Reclamation Hall, a Japanese-Western style building, as the venue for the exhibition because "I wanted to know what my works will show in this space," he said.

It is the first time Nara's artworks will be displayed on an outlying island, said Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) Wednesday, Secretary-General of General Assembly of Chinese Culture, co-organizer of the exhibition.

Nara arrived in Penghu on March 24 to personally set up the exhibition, he added.

In addition to "Hazy Humid Day," a 220cmx195cm painting inspired by Taiwan, the Penghu exhibition will also showcase pottery works displayed for the first time in Taiwan, as well as 27 doodles created during the artist's then-required quarantine periods in Tainan when he visited to prepare for his solo exhibition in 2021, Lee said.

The first stop of Nara's traveling tour, which started in March 2023, was Kaohsiung's Neiwei Arts Center, where he also took a 19-day residency.

"Traveling with Hazy Humid Day in Penghu" will run from March 29 to Sept. 1. The artist will also take a five-day residency in Penghu after the exhibit kicks off, according to organizers.