A duet between buildings and art
Restoring and preserving old buildings in addition to continuing to promote the arts takes significant investment capital. This prompted Kuo’s 17-year-old daughter to ask with concern: “Mom, won’t you end up going broke?”
“There’s no point in having too much money,” Kuo replied. “I love to do it, and I’m willing to do it, so I do it.”
In her daily operations Kuo runs a tight ship, adapting as needs demand based on daily financial reports and allocating resources in a flexible manner. She set up a separate room at Bloom, for example, to sell handicrafts from various countries, including the Turkish carpets and traditional handpainted ceramics that proved popular at the Taipei Story House’s “The Soul of Hands” exhibition, thereby increasing the gallery’s revenues.
Kuo has never explained exactly what it is that she sees in the art that has captured her attention and interest for the past few decades. “When I look upon artworks and appreciate their beauty, I forget all my troubles,” she says simply.
So, just what would Kuo do if she could do absolutely anything? “If I could, I would like to build a museum like the Miho Museum in Koka, Japan, in Yangmingshan,” she says. Perhaps in that kind of vast, geometrically ordered space, Kuo’s art collection could be freed from its protective cases and at last be displayed for the entire world to enjoy. Just as in the old buildings that she renovates and revitalizes, it is not only the repair of the physical space, but also the infusion of an artistic sensibility that restores to their former glory the history and stories that had been buried and forgotten amid the decay and desolation.
The Turkish exhibition displayed painted tiles featuring the tree of life.
The Turkish exhibition displayed painted tiles featuring the tree of life.
Kuo Su-jen combines architecture, art and culture in her quest to restore and enliven old buildings. Pictured here is an old National Taiwan University dormitory building on Wenzhou Street before renovation. (courtesy of Kuo Su-jen)
“When I look upon artworks and appreciate their beauty, I forget all my troubles,” Kuo Su-jen says.