Xinan Temple Arts Center(新安宮藝文中心) is located in Kunjiang Village in Beimen, not far from the busy Nankunshen Daitian Temple(南鯤鯓代天府), but has the slightly desolate air and quiet of a traditional Beimen fishing village. This is where Mr. Hong Tong(洪通先生), known as the “Picasso of the East (東方畢卡索),” created works that stunned the art world. Hong’s works have a marked fantastical character, his color use and brush strokes of a kind rare at the time; distinctive features of his paintings are the undecipherable hieroglyphics and people without ears. Hong spent much of his time painting in a single-story house. The house he once lived in still stands behind the Center, with many photographs of the artist displayed outside. Enter, and it’s easy to imagine him sitting their fully focused on his work as he creates another masterpiece. The Xinan Temple Arts Center has many works by Mr. Hong Tong on display. This is the place to go to learn about this legendary painter.
