The Rhythm of a Shared Moment
Two figures make music beside blue water in Shu-ya Hsu’s Playing Drum. One leans toward a percussion instrument; the other raises both arms toward a broad drum. Grasses frame their movements, while distant land rests beneath a soft sky. The pastel’s warmth makes the scene feel close, as though we have arrived just in time to hear its rhythm.
Born in Hsin-Chu, Shu-ya carries a deep commitment to learning and human connection into her art. After a long career teaching English, she pursued painting at Zhang Chung Community College and later studied Western painting at National Taiwan Normal University, completing her fine arts studies in 2015.
A Teacher’s Eye, an Artist’s Heart
Her interest in children’s facial expressions became a focus of her academic work, reflecting an attentiveness to the ways people communicate. That care extends beyond the canvas. Shu-ya has guided visitors at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, volunteered at the National Museum of Taiwan History, and taught adults modern and contemporary art in her studio.
She has also brought painting into places where its presence might offer comfort or encouragement. Her Lovely Animals exhibition took place at Cardinal Tien Hospital in 2018. Through the Love to Burma, Welfare Endless exhibitions in 2019 and 2020, she donated proceeds toward building orphanages in Burma. Creativity and service remain closely connected in her life.
Gathering Beauty, Gathering People
In The Combined Choir in My Church, rows of singers and musicians fill a luminous interior. Golden arches guide the eye toward the choir, while the congregation occupies the foreground. The oil painting turns a gathering into a vivid image of belonging.
Porcelain Bumpa Vase, painted in acrylic and oil, brings her attention to a more intimate subject. Blue and white ornament, red flowers, and the vessel’s elegant curve emerge against a dark ground. Here, patient looking reveals beauty through detail.
Across pastel, oil, watercolor, and experimental approaches, Shu-ya Hsu continues to widen her artistic language. Her works invite us into moments of music, contemplation, and community, carrying forward the same impulse that animates her teaching: to help others find a meaningful place within the world of art.
Contact the artist: arttourinternational.com/publications/shu-ya-hsu
More artists: Mary E Morgan: The Landscapes We Carry Within · John Nieman: Color at the Edge of Contradiction · Submit your work to ArtTour International
