Wu Ching-Ju brings a pair of wings home to Hualien

Two winged figures reach skyward on the poster for Circling Home. Their bodies bend, fabric gathers neatly at the waist, and the enormous wings almost burst out of the frame. This is hefty bronze with the lightness of flight paused mid-air. Quite an entrance for a homecoming.

Wu Ching-Ju was born in Fenglin, in the Huatung Valley, and has been a long way around the world. She painted and practised calligraphy in the United States, then plunged into sculpture and bronze casting in the Netherlands. Her explanation is plain: she works the spare lines of Chinese painting into bronze that can be melted and cast. Follow the slender body up to the spread of the wings, and you can see how that line has grown off the paper and flown into the world.

Opening September 12, 2026, Circling Home brings 43 works of bronze sculpture, painting and jewellery to Hualien Art Museum's first floor. It is Wu's first large exhibition since she and her husband Paulus moved back to Taiwan in recent years.

On September 12, the museum opens its doors free of charge. After the 14:00 opening ceremony, Wu leads a tour from 15:20 to 16:20. A bronze that appears ready for take-off is already a marvel. Hearing the person who made it fly talk about her work is an excellent use of the afternoon.

The exhibition continues through October 11. Regular hours are Tuesday–Sunday 09:00–17:00, with Mondays and national holidays closed. The museum's published calendar also marks September 21–28 closed; check the linked notice before a holiday trip. General admission is just NT$20, concessions NT$10, and Hualien residents are among those who enter free. Buy that ticket and you can pop next door to the Stone Sculpture Museum on the same day.

The address is 4 Wenfu Road, Hualien city. From Hualien station, the taxi route is about 4.8km. Allow fifteen minutes, traffic permitting.