This exhibition draws its inspiration and name from L'isle Joyeuse, a 1904 piano solo by French composer Claude Debussy. The music, itself inspired by Jean-Antoine Watteau's 18th-century painting L'embarquement pour Cythère (The Embarkation for Cythera), depicts a journey toward a land of joy and fantasy through its vibrant rhythms and flowing melodies. Echoing this dreamlike voyage, the exhibition imagines the “joyful island” as a spiritual refuge—inviting viewers into a layered and ambiguous space that may be fantastical, real, or somewhere in between.

In today's world, shaped by rapid technological change, emotional tension, and social uncertainty, this “joyful island” becomes a metaphorical space for artists to reflect on the self and their surroundings. Through paintings, sculptures, and installations, the exhibition presents an interplay of poetics and rebellion, innocence and solitude, materiality and spirit, fantasy and critique—all coming together to form a sensory terrain of tension and beauty.

The exhibition features 25 leading contemporary artists from Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia, including AMANO Yoshitaka, David Choe, HINO Korehiko, INABA Tomohiro, KIM Hyun-Sik, KIM Tschang-Yeul, Kim Jun-Sik, KWON Ki-Soo, LEE Yong-Deok, LEE Dong-Gi, MATSUURA Hiroyuki, MISHIMA Kimiyo, MIYAJIMA Tatsuo, MIYAKE Ikki, MURAKAMI Saki, NARA Yoshitomo, NISHINO Kozo, NISHIZAWA Chiharu, OH Yeon-Hwa, OHASHI Hiroshi, Park Sung-Tae, SHIOTA Chiharu, TAKAGI Saeko, TSUCHIYA Yoshimasa, and YAMAMOTO Mayuka. 

From childlike perspectives that reveal the complexities of adulthood, to sculptural meditations on memory and material, to reflections on contemporary life through pop culture and animation, each artist builds their own version of this metaphorical island. Their works reimagine emotional landscapes and spiritual sanctuaries that speak to both personal and collective experiences.
More than a journey toward “joy,” L'isle Joyeuse – Epic in the Everyday invites viewers to reawaken their senses, traversing between the real and the imagined in search of emotional refuge and shared resonance in today's world.



Participating Artists
(Names listed alphabetically)

AMANO YOSHITAKA
DAVID CHOE
HINO KOREHIKO
INABA TOMOHIRO
KIM HYUN-SIK
KIM JUN-SIK
KIM TSCHANG-YEUL
KWON KI-SOO
LEE DONG-GI
LEE YONG-DEOK
MATSUURA HIROYUKI
MISHIMA KIMIYO
MIYAJIMA TATSUO
MIYAKE IKKI
MURAKAMI SAKI
NARA YOSHITOMO
NISHINO KOZO
NISHIZAWA CHIHARU
OH YEON-HWA
OHASHI HIROSHI
PARK SUNG-TAE
SHIOTA CHIHARU
TAKAGI SAEKO
TSUCHIYA YOSHIMASA
YAMAMOTO MAYUKA


Curatorial Team:
Curator, Tseng Fangling
Co-curators, Huang Jih-Han, Lin Ting-Jung, Tien Lee-Chuan (Mountain Art Foundation)


Organizers: Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Mountain Art Foundation
Special Thanks: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Gallery Collaboration: Alien Art Centre
Designated Accommodation: Yuimom Residence
Corporation: Department of Music, National Taitung University