Taipei, May 4 (CNA) The Fubon Art Museum officially opened Saturday in Taipei's Xinyi District, featuring renowned art collections as well as statues crafted by 19th-century French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Visitors packed the newly-constructed museum, a 3,000-ping (9,915 square meter) contemporary building designed by Italian architectural firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

One of the opening exhibitions on Saturday included a valuable Fubon art collection, according to Lin Yu-chieh (林羽婕), deputy director of the museum.

The exhibition, "In Touch: Collection of Fubon," is being held at the museum's Sun & Star Gallery until Aug. 5.

The 6-meter high ceiling, combined with Piano's natural lighting, makes the large-scale artworks look extra impressive, Lin told reporters during a tour of the exhibition space.

Considered the treasure of the Fubon Art Museum, the renowned oil painting "White Lotus" by painter Sanyu (常玉) is on public display for the first time in 30 years.

Sanyu was a Chinese-French painter best known for creating art pieces of auspicious subjects such as lotus, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, as well as painting Parisian nudes with calligraphy brushes.

Meanwhile, an exhibition featuring over 70 pieces of Rodin's work titled "True Nature: Rodin and the Age of Impressionism" is also being held at the museum's Water Gallery until Sept. 23.

According to the Fubon museum, this extraordinary showcase features sculptures, both monumental and intimate, by Rodin himself and presents a collection of Impressionist paintings by his contemporaries.

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