The Istanbul Biennial in Turkey is one of the world's most prestigious exhibitions, equal in stature to the Venice and Sao Paulo Biennials. This year, three Taiwanese artists will be featured.
The 10th installment, which opens tomorrow and runs through Nov. 4, will be curated by Hou Hanru. Well known in Taiwan for his frequent lectures here, Hou is the director of exhibitions and public programs at San Francisco Art Institute. Hou was educated at the Central Institute of Fine Arts in Beijing and has curated exhibitions all over the world. His theme for the biennial is "Not Only Possible, but Also Necessary: Optimism in the Age of Global War."
Chen Chieh-jen (陳界仁), one of the three local artists that will join the lineup of over 80 exhibitors, will show his videos Bade Area 2005, The Route 2006 and On Going 2006. Chen first gained attention with his martial-law era protest-style performance art. Some of his first works were black and white digital photographs of torture scenes. He now creates auteur-esque cinematic works producing his films from start to finish, imbibing them with his own unique qualities.
His richly-textured, silent slow motion shots create more than a visual feast, however. His recent films show the negative impact globalization has on local factory workers by linking physical torture to slow economic strangulation.
During the opening of the biennial, Chen will give a performance in which an Istanbul vendor hawks pirated versions of his DVDs - with the proceeds going to charity - as a comment on how art is often hijacked by the capitalist market.
Co-founder of Taipei's alternative art space IT Park, Chen Hui-chiao (陳慧嶠), will also be featured in the biennial. She will show installations that debuted at Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art. The works include Here and Now: Wings of Senses II and Bubbles of Perception: In the end is the beginning. Drawing on mystical influences such as the zodiac and the subconscious, Chen's tableau-like installations are dream-like and theatrical.
Peng Hung-Chih (彭弘智), a graduate of National Taiwan Normal University, will exhibit his videos: 10 Commandments and Islamic Exegesis. Peng's video work has been shown in various cities around the world and features his dog who licks the empty wall to reveal religious texts. As the dog licks the blank white wall, dark-colored words materialize. In his videos, Peng looks at the complicated world of society, religion and politics from a dog's perspective.
Collectively, these artists prove that Taiwan's art scene is gaining momentum. Their inclusion in the Istanbul Biennial proves that this is recognizable on an international level.
A few weeks ago I found myself at a Family Mart talking with the morning shift worker there, who has become my coffee guy. Both of us were in a funk over the “unseasonable” warm weather, a state of mind known as “solastalgia” — distress produced by environmental change. In fact, the weather was not that out of the ordinary in boiling Central Taiwan, and likely cooler than the temperatures we will experience in the near-future. According to the Taiwan Adaptation Platform, between 1957 and 2006, summer lengthened by 27.8 days, while winter shrunk by 29.7 days. Winter is not
Taiwan’s post-World War II architecture, “practical, cheap and temporary,” not to mention “rather forgettable.” This was a characterization recently given by Taiwan-based historian John Ross on his Formosa Files podcast. Yet the 1960s and 1970s were, in fact, the period of Taiwan’s foundational building boom, which, to a great extent, defined the look of Taiwan’s cities, determining the way denizens live today. During this period, functionalist concrete blocks and Chinese nostalgia gave way to new interpretations of modernism, large planned communities and high-rise skyscrapers. It is currently the subject of a new exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Modern
March 25 to March 31 A 56-year-old Wu Li Yu-ke (吳李玉哥) was straightening out her artist son’s piles of drawings when she inadvertently flipped one over, revealing the blank backside of the paper. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a pencil and recalled how she used to sketch embroidery designs for her clothing business. Without clients and budget or labor constraints to worry about, Wu Li drew freely whatever image came to her mind. With much more free time now that her son had found a job, she found herself missing her home village in China, where she
In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and