Open call for exhibition proposals: AIR Taipei, which represents Taipei Artists Village and Grass Mountain Artist Village, invites artists or curators to submit original exhibition proposals for the upcoming year in three categories: individual/team artists, creative industry and business-art collaboration. The exhibitions can be solo, two-person or group and are open to all visual arts media.
■ For details and an application form go to www.artistvillage.org
■ The deadline for applications is tomorrow
Japanese artist Ozawa Sakae recreates the fantastical world of fairy tales in her solo exhibit Broken Fantasy. The realist oil-on-cotton paintings depict lush and colorful landscapes that feature nostalgic symbols of youth such as children frolicking with animals.
■ Gallery J. Chen, 3F, 40, Ln 161, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段161巷40號3F). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 9pm. Tel: (02) 2781-0959
■ Until Sept. 6
Eternal Music — Eternal Art is a tribute to pop idol Michael Jackson. The show includes several paintings in a variety of artistic styles by Taiwanese artists that portray the recently deceased star.
■ Star Crystal, 16, Alley 52, Ln 12, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段12巷52弄16號). Open daily from 11am to 7:30pm, closed Mondays. Tel: (02) 2577-0636
■ Until Oct. 11
Taiwanese contemporary artist Wu A-sun (吳炫三) continues his investigations of the primitive in his solo exhibition (吳炫三個展) at the Xue Xue Institute. Wu, who gained considerable media exposure in 2004 for burning more than 20 of his own works, employs animal and tribal motifs in his Picassoesque sculptures and paintings.
■ Xue Xue Institute (學學文創展坊), 3F, 207, Tiding Blvd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市堤頂大道二段207號3樓). Open daily from 10:30am to 8:30pm. Tel: (02) 8751-6898 X180
■ Until Sept. 13
2009 Keywords: Everydayness, Sculpture, Non-Place (2009關鍵字:日常、雕塑、無處) shows the work of eight contemporary Taiwanese sculptors. The purpose of the collaborative exhibit is to examine the ecological issues confronting contemporary society through various sculptural media.
■ Juming Museum (朱銘美術館), 2 Sheshihu, Jinshan Township, Taipei County (台北縣金山鄉西勢湖2號). Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am to 6pm, closes at 9:30pm on Saturdays. Tel: (02) 2498-9940
■ Until Oct. 25
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located