Kuo Wei-kuo (郭維國) is one of a handful of contemporary Taiwanese artists who have been willing to reveal their darkest secrets in art — a theme that he continues in his solo exhibition at Lin & Lin Gallery (大未來林舍畫廊). Kuo’s fantastical self-portraits resemble halls of mirrors that reflect the artist’s psychologically complex world. They narrate the life of a middle-aged man who embellishes his fears and aspirations with mythological motifs. The paintings often feature the artist — sometimes nude, other times partially clothed — wandering through a desolate landscape surrounded by tempestuous storms that are created using a somber palette of browns, grays and purples.
■ Lin & Lin Gallery (大未來林舍畫廊), 13, Ln 252, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段252巷13號). For a viewing, call (02) 2721-8488
■ Begins Saturday, until Nov. 1
The National Museum of History is holding a retrospective exhibition of gifted musician, poet and calligrapher Lu Fo-ting’s (呂佛庭) work. The show, displayed on the museum’s fourth floor, consists of scrolls of Lu’s calligraphy, which expresses his deep reverence for and understanding of Zen Buddhism. Lu’s landscape paintings, inspired by ancient Chinese ideograms, are also on display.
■ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2361-0270. Admission: NT$30
■ Ongoing
Crystal City (水晶城市) is a series of installations by Taiwanese artist and Taipei Art Award-winner Wu Chi-tsung (吳季璁). Using a projector, LED lighting and plastic, Wu creates an urban environment of geometrical transparency that questions the viewer’s place in
the city.
■ IT Park Gallery (伊通公園), 2F-3F, 41 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街41號2-3樓). Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 1pm to 10pm.
Tel: (02) 2507-7243
■ Until Oct. 31
In The Color — Ink Paintings of Pan Hsin-hua (彩墨—潘信華個展), the Taiwanese artist creates a surrealistic world using a style that is rooted in Chinese traditional ink painting. Pan juxtaposes past and present in his paintings, which examine the relevance of tradition in contemporary culture. His irreverent visual language incorporates unconventional pictorial elements that are often of an explicitly contemporary and playful nature.
■ VT Art Salon (非常廟藝文空間), B1, 47 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街47號地B1). Open Tuesday to Thursday 2pm to 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 2pm to 1am
■ Until Oct. 31
Those who are enamored with Taiwan’s raucous party politics could do no worse than check out You Are a Horse That I Would Never Ride (你是匹我永不想騎的馬), a project by Taiwanese artist Jao Chia-en (饒加恩), who just completed a residency at Taipei Artist Village. The exhibit investigates the experience of being “infected by local political fever.” Jao will give a two-hour workshop on Sunday beginning at 10am titled Fever District. Participants are invited to create their own coat of arms based on their personality. To register for the workshop, call (02) 3393-7377 X220.
■ Barry Room, Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村百里廳), 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號). Open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 3393-7377
■ Begins Saturday, until Oct. 25
In his solo exhibition at Main Trend Gallery, Taiwanese painter Lee Ming-tse (李明則) employs multiple viewpoints to depict village life and religious practices. “I paint where I live, things that happened before and things that are happening now,” he says. His sources of inspiration include temple festivals, local theaters, newspaper stands and traditional markets.
■ Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1, Chengde Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 7pm. Tel: (02) 2587-3412
■ Begins Saturday, until Nov. 7
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