Internationally renowned Taiwanese painters Leigh Wen (鄭麗雲) and Song Sheau-ming (宋曉明) are participating in a joint exhibition at Mingshan Art called Beauty Square (美的二次方). Wen’s new paintings continue her examination of classical Chinese thought and contemporary Western society through the motif of water. She uses a stylus to carve lines onto mural-sized impasto canvases of rich blues. Song’s abstract monochrome paintings express a dramatic tension between the real and unreal.
■ Mingshan Art (名山藝術) is located in Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號). Open daily from 11am to 7:30pm. Tel: (02) 3322-2988
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 2:30pm. Until Jan. 3
Photo courtesy of Mingshan Art
Japanese painter Shichinohe Masaru creates bizarre otaku portraits peopled with Lolita-like nymphets dressed in cute dresses and nurse’s uniforms. Harking back to the age of human innocence, Masaru’s realistic paintings with a surrealist bent narrate fairy tales that are simultaneously a dream and a nightmare.
■ Ping Art Space (平藝術空間), 179, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段179號). Open Monday to Saturday from 1pm to 9pm. Tel: (02) 2738-3317
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 4pm. Until Dec. 12
Art, Space, Complex (藝術的空間謎變) by May Hsu (徐秀美) is an on-site installation of stacked cages that symbolizes an existential view of human civilization. The work comments on the paradox between increased urbanization in an era where “people yearn for greener pasture[s] where they can breathe freely again.”
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Tel: (02) 2552-3720. Admission: NT$50
■ Until Dec. 12
Shi Jin-hua (石晉華), Juin Shieh (謝鴻均) and Nattawut Singthong return to basics with Black, White, Gray (黑‧白‧灰), an exhibit that sees the artists using rudimentary media such as charcoal and pencil to depict their daily experiences.
■ Sakshi Gallery (夏可喜當代藝術), 33 Yitong Street, Taipei City (台北市伊通街33號). Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 1:30pm to 9:30pm, Sundays from 1:30pm to 7:30pm. Tel: (02) 2516-5386
■ Until Nov. 28
More Things Could Be Remembered and Forgotten (可以記憶和可以遺忘的) is a solo show by poet, calligrapher and painter Chiang Hsun (蔣勳). Hsun’s work depicts the experiences and memories of his life through vibrant flower paintings that are evocative of Taiwan’s natural beauty.
■ Gallery 100 (百藝畫廊), 6, Ln 30, Changan E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市長安東路一段30巷6號). Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm. Tel: (02) 2536-2120
■ Until Dec. 5
Multiplicity, Juxtaposition, Liberation: Exhibition for Spanish Ceramic Art (多重‧並置‧解放: 西班牙陶藝展) interprets recent trends in Spanish ceramic art. Curated by Jose Miranda, the exhibition offers a conversation between artists from different generations, who assemble works that employ media such as painting, sculpture and photography. The show is divided into four parts: the relationship between ceramic art, sculpture and painting; the dialogue between ceramic objects, minimalism and conceptual art; interaction of ceramic art and installation, space and viewers; and the displays of ceramic art with video art media.
■ Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yinge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open daily from 9:30am to 5pm, closes at 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Tel: (02) 8677-2727. Admission: NT$99
■ Until Feb. 27
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50