Improbable Waves — Anicca (異浪無常) is a solo show of recent video work by Jawshing Arthur Liou (劉肇興). The first, titled Crossing, mourns the passing of the artist’s daughter. Rendered through 3D modeling, its textures simulate the ocean’s movements and are evocative of water scenes found in some impressionist oil paintings. Another work consists of a continually ascending spiral form that suggests seasonal change as well as the transitory nature of time and space.
■ Chi-Wen Gallery (其玟畫廊), 3F, 19, Ln 252, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段252巷19號3樓), tel: (02) 8771-3372. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11am to 7pm.
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 3pm. Until April 24
Photo Courtesy of Chi-Wen Gallery
Space.Rhythm (空間.旋律) is a solo show of works by Chinese artist Yang Liming (楊黎明). Yang’s paintings combine Western abstractionism with the free-flowing strokes of traditional Chinese brush and ink painting.
■ Jia Art Gallery (家畫廊), 1F-1, 30, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段30號1樓之1), tel: (02) 2591-4302. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm
■ Begins today. Opening reception on Friday at 3pm. Until April 3
Photo Courtesy of Jia Art Gallery
Gender, dreams and daily life are the primary themes of Borderland’s Dawn (邊地微光), a sound and poetry exhibit by poet Tong Ya-li (彤雅立) and sound artist Wang Yu-jun (王榆鈞). The artists attempt to expand the boundaries of artistic works and explore the experimental aesthetics of their respective mediums. A performance will take place at Treasure Hill Artists Village on Saturday from 7:30pm to 9pm. Admission to the performance is free, but attendees must reserve a space by calling (02) 2364-5313 X114. Ask for Ms Tsai.
■ Treasure Hill Artists Village (寶藏巖國際藝術村), 4-8, Alley 37, Ln 230, Dingzhou Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市汀州路三段230巷37弄4-8號), tel: (02) 2364-5313. Open Tuesdays to Fridays from 3pm to 10pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 10pm
■ Until April 3
Celestial Skillfulness: Calligraphy and Painting of Qi Baishi (人巧勝天—齊白石書畫展) offers a glimpse of this prolific master of traditional Chinese ink painting through 113 works borrowed from China’s Liaoning Provincial Museum (遼寧省博物館). In addition to Qi’s paintings, the exhibit reveals his interests in poetry, prose, calligraphy and seal carving.
■ National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei City (台北市南海路49號), tel: (02) 2361-0270. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. General admission is NT$30
■ Until May 8
Liu Yi-an (劉怡安) presents a new series of abstract ceramic sculptures in The Truth of the Metaphor: The Present Dwelling (隱喻的真實:當下的居所). Liu’s disc-like creations are metaphors of time. The artist seeks to leave an “impression on every moment, every minute movement and repetitive actions.”
■ Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yingge Township, New Taipei City (新北市鶯歌鎮文化路200號), tel: (02) 8677-2727. Open daily from 9:30am to 5pm, closes at 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays
■ Until May 1
In the mainstream view, the Philippines should be worried that a conflict over Taiwan between the superpowers will drag in Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr observed in an interview in The Wall Street Journal last year, “I learned an African saying: When elephants fight, the only one that loses is the grass. We are the grass in this situation. We don’t want to get trampled.” Such sentiments are widespread. Few seem to have imagined the opposite: that a gray zone incursion of People’s Republic of China (PRC) ships into the Philippines’ waters could trigger a conflict that drags in Taiwan. Fewer
March 18 to March 24 Yasushi Noro knew that it was not the right time to scale Hehuan Mountain (合歡). It was March 1913 and the weather was still bitingly cold at high altitudes. But he knew he couldn’t afford to wait, either. Launched in 1910, the Japanese colonial government’s “five year plan to govern the savages” was going well. After numerous bloody battles, they had subdued almost all of the indigenous peoples in northeastern Taiwan, save for the Truku who held strong to their territory around the Liwu River (立霧溪) and Mugua River (木瓜溪) basins in today’s Hualien County (花蓮). The Japanese
Pei-Ru Ko (柯沛如) says her Taipei upbringing was a little different from her peers. “We lived near the National Palace Museum [north of Taipei] and our neighbors had rice paddies. They were growing food right next to us. There was a mountain and a river so people would say, ‘you live in the mountains,’ and my friends wouldn’t want to come and visit.” While her school friends remained a bus ride away, Ko’s semi-rural upbringing schooled her in other things, including where food comes from. “Most people living in Taipei wouldn’t have a neighbor that was growing food,” she says. “So
Whether you’re interested in the history of ceramics, the production process itself, creating your own pottery, shopping for ceramic vessels, or simply admiring beautiful handmade items, the Zhunan Snake Kiln (竹南蛇窯) in Jhunan Township (竹南), Miaoli County, is definitely worth a visit. For centuries, kiln products were an integral part of daily life in Taiwan: bricks for walls, tiles for roofs, pottery for the kitchen, jugs for fermenting alcoholic drinks, as well as decorative elements on temples, all came from kilns, and Miaoli was a major hub for the production of these items. The Zhunan Snake Kiln has a large area dedicated