Born in the 70s (70s 菁銳進行式) presents the work of 10 artists from Taiwan and China born during that decade. The exhibition explores the social, cultural and political changes both countries have undergone over the past four decades as revealed through the artist’s pictorial imagery. Of particular interest will be the influence various art movements exerted on these artists and the prevalence of popular culture in the development of an Asian aesthetic.
■ Lin & Lin Gallery (大未來林舍畫廊), 16 Dongfeng St, Taipei City, (台北市東豐街16號), tel: (02) 2700-6866. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 4pm. Until Dec. 19
Photo courtesy of Lin & Lin Gallery
BAGAHE — Excess Baggage brings together painting, sculpture and video by Philippine artist Don Salubayba, who uses “baggage” as a metaphor for the cultural, psychological and emotional stuff we carry around in our everyday lives.
■ Project Fulfill Art Space (就在藝術空間), 2, Alley 45, Ln 147, Xinyi Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市信義路三段147巷45弄2號), tel: (02) 2707-6942. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 6pm
■ Opening reception and guided tour on Saturday at 3:30pm. Until Dec. 31
Photo courtesy of Project Fulfill Art Space
Reflection (告白) is a solo exhibition that presents iron and stainless steel sculpture by Kao Tsan-hsing (高燦興). Kao’s work combines abstract art principles with a readymade sensibility that is based on his extensive study of modern and contemporary art movements in the West.
■ Aki Gallery (也趣藝廊), 141 Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路141號), tel: (02) 2599-1171. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from noon to 6:30pm
■ Until Dec. 4
Photo courtesy of Aki Gallery
The Art of Place (舊金山‧巴黎‧紐約) presents 30 oil paintings and works on paper by China-born artist Yun Gee (朱沅芷), who passed away in 1963. Gee’s painterly style portrays distorted forms of cubism as seen through the structural design and coloring of Cezanne.
■ Tina Keng Gallery (耿畫廊), 15, Ln 548, Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路548巷15號), tel: (02) 2659-0798. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 7pm
■ Until Nov. 29
The Sixth Digital Art Festival Taipei — Cross (第六屆台北數位藝術節‧越域) is currently being shown at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914). Fourteen artists from around the world are presenting their animation, sculpture and installations — many of which use augmented and interactive technology to “cross” the boundaries of human perception and the fuzzy line between digital space and the material world. The festival also features a number of performances by puppet troupes and individual artists. Details can be found in Chinese and English at www.digitalartfestival.tw.
■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Bopiliao Historic Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號), tel (02) 7736-0708. Open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission: Free
■ Until Nov. 20
Obtaining Refined Enjoyment: The Qianlong Emperor’s Taste in Ceramics (得佳趣‧乾隆皇帝的陶瓷品味) offers a fascinating overview of the Qianlong Emperor’s (乾隆皇帝) interest in ceramics and its broader significance on his ideas about art and its relationship to ruling.
■ National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221, Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號), tel: (02) 8692-5588 X2312 (10:30am to 6:30pm). Open daily from 8:30am to 6:30pm. Closes at 8:30pm on Saturdays. Admission: NT$160
■ Until Sept. 30
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and
Over the course of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 11-day trip to China that included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) a surprising number of people commented that the former president was now “irrelevant.” Upon reflection, it became apparent that these comments were coming from pro-Taiwan, pan-green supporters and they were expressing what they hoped was the case, rather than the reality. Ma’s ideology is so pro-China (read: deep blue) and controversial that many in his own Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hope he retires quickly, or at least refrains from speaking on some subjects. Regardless