Soft Power – The Intangible Indicator (軟實力─形態與趨向) brings together Chou Yu-cheng (周育正), Chen Sung-chih (陳松志), Jam Wu (吳耿禎) and Din Chin-chung (丁建中), who work in installation, video and painting. Playing on the irony that globalization increases awareness of localization, curator Becky Cho (曹鸞姿) has assembled the upcoming artists to illustrate how art can play a role as a bridge for both trends. “Their works are not only a contemporary statement of Taiwanese society, but also artistic expressions that speak of and for our community” to the world, Cho writes in the exhibition introduction.
■ 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), tel: (02) 2587-3412. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until Aug. 18
Photo courtesy of Main Trend Gallery
Reposition/Mapping (歸零/映射) presents a new series of geometrically abstract acrylic-on-canvas paintings by Chen Shiau-peng (陳曉朋). Drawing on his experiences living and working in cities throughout the US, Chen reflects on “the ideology of mapping, addressing not only images within images, but also time within time.”
■ 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
■ Until Aug. 4
Photo courtesy of Aki Gallery
First Exit Existence (真實的存在) is the third and final installment in a series of exhibitions that focus on Taiwanese sculptors. Lu Chih-yun (盧之筠) and Lin Kuo-wei (林國瑋) both use children as a metaphor to create sculptures that create the sense of helplessness felt by people living in contemporary society, particularly the continued prevalence of social classes.
■ 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 July 22
A Solo Painter (一人儿?-劉煒個展) presents a new series of representational landscapes and still life paintings with an expressionist bent by Chinese artist Liu Wei (劉煒). The paintings, populated by grotesques that seem to be melting before the viewers eye, possess a brooding atmosphere, intimating the three-year struggle Liu underwent to produce them.
■ 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
■ Until July 29
Tibetan Buddhism and its highly symbolic icons and art forms reflect the particular culture, religion and folklore of Tibet. Faces of Dharma: Selected Works of Tibetan Buddhist Art (法身梵像-西藏佛教藝術精品展) presents 70 objects, including sculptures, Thangka paintings and scripture covers, providing visitors with a solid introduction to the world of Tibetan Buddhist art.
■ 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: NT$30
■ Until Aug. 19
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