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 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
Approaching her mid-30s, Xiong Yidan reckons that most of her friends are on to their second or even third babies. But Xiong has more than a dozen. There is Lucky, the street dog from Bangkok who jumped into a taxi with her and never left. There is Sophie and Ben, sibling geese, who honk from morning to night. Boop and Pan, both goats, are romantically involved. Dumpling the hedgehog enjoys a belly rub from time to time. The list goes on. Xiong nurtures her brood from her 8,000 square meter farm in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district in northern Thailand’s
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