Start from Zero: Small with Infinitely Large (從零開始 — 無限的大小) is a group exhibition of established artists from Taiwan (including new work by Tsong Pu (莊普), Yao Jui-chung (姚瑞中) and Wu Tien-chang, 吳天章) — China and South Korea working in sculpture, painting and installation. With such a broad range of artists (35 in all), the gallery seems more interested in name recognition than any overall theme. That being said, there is much on view here and for anyone wanting a brief introduction to what preoccupies contemporary Asian artists — whether the continued interest in geometrical abstraction as shown by the work of Keng Hao-kang (耿?剛) or the heroic, yet humorously kitschy, sculptures of Yang Mao-lin (楊茂林) — you could do far worse.
■ Metaphysical Art Gallery (形而上畫廊), 7F, 219, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段219號7樓), tel: (02) 2711-0055. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm
■ Until March 24
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
VT Artsalon begins 2013 with two solo exhibitions of painting, The Beauties by Agi Chen (陳怡潔), and Dorothy Crash (桃樂絲墜落) by Kao Ya-ting (高雅婷). Chen creates paintings using cartoon and anime characters specified by members of a Facebook page called Circle Island. This collaborative method of artist and viewer provides an aesthetic record of a virtual community — their stories, desires and memories. Kao’s travels last year to the US and Brazil inspired her paintings in Dorothy Crash. More a travelogue, perhaps, then a coherent statement, Kao’s work reflects on her family and childhood memories through the locales she visits.
■ VT Art Salon (非常廟藝文空間), B1, 47 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街47號B1), tel: (02) 2516-1060. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 1:30pm to 9pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 1:30pm to 10pm
■ Until Thursday
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
Chinese artist Wang Yuping (王玉平) recently spent a month in Taipei where he captured the winter and rain on the streets of Danshui and Western Taipei, as well as recorded Taiwanese cuisine. Taipei, Beijing (台北‧北京) also includes a number of cityscape watercolors of Beijing. Wang often mixes acrylic paint with oil pastel or oil paint on handmade paper. The resulting works radiate a loose, dynamic and random atmosphere.
■ Eslite Gallery (誠品畫廊), 5F, 11 Songgao Rd, Taipei City (台北市松高路11號5樓), tel: (02) 8789-3388 X1588. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until April 7
Photo courtesy of Eslite Gallery
Recalling the history and development of new media art, which began in the 1960s as a response to Dada and Conceptual Art and advances in scientific and industrial technologies, The Innovationists (因腦維新族) provides a comprehensive look at new media art through 18 works covering sound, light and video. According to the museum, the artists, hailing from the US, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, unite an experimental ethos with concepts of technology, design and creativity. Among the more interesting pieces: An interactive and wearable device that sheds light on the culture of Otaku (what the museum blurb describes as “geeks” and “computer nerds”), kinetic installations that draw attention to environmental concerns and sculptures that present a new kind of urban architecture. The exhibition benefits from not only providing a brief introduction of new media art, but also illustrates how contemporary artists are building on a young tradition.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號), tel: (02) 2552-3720. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. General admission: NT$50
■ Until April 4
Photo courtesy of Eslite Gallery
Water preoccupies the thinking of the artists in Troubled Waters — especially its relationship to the land and how it has become a focus for global concerns about the environment. Aspects of heritage, history, representation, cultural discourse and our relationship to the means of production will also be explored through the work of the five artists and their accompanying texts. The exhibition includes single screen and spatial video installations, sound and photographic works, sculptural elements and light works.
■ Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (關渡美術館), 1 Xueyuan Rd, Taipei City (台北市學園路1號), tel: (02) 2893-8870. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm
■ Begins March 8. Until May 5
Taiwan’s English education system is being pulled apart by three opposing forces. Bilingual Nation 2030 pulls students toward English and global communication. Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness pulls them toward digital judgment, verification and AI-mediated work. But Taiwan’s old exam culture pulls them back toward memorization, grammar drills, timed reading and correct answers. If the education system keeps using old exams to define success, it risks producing graduates who are neither genuinely bilingual nor genuinely AI-ready, but trained for tasks machines can already perform. The first force is Bilingual Nation 2030. Launched in 2018, the policy aimed to “help Taiwan’s workforce connect
It seems every few days one bumps into one of those “real man” comments in which Taiwan is urged to “face reality” or similar, and “make a deal,” with the speaker implying that soon it will be too late. “Deal” advocates always present themselves as having a superior grip on reality, and the manly ability to make the “hard choice.” Their testosterone-laden language often echoes that of Taiwan sellout advocates. Note that such commentary always specifies a process (“make a deal, work with, make progress”), never the end state of what occupation by a violent authoritarian colonialist state will entail. In
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June 1 to June 7 "If all Taiwanese were as afraid of dying as you, then what would happen?” Physician Shih Chiang-nan (施江南) reportedly said this to his wife Chen Chiao-tung (陳焦桐) after she urged him to stop intervening on behalf of Taiwanese soldiers stranded overseas after serving in the Japanese Army during World War II. Shih had clashed with high-ranking officials over the issue, engaged in several heated arguments with Taiwan governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) and allegedly shouted at general Ko Yuan-fen (柯遠芬), chief of staff of the Taiwan Garrison Command, over
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