Art Tainan (台南藝術博覽會) opens today for its fifth year at the Tayih Landis Hotel in Tainan with a stellar lineup of local and international artists. Local artists include Chen Yen-yi (陳妍伊) whose idyllic drawings have been influenced by her artist residency in New Zealand, and Tsai Tsung-yu (蔡宗祐), whose work critiques the “otaku” lifestyle (otakus are nerdy, socially awkward men whose lives revolve around video games). Japanese artists also feature prominently this year. Yayoi Kusama’s psychedelic polka dot paintings will be on display, as well as Arata Higuchi’s kaleidoscope-like paintings of reptiles. Speaking of kaleidoscopes, be sure to watch out for the works of the late French-Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely, who founded the “op art” movement — his paintings, which make use of optical illusions, will make you dizzy.
■ Tayih Landis Hotel (大億麗緻酒店), 660, Simen Rd Sec 1, Tainan City (台南市西門路一段660號), tel: (02) 2742-3968. Open today to Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Regular admission: NT$150
■ Opens today. Until Sunday
Photo courtesy of Art Tainan
An exhibition featuring student artwork is not something I would normally see, but the students at Taipei European School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) visual arts program are extremely talented — I can assure you because I am also an alumni of the IB visual arts program. Their exhibition, Nailed It: IB Art Show, which is a culmination of two years of hard work, opens today at Taipei’s historic Bopiliao Old Street (剝皮寮歷史街區). It’s also the second year that TES is holding the exhibition outside the school campus. Many of the students will be attending top art schools upon graduating, and tonight’s opening reception will be a good opportunity to chat with them about their work and future endeavors.
■ Bopiliao Old Street (剝皮寮歷史街區), 175-177, Kangding Rd, Taipei City (台北市康定路175-177號), campus tel: (02) 8145-9007
■ Opening reception is today at 6pm. Show runs until March 25
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
French artist Bernard Bordenave moved to Taiwan in the 1980s to work as a photographer for various magazines. His work brought him all around Asia, and since then, Bordenave has switched to creating “relief paintings” — a sculptural technique in which the sculpted parts are attached to a background made of the same material. He uses mostly found objects and antiques in particular. Bordenave draws his influence from French-German artist Jean Arp, who was known for his minimalistic-style paintings and sculptures, as well as Chinese calligraphy and brush painting. His current solo exhibition, Relief paintings of Bernard Bordenave (包德納浮雕畫個展), is on view at Taipei’s Artland Art Space.
■ Artland Art Space (亞典藝術空間), B1, 122 Renai Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路三段122號B1樓), tel: (02) 2784-5166. Open Mondays to Fridays from 10am to 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30am to 9pm
■ Until March 30
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
Metaphysical Art Gallery is currently exhibiting Look Up Rose from the Sky (在天空仰望玫瑰). The exhibition, as its name suggests, includes works by nine Taiwanese artists and revolves around the theme of roses and flowers — not just their literal depictions, but metaphorical ones as well, since roses symbolize many things, from love and romance to death and deceit. Included in the lineup are Wu Hao’s (吳昊) colorful oil paintings and prints of different scenes associated with the spring season, particularly vases laden with flowers, done in his signature happy but nostalgic style. Jang Tarng-kuh’s (張堂庫) detailed and realistic paintings of water lilies are also on display. The artist, who prefers to sketch outdoors near his home in Yangmingshan (陽明山), previously painted other types of flowers and fruits as well as cats. Also look out for Liao Yu-an’s (廖堉安) comical depictions of cartoon figures which poke fun at human consumption, gluttony and the emphasis we place on possessing pretty things.
■ 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) 2771-3236. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm
■ Until April 30
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
Luo Jr-shin’s (羅智信) first solo exhibition, Open Containers (開放容器), opens at Taipei’s Michael Ku Gallery tomorrow. The exhibition blends sculptures, textiles and found objects. Luo is known for converting every day household items into works of art in a way that’s subtle and retains the object’s original form. This time, the artist also introduces an element of smell to his installations by using various air fresheners. He does this in order to bring the familiarity of home (since air fresheners are normally used at home) into the public space. Likewise, the installations are like open containers in the sense that they give viewers a peek into someone’s personal life.
■ Michael Ku Gallery (谷公館), 4F-2, 21, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段21號4樓之2), tel: (02) 2577-5601. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until May 1
Photo courtesy of Artland Art Space
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is currently featuring Boundless Visions: New Acquisitions from the Permanent Collection (綿綿若存:新進典藏展), a collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures and other artworks that were added to the museum collection from 2011 to last year. The collection encompasses 90 works created by 36 artists from different generations. The exhibition aims to unravel the question of what defines contemporary art, while also using the artworks as reference points to facilitate discussions of the role of art in contemporary life. Included in the collection are abstract paintings of the late artist Li Yuan-chia (李元佳), who spent most of his career abroad. Also on display are Lee Yi-hung’s (李義弘) ink paintings of picturesque landscapes and nude women. The museum’s next exhibition will focus on video, installation art and other forms of new media.
■ Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM, 台北市立美術館), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市中山北路三段181號), tel: (02) 2595-7656. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm and until 8:30pm on Saturdays
■ Until May 8
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant. Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant. But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care. AUTHENTIC EATS In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to
In the aftermath of the 2020 general elections the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was demoralized. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had crushed them in a second landslide in a row, with their presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) winning more votes than any in Taiwan’s history. The KMT did pick up three legislative seats, but the DPP retained an outright majority. To take responsibility for that catastrophic loss, as is customary, party chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) resigned. This would mark the end of an era of how the party operated and the beginning of a new effort at reform, first under