Young Art Taipei (台北國際當代藝術博覽會) is back this weekend at the Sheraton Grande Hotel for the eighth year in a row, showcasing art from emerging artists under the age of 45 from Taiwan and around East Asia. Look out for Malaysian artist Chin Kong-yee (陳剛毅), who is represented by Taipei’s ArtDoor Gallery. Chin is known for his bird’s eye view paintings of typical street scenes from busy intersections in Kuala Lumpur. Aki Gallery will display the works of seven Taiwanese and Japanese artists, including Hong Zhen-you’s (洪禎佑) portraits of androgynous-looking people and transgenders, as well as Ai Yamaguchi’s paintings depicting the lives of long-haired, delicate-looking prostitutes during Japan’s Edo period.
■ Sheraton Grande Hotel (喜來登大飯店), 8-9F, 12, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路一段12號8-9樓)
■ Tomorrow and Sunday from 12pm to 8pm. Admission: NT$160 to NT$450
Photo courtesy of Cafe Showroom
Art fairs seem to be the rage this weekend. Art Revolution Taipei (台北新藝術博覽會) is back for its sixth year at the Taipei World Trade Center with the theme of “The Glory of Life.” The fair, which started out rather small-scale, has grown significantly over the years. This year’s fair will showcase nearly 3,000 artworks from 315 artists across 47 nations, and will be broken down into sections such as “China Contemporary Art,” “Taiwan Contemporary Art” and “Contemporary Ink Painting.”
■ Taipei World Trade Center, Hall 3 (台北世貿三館), 6, Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路6號)
■ Today and tomorrow from 12pm to 8pm, Sunday from 11am to 7pm, Monday from 12pm to 8pm. Admission: NT$50 to NT$100
Photo courtesy of MOCA
The Road Not Taken Ch 2 (林中路‧下篇) opens at Taipei’s Mind Set Art Center tomorrow. While Chapter 1 showcased the works of 11 Taiwanese artists, Chapter 2 will showcase the works of 11 foreign artists from China, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Romania. Named after Robert Frost’s famous poem, the exhibition showcases works that bring to light the lonely and introspective life of an artist. On display are the paintings of Romanian artist Ana Maria Micu who paints everything she sees in her studio from different angles. Her work, with its subdued gray hues, serves as sort of a visual diary of her daily life. Also on display are Filipina artist Marina Cruz’s paintings of old and tattered dresses that belonged to her mother and aunt. Her paintings are extremely realistic, depicting every seam, tatter and fold, as Cruz wishes to “preserve” these precious vintage garments. Also, watch out for Chinese artist Wu Yiming’s (鄔一名) brush paintings of simplistic silhouettes and lotus ponds.
■ Mind Set Art Center (安卓藝術), 7F, 180, Heping E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市和平東路一段180號7樓), tel: (02) 2365-6008. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11am to 6pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until May 21
Photo courtesy of Mind Set Art Center
Ariel Kuo (郭芃君) is known for her vibrant paintings that capture the laidback and leisurely lifestyle found in the narrow alleys and quirky storehouses scattered around Tainan. Since moving to Taipei two and a half years ago, Kuo has continued to paint the architecture and scenery around her neighborhood in Shilin District’s (士林區) Zhongshe Road (中社路) in her signature bright and cheerful colors. In real life, the huge residential houses that dot this winding, mountainous road are grayish and monochrome and surrounded by lush pine trees. Kuo’s ample use of pastel colors such as hot pink and bright yellow infuses the sleepy scenses with a certain energy and even mystery. Her paintings are currently on display at Taipei’s Cafe Showroom, in an exhibition entitled The Color House (色彩的家屋).
■ Cafe Showroom (場外空間), 462 Fujin St, Taipei City (台北市富錦街462號), tel: (02) 2760-1155. Open daily from 11am to 9pm
■ Until May 22
Photo courtesy of Mind Set Art Center
The Fantastic Journey — Taiwan/Japan Contemporary Art Interchange Exhibition (奇幻旅程-台日當代藝術交流展) is an exhibition at MOCA featuring the works of Taiwanese artist Peng Hung-chih (彭弘智) and Japanese artist Mika Ninagawa. Peng has dabbled in video, sculpture and painting. His previous work includes a series of videos about his dog, which satirizes the human condition, as well as a sculpture of a Hummer made out of coal to draw attention to the fact that China is the world’s largest producer of coal and the US the largest consumer of oil. Mika Ninagawa’s work, on the other hand, is more feminine. Her photographs of vibrant, pop culture-inspired flowers and goldfish examine themes such as youth culture and eroticism in Japan.
MOCA is also exhibiting Kill Me Or Change (殺了我或改變), a solo exhibition by New York-based artist Yang Chin-chih (楊金池). Yang’s, whose rap sheet includes being interrogated by the FBI in 2006 for projecting images of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) flag and the Republic of China (ROC) flag outside the UN headquarters in New York, has never been one to shy away from social commentary and activism. His current exhibition addresses the issue of environmental pollution and uses recycled items such as aluminum cans, snack packaging and electric wires to create interactive installations. In one such installation, he covers himself in a mountain of aluminum cans. Yang has always believed that art should be for the public rather than walled up in the confines of a gallery. The purpose of his installations is to draw awareness to the viewer the widespread problem of consumerism and how this inevitably impacts our ecosystem.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (台北當代藝術館, 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
■ The Fantastic Journey is until May 27. Kill Me Or Change is until June 1
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