Amis Aboriginal sculptor Siki Sufin has his first solo exhibition at the International Pavilion of Indigenous Arts and Cultures in Taipei. The Flying Wings, The Journeying Souls traces Sufin’s personal journey of discovery from working various jobs in cities across Taiwan to returning home to Dulan, a small village in Taitung County, home to some Amis Aborigines, of whom many are artists and musicians. Sufin uses driftwood to create his sculptures of people and warriors with bird-like qualities. The wings represent a life lived wandering the earth, but they also symbolize new beginnings. Sufin says he faced discrimination while living in other parts of Taiwan and hopes that his artwork will help facilitate healing and understanding.
■ International Pavilion of Indigenous Arts and Cultures (原民風味館) 151, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段151號), tel: (02) 2599-2655. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until June 20
Photo courtesy of Liang Gallery
The printmaking and arts and crafts store MBMore has settled into their new location in Taipei’s historic Datong District (大同) and their latest exhibition, Landscaping (造景), features the works of three artists: Kao Chia-hung (高嘉宏), Liao Chun-li (廖峻立) and Malaysian artist Lee Tek Khean (李迪權). Kao’s golden silhouettes of people and animals provide a nice contrast to Liao’s more intricate woodcut Line Series, which consists of lots of squiggly lines. Lee’s linocuts, meanwhile, depict haunting images of stormy seas seen from behind iron-barred windows. The grayish turquoise and deep blue hues he uses evoke a sense of danger and discovery.
■ MBMore (岩筆模), 275, Nanjing W Rd, Taipei City (台北市南京西路275號), tel: (02) 2558-3395. Open Tuesday to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until July 3
Photo courtesy of TFAM
Tsai Chieh-hsin (蔡潔莘) is known for her globular sculptures dyed in rainbow colors, and for her latest exhibition she creates an entire army of whimsical animals trapped in a magical village where it rains rainbow droplets and colorful mushrooms grow from stones. Rainbow Rain Village (彩虹雨村落) is as cheery as it sounds, though for Tsai, the message is more about “surmounting trauma.” While rain connotes dreariness, rainbows are happy and hopeful. By juxtaposing the two, Tsai is saying that we should be more proactive in creating our own opportunities — our own “rainbows” — rather than wait for luck to strike.
Liang Gallery is also featuring Words Under the Reflection of Lights (凝光映語), a solo exhibition by young artist Yu Ya-lan (游雅蘭). Yu, who hails from Yunlin County, paints impressionistic-style landscapes. Her mountains and lakes are not so much pristine as they are rugged and personified. She skillfully interweaves hues of dark turquoise with splashes of bright yellow in a way that isn’t discordant. Far from it, the landscapes appear as if they are communicating with the viewer. The exhibition also includes a series of prints that Yu made based on photographs of her mother.
■ Liang Gallery (尊彩藝術中心), 366, Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路366號), tel: (02) 2797-1100. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6pm
Photo courtesy of ArtDoor Gallery
■ Both exhibitions are until July 3
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum has a riveting new exhibition by young Yilan-born artist Chen Che-wei (陳哲偉). Chen’s Oblivion (養神院) — which traverses sound, video, text and other media — shows a fascination with the morbid aspects of history. The exhibition’s Chinese title shares the same name as Taiwan’s first state asylum, which was founded in the 1930s under Japanese colonial rule to treat mental health patients. Chen’s artwork explores, through personal memories and collective consciousness, how the mentally ill have historically been discriminated against and excluded from full participation in society. By doing so, Chen brings to light the power relations and hierarchies in a system that allows such a practice to occur.
Also on display at TFAM is Wait Until It Dries (等我一億年) by Taipei native Chou Shih-hsiung (周世雄). Taipei is the last stop of this touring exhibition which began at London’s Encounter Contemporary Art Gallery early last year. Chou’s prime media are Perspex and black oil, a combination which he has skillfully mastered over the years, painting over various 2D and 3D surfaces in such a way that the oil never dries.
Photo courtesy of TFAM
■ 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
■ Both exhibitions run until July 24
Hong Kong-born, Taiwan-raised pastor-turned-artist Stanley Fung (馮君藍) has in the past created monochrome paintings of Aborigines and shot black-and-white photographs of Taiwan’s flora and fauna. For his latest photo exhibition, Soften the Light Hidden in the Dust (和光同塵), Fung draws on his Christian faith to create portraits inspired by the Bible, including a couple of priests, the lord’s handmaiden and Judah’s wife, Tamar. The portraits are shot in his usual haunting, monochrome style, using lots of black background and minimal, eerie lighting. The costumes range from elaborate ruffles to simple pagan dresses and robes, though it’s the eyes of his subjects that draw in and beguile the viewer .
Photo courtesy of MBMore
■ ArtDoor Gallery (藝境畫廊) 639, Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路639號), tel: (02) 2658-5268. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until Aug. 28
Photo courtesy of MBMore
Photo courtesy of Liang Gallery
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