The circle as symbolic and formal element takes center stage in Chen Hui-chiao’s (陳慧嶠) latest show, The Geometry of Passion (情欲幾何). For Chen, the circle symbolizes geometric perfection, while its absence compensates for the imperfection (what she calls “not rounded”) aspect of the human psyche. These series of paintings/installations (made with table tennis balls, metal and spray paint) reduce form to its most basic geometric shapes, where “simple and bright colors are used as metaphors for abstract feelings, and minimal forms express the harmonious artistic spirit,” according to the gallery’s 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
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 5pm. Until Sept. 24
Photo courtesy of Main Trend Gallery
South Korean artist Han Young-wook’s series of hyperrealist portraits are extraordinarily wrought depictions of ordinary people. Face presents 18 of these humanist-oriented oil-on-aluminum paintings. The extensive application and removal of paint builds up a cosmology of feeling and empathy for his subjects — farmers or housewives or nomads — with every pore, wrinkle and distant glare evoking several emotions. Han’s work goes “beyond the diversities of individuals and sees into [the] … universality of human beings,” as the exhibition introduction states.
■ Asia Art Center (亞洲藝術中心) 177, Jianguo S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市建國南路二段177號), tel: (02) 2754-1366. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6:30pm
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 3pm. Until Sept. 18
Photo courtesy of Asia Art Center
Ahhhh … Planaria! (啊！渦蟲) is a group exhibition by 18 burgeoning and established artists working in video installation, painting and sculpture. The exhibition aims to highlight the various mediums and differing perspectives of the artists.
■ 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
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 5pm. Until Sept. 25
Interdisciplinary Innovation on Performing Arts — 2011 Summer Move (跨域表演實驗場:2011舞上癮) is an “interdisciplinary discourse” among Taipei Artist Village’s artists-in-residence, who are working in physical theater, installation, music, dance and new media. The artists hail from Taiwan, Japan, the US and France. The exhibition gets started this weekend with Lin Jia-jen’s (林嘉貞) Evolutionary Theory (演化論), a sculptural installation with performance art and digital media that ponders biological entities with mechanical bodies and is meant as a conversation between nature and the city. Complete program details can be found at: www.artistvillage.org (Chinese and English).
■ Barry Room, Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村百里廳), 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號), tel: (02) 3393-7377. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm
■ Saturday and Sunday at 7:30pm (admission: NT$200). Interdisciplinary Innovation runs until Oct. 2
The Sentimental Boys! Hantoo Joint Exhibition (悍圖社多情兄) presents works by 14 artists who are members of the Hantoo Art Group (悍圖社), which literally means, “defending pictures.” Begun in 1998 as a response to the art community’s perceived obsession with conceptual art, Hantoo splintered away from the Taipei Art Group (台北畫派) — itself a collective of artists known for their fervent social commentary in the wake of the lifting of martial law in 1987. Hantoo takes an introspective approach, while remaining engaged in the exploration of the nation’s history, myths, folk culture and identity — much of it with a dose of playfulness. The show includes works by Yang Mao-lin (楊茂林), Wu Tien-chang (吳天章), Kuo Wei-kuo (郭維國), Lee Min-chung (李民中), Chen Ching-yao (陳擎耀) and Deng Wen-jen (鄧文貞).
■ Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 80 Meishuguan Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市美術館路80號), tel: (07) 555-0331. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free
■ Until Oct. 15
Flies 8: The Ten Thousand Beings (蒼蠅疤:一萬個存在) is a solo show of photographs by Wu Chi-yu (吳其育) examining the interconnected spaces that make up artificial environments (rooms, houses, buildings and streets) and the (perceived) needs of people and communities that bring them into existence.
■ 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 2pm to 11pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 2pm to 1am
■ Opening reception on Saturday at 7pm. Until Sept. 10
Call for submissions:
The Taitung County Cultural Affairs Department is holding the 1st Austronesian Fine Arts Award, a competition that seeks original artwork “presenting the historical transitions and current situations of Austronesians,” according to the press release. Open to all foreign and Taiwanese artists, the competition’s theme is “harmony with nature,” or the relationship between humans and the natural environment. Submitted works must be oil or acrylic paintings. The grand prize is NT$200,000. Applications are at tinyurl.com/3ot5e7r.
■ For more information, send an e-mail to Chen Shiau-pin (陳曉頻) at v5018@mail.ccl.ttct.edu.tw
■ Submissions will be accepted between Sept. 1 and Sept. 9
When nature calls, Masana Izawa has followed the same routine for more than 50 years: heading out to the woods in Japan, dropping his pants and doing as bears do. “We survive by eating other living things. But you can give faeces back to nature so that organisms in the soil can decompose them,” the 74-year-old said. “This means you are giving life back. What could be a more sublime act?” “Fundo-shi” (“poop-soil master”) Izawa is something of a celebrity in Japan, publishing books, delivering lectures and appearing in a documentary. People flock to his “Poopland” and centuries-old wooden “Fundo-an” (“poop-soil house”) in
Jan 13 to Jan 19 Yang Jen-huang (楊仁煌) recalls being slapped by his father when he asked about their Sakizaya heritage, telling him to never mention it otherwise they’ll be killed. “Only then did I start learning about the Karewan Incident,” he tells Mayaw Kilang in “The social culture and ethnic identification of the Sakizaya” (撒奇萊雅族的社會文化與民族認定). “Many of our elders are reluctant to call themselves Sakizaya, and are accustomed to living in Amis (Pangcah) society. Therefore, it’s up to the younger generation to push for official recognition, because there’s still a taboo with the older people.” Although the Sakizaya became Taiwan’s 13th
For anyone on board the train looking out the window, it must have been a strange sight. The same foreigner stood outside waving at them four different times within ten minutes, three times on the left and once on the right, his face getting redder and sweatier each time. At this unique location, it’s actually possible to beat the train up the mountain on foot, though only with extreme effort. For the average hiker, the Dulishan Trail is still a great place to get some exercise and see the train — at least once — as it makes its way
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
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