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
Growing up in a rural, religious community in western Canada, Kyle McCarthy loved hockey, but once he came out at 19, he quit, convinced being openly gay and an active player was untenable. So the 32-year-old says he is “very surprised” by the runaway success of Heated Rivalry, a Canadian-made series about the romance between two closeted gay players in a sport that has historically made gay men feel unwelcome. Ben Baby, the 43-year-old commissioner of the Toronto Gay Hockey Association (TGHA), calls the success of the show — which has catapulted its young lead actors to stardom -- “shocking,” and says
The 2018 nine-in-one local elections were a wild ride that no one saw coming. Entering that year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was demoralized and in disarray — and fearing an existential crisis. By the end of the year, the party was riding high and swept most of the country in a landslide, including toppling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in their Kaohsiung stronghold. Could something like that happen again on the DPP side in this year’s nine-in-one elections? The short answer is not exactly; the conditions were very specific. However, it does illustrate how swiftly every assumption early in an
Inside an ordinary-looking townhouse on a narrow road in central Kaohsiung, Tsai A-li (蔡阿李) raised her three children alone for 15 years. As far as the children knew, their father was away working in the US. They were kept in the dark for as long as possible by their mother, for the truth was perhaps too sad and unjust for their young minds to bear. The family home of White Terror victim Ko Chi-hua (柯旗化) is now open to the public. Admission is free and it is just a short walk from the Kaohsiung train station. Walk two blocks south along Jhongshan
Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 In 1933, an all-star team of musicians and lyricists began shaping a new sound. The person who brought them together was Chen Chun-yu (陳君玉), head of Columbia Records’ arts department. Tasked with creating Taiwanese “pop music,” they released hit after hit that year, with Chen contributing lyrics to several of the songs himself. Many figures from that group, including composer Teng Yu-hsien (鄧雨賢), vocalist Chun-chun (純純, Sun-sun in Taiwanese) and lyricist Lee Lin-chiu (李臨秋) remain well-known today, particularly for the famous classic Longing for the Spring Breeze (望春風). Chen, however, is not a name
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