Kuo I-chen (郭奕臣) has always been fascinated by outer space — comets, black holes, aliens, you name it. His latest exhibition at IT Park Gallery, very creatively named A Solo Exhibition by Kuo I-chen (郭奕臣個展), is inspired by his memory of watching Halley’s Comet in 1986 when he was a child. He says in the gallery notes that when an experience passes, it becomes memory and that marks the beginning of a new chapter of your life. But really, Kuo’s installations are dark and intriguing and have an extraterrestrial quality to it that’s not so much frightening as it is fascinating.
■ IT Park Gallery (伊通公園), 2F-3F, 41 Yitong St, Taipei City (台北市伊通街41號2-3樓), tel: (02) 2507-7243. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 1pm to 10pm
■ Until Jan. 16
Photo courtesy of IT Park Gallery
Neoplastic art is not art that’s made from plastic as what I previously thought. Rather, it started as an artistic movement in the Netherlands in the 1910s to 1920s and is characterized by the use of vertical and horizontal lines, as well as lots of black and white and bold primary colors. Liang Gallery’s current exhibition, Transcendence and Symbol: The Exhibition of Neoplastic Art in Taiwan (超驗與象徵－台灣新造形藝術展), features the works of Taiwanese artists from three different generations Chao Chung-hsiang (趙春翔), Chu Ko (楚戈), Richard Lin (林壽宇), Lee Chung-chung (李重重), Tsong Pu (莊普) — all of whom have dabbled in neoplastic art. While some artists choose to stay more minimalistic — employing only a few parallel lines and such — others create a messier canvas with overlapping brushstrokes and contrasting textures. Nevertheless, what seems to unite their work is a sense of order, even out of chaos.
■ 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
■ Until Jan. 31
Photo courtesy of Michael Ku Gallery
Young Chinese artist Ni Youyu (倪有魚) whose work spans from vintage collages to installations in swimming pools has his first solo exhibition at Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Titled Constant Dropping Wears Away A Stone (水滴石穿), the exhibition is just as poetic as it sounds. Big ideas such as time, space and how the universe works feature largely in Ni’s work. A ridiculously meticulous and patient craftsman, Ni often takes years to complete one piece. He spent a year collecting lotus engravings all over Japan to create Pagoda II, a statue that takes a satirical jab on Buddha statues. Freewheeling Trip is a collection of photographs from Ni’s travels around the world. While each photo looks like it’s one scene, they’re actually patched together from pieces showing the place evolving over time.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (台北當代藝術館, MOCA), 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
■ Until Feb. 14
Photo courtesy of Michael Ku Gallery
Liu Yun-yi’s (劉芸怡) photographs of dilapidated buildings from her travels around the world are currently on display at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in an exhibition entitled Dust of History (歷史塵埃). The images — some shot in panoramic and some cut, pasted and reassembled such that different angles appear in one frame — capture the subtle beauty in these abandoned buildings and monuments in places ranging from Germany to Turkey to Taiwan. Rather than appearing creepy or haunting, there’s a pleasantness to Liu’s photography. It’s as if Liu is peeling back the layers of history and trying to present to the viewer a sense of what the building once looked like in its heyday.
■ 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) 2896-1000 ext 2432. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm
■ Until Feb. 21
Photo courtesy of MOCA
New and Past III is a joint exhibition held at Michael Ku Gallery by several artists who have previously exhibited at the gallery. As the title of the exhibition suggests, it includes a combination of their past recent work that haven’t been displayed yet. In the line-up is Taiwanese artist Luo Jr-shin’s (羅智信) quirky installations, including My Ex-lover is Your Very New Sweetheart, which interlaces three gloves that symbolizes a love triangle. Also on display are Chinese artist Wei Jia’s (韋嘉) eerie paintings of big-eyed children buried under layers of murky paint. Although Wei’s work is supposed to be introspective and about unleashing suppressed feelings, what’s more obvious is how the paintings resemble scenes from horror movies — ones where children are always the creepiest characters. Another artist to watch out for is Filipino artist
Lao Lianben. His minimalistic paintings which interweave found objects have captured the eyes of buyers in auction houses worldwide.
■ 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
Photo courtesy of Michael Ku Gallery
■ Until Feb. 27
Nothing like the spectacular, dramatic unraveling of a political party in Taiwan has unfolded before as has hit the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over recent weeks. The meltdown of the New Power Party (NPP) and the self-implosion of the New Party (NP) were nothing compared to the drama playing out now involving the TPP. This ongoing saga is so interesting, this is the fifth straight column on the subject. To catch up on this train wreck of a story up to Aug. 20, search for “Donovan’s Deep Dives Ko Wen-je” in a search engine. ANN KAO SENTENCED TO PRISON YET AGAIN,
President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision for Taiwan to become an “AI island” has three conditions: constructing advanced data centers, ensuring a stable and green energy supply, and cultivating AI talent. However, the energy issue supply is the greatest challenge. To clarify, let’s reframe the problem in terms of the Olympics. Given Taiwan’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer) roles in the technology sector, Taiwan is not an athlete in the AI Olympics, or even a trainer, but rather a training ground for global AI athletes (AI companies). In other words, Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem provides world-class training facilities and equipment that have already attracted
Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing didn’t hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure. The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country. “I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.” Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom or better financial prospects at a
During her final years of high school, Chinese teenager Xu Yunting found an unusual way to make some pocket money: transforming herself into male video game characters and taking their female devotees on dates. The trend, called “cos commissioning,” has gained traction in China recently, with social media posts garnering millions of views as an increasing number of young women use their purchasing power to engineer a meeting with their dream man in real life. One early morning in Shanghai last month, Xu carefully inserted contacts to enlarge her irises and adjusted a tangerine wig to transform into “Jesse,” a character from
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