Art Tainan (台南藝術博覽會) opens today for its fifth year at the Tayih Landis Hotel in Tainan with a stellar lineup of local and international artists. Local artists include Chen Yen-yi (陳妍伊) whose idyllic drawings have been influenced by her artist residency in New Zealand, and Tsai Tsung-yu (蔡宗祐), whose work critiques the “otaku” lifestyle (otakus are nerdy, socially awkward men whose lives revolve around video games). Japanese artists also feature prominently this year. Yayoi Kusama’s psychedelic polka dot paintings will be on display, as well as Arata Higuchi’s kaleidoscope-like paintings of reptiles. Speaking of kaleidoscopes, be sure to watch out for the works of the late French-Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely, who founded the “op art” movement — his paintings, which make use of optical illusions, will make you dizzy.
■ Tayih Landis Hotel (大億麗緻酒店), 660, Simen Rd Sec 1, Tainan City (台南市西門路一段660號), tel: (02) 2742-3968. Open today to Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Regular admission: NT$150
■ Opens today. Until Sunday
Photo courtesy of Art Tainan
An exhibition featuring student artwork is not something I would normally see, but the students at Taipei European School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) visual arts program are extremely talented — I can assure you because I am also an alumni of the IB visual arts program. Their exhibition, Nailed It: IB Art Show, which is a culmination of two years of hard work, opens today at Taipei’s historic Bopiliao Old Street (剝皮寮歷史街區). It’s also the second year that TES is holding the exhibition outside the school campus. Many of the students will be attending top art schools upon graduating, and tonight’s opening reception will be a good opportunity to chat with them about their work and future endeavors.
■ Bopiliao Old Street (剝皮寮歷史街區), 175-177, Kangding Rd, Taipei City (台北市康定路175-177號), campus tel: (02) 8145-9007
■ Opening reception is today at 6pm. Show runs until March 25
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
French artist Bernard Bordenave moved to Taiwan in the 1980s to work as a photographer for various magazines. His work brought him all around Asia, and since then, Bordenave has switched to creating “relief paintings” — a sculptural technique in which the sculpted parts are attached to a background made of the same material. He uses mostly found objects and antiques in particular. Bordenave draws his influence from French-German artist Jean Arp, who was known for his minimalistic-style paintings and sculptures, as well as Chinese calligraphy and brush painting. His current solo exhibition, Relief paintings of Bernard Bordenave (包德納浮雕畫個展), is on view at Taipei’s Artland Art Space.
■ Artland Art Space (亞典藝術空間), B1, 122 Renai Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路三段122號B1樓), tel: (02) 2784-5166. Open Mondays to Fridays from 10am to 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30am to 9pm
■ Until March 30
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
Metaphysical Art Gallery is currently exhibiting Look Up Rose from the Sky (在天空仰望玫瑰). The exhibition, as its name suggests, includes works by nine Taiwanese artists and revolves around the theme of roses and flowers — not just their literal depictions, but metaphorical ones as well, since roses symbolize many things, from love and romance to death and deceit. Included in the lineup are Wu Hao’s (吳昊) colorful oil paintings and prints of different scenes associated with the spring season, particularly vases laden with flowers, done in his signature happy but nostalgic style. Jang Tarng-kuh’s (張堂庫) detailed and realistic paintings of water lilies are also on display. The artist, who prefers to sketch outdoors near his home in Yangmingshan (陽明山), previously painted other types of flowers and fruits as well as cats. Also look out for Liao Yu-an’s (廖堉安) comical depictions of cartoon figures which poke fun at human consumption, gluttony and the emphasis we place on possessing pretty things.
■ 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) 2771-3236. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6:30pm
■ Until April 30
Photo courtesy of Metaphysical Art Gallery
Luo Jr-shin’s (羅智信) first solo exhibition, Open Containers (開放容器), opens at Taipei’s Michael Ku Gallery tomorrow. The exhibition blends sculptures, textiles and found objects. Luo is known for converting every day household items into works of art in a way that’s subtle and retains the object’s original form. This time, the artist also introduces an element of smell to his installations by using various air fresheners. He does this in order to bring the familiarity of home (since air fresheners are normally used at home) into the public space. Likewise, the installations are like open containers in the sense that they give viewers a peek into someone’s personal life.
■ 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
■ Opens tomorrow. Until May 1
Photo courtesy of Artland Art Space
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is currently featuring Boundless Visions: New Acquisitions from the Permanent Collection (綿綿若存：新進典藏展), a collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures and other artworks that were added to the museum collection from 2011 to last year. The collection encompasses 90 works created by 36 artists from different generations. The exhibition aims to unravel the question of what defines contemporary art, while also using the artworks as reference points to facilitate discussions of the role of art in contemporary life. Included in the collection are abstract paintings of the late artist Li Yuan-chia (李元佳), who spent most of his career abroad. Also on display are Lee Yi-hung’s (李義弘) ink paintings of picturesque landscapes and nude women. The museum’s next exhibition will focus on video, installation art and other forms of new media.
■ 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
■ Until May 8
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Towering high above Taiwan’s capital city at 508 meters, Taipei 101 dominates the skyline. The earthquake-proof skyscraper of steel and glass has captured the imagination of professional rock climber Alex Honnold for more than a decade. Tomorrow morning, he will climb it in his signature free solo style — without ropes or protective equipment. And Netflix will broadcast it — live. The event’s announcement has drawn both excitement and trepidation, as well as some concerns over the ethical implications of attempting such a high-risk endeavor on live broadcast. Many have questioned Honnold’s desire to continues his free-solo climbs now that he’s a
Francis William White, an Englishman who late in the 1860s served as Commissioner of the Imperial Customs Service in Tainan, published the tale of a jaunt he took one winter in 1868: A visit to the interior of south Formosa (1870). White’s journey took him into the mountains, where he mused on the difficult terrain and the ease with which his little group could be ambushed in the crags and dense vegetation. At one point he stays at the house of a local near a stream on the border of indigenous territory: “Their matchlocks, which were kept in excellent order,
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
There is no question that Tyrannosaurus rex got big. In fact, this fearsome dinosaur may have been Earth’s most massive land predator of all time. But the question of how quickly T. rex achieved its maximum size has been a matter of debate. A new study examining bone tissue microstructure in the leg bones of 17 fossil specimens concludes that Tyrannosaurus took about 40 years to reach its maximum size of roughly 8 tons, some 15 years more than previously estimated. As part of the study, the researchers identified previously unknown growth marks in these bones that could be seen only
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