On display at Lin & Lin Gallery is Una Est (惟一), a solo exhibition by Spanish artist and former punk rocker Jose-Maria Cano. Though he previously dabbled in portraiture and conceptual art, his recent paintings deal with planets, craters and the universe. Cano uses the moon’s gravitational pull as a metaphor to ponder why we are attracted to things that don’t make much sense. Much attention is paid to texture and the bumps on the craters seem to allude to how nothing is perfect, but it is precisely these imperfections that are so fascinating.
■ Lin & Lin Gallery (大未來林舍畫廊), 16, Dongfeng St, Taipei City (台北市東豐街16號), tel: (02) 2700-6866. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until Nov. 27
Photo courtesy of Galerie Nichido
Lee Jiun-shyan’s (李俊賢) bright and cheery paintings of banana trees, rivers and fishermen, inspired by his native Kaohsiung, are currently on display at VT Art Salon. Islands: Quest of Ocean from a Harbor City Artist (海島：港都好男兒的海洋追尋) shows Lee’s own artistic journey from Kaohsiung to New York and back to Kaohsiung. Boats, maps, compasses and other objects associated with seafaring are prominent motifs in Lee’s work, evoking a sense of displacement and belonging. Lee’s love for the ocean and its inhabitants is obvious in his paintings. Also evident is the nostalgic sentiment in which he views old traditions such as fishing.
■ 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 to Thursdays from 1:30pm to 9pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 1:30pm to 10pm
■ Until Dec. 3
Photo courtesy of Galerie Nichido
Opening tomorrow at Aki Gallery is People Surroundings (人們), a dual exhibition by French artist Marc Desgrandchamps and German artist Uwe Kowski. Desgrandchamps is known for his paintings of apparition-like figures merging into blue-green backdrops. His latest series depict different eras — apparitions in retro swimsuits and swim caps reminiscent of the ‘40s. Like Desgrandchamps, Kowski is obsessed with the ideas of perception and deception, though Kowski’s work is more abstract — lots of haphazard splotches and brush strokes, and tons of layering of paint.
■ Aki Gallery (也趣藝廊), 141 Minzu W Rd, Taipei City (台北市民族西路141號), tel: (02) 2599-1171. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from noon to 6:30pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until Dec. 4
Photo courtesy of Aki Gallery
Chang Teng-yuan’s (張騰遠) colorful and quirky paintings draw inspiration from science. His latest solo exhibition, Post-We, held at Galerie Grand Siecle imagines the results of the recently launched Human Connectome Project to map human brain activity. Chang shows in his paintings, why he thinks the distinction between “I” and “We” will fade in the future and why we’re all doomed to become one massive entity, what he calls a “super brain.” He employs both hyperbole and farce in his paintings of creepily cheerful, apocalyptic landscapes.
■ Galerie Grand Siecle (新苑藝術), 17, Alley 51, Ln 12, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段12巷51弄17號), tel: (02) 2578-5630. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 6pm
■ Until Dec. 18
Photo courtesy of Galerie Grand Siecle
Galerie Nichido Taipei is currently exhibiting, Blue Bird in the Labyrinth: A Walk from Japanese Modern Art to Asian contemporary Art Scene (迷宮中的青鳥：從日本近代美術至亞洲當代藝術). The joint exhibition takes a look at the Japanese construction of “Asia” before and after World War II, and features both Japanese and other artists from different generations. Included is Japanese artist Wakita Kazu, who is renowned for his abstract paintings of birds, flowers and other idyllic images from his childhood. Also on display are works by Taiwanese artist Lee Jo-mei (李若玫). Though she normally makes colorful montages out of her old family photos, she also tries her hand at monochrome watercolor and pencil, and the results are stunning, especially the minute details in her drawings of leaves. Also, watch out for Filipino artist Robert Gutierrez’s psychedelic murals depicting fantastical worlds.
■ Galerie Nichido Taipei (台北日動畫廊), 3F, 57, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段57號3樓), tel: (02) 2579-8795. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11am to 7pm
■ Until Dec. 29
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