After a long Lunar New Year break, many galleries are re-opening this weekend with new offerings. Opening tomorrow at ArtDoor Gallery is Life’s Intertwining (時光織錦), a solo exhibition featuring the work of Chung Yi-hua (鍾奕華), who grew up in Myanmar and currently resides in Tainan. Chung’s paintings capture scenes from his adopted hometown — temples, parks, old buildings — but in a style reminiscent of Yangon’s colorful architecture. His palette is lush and tropical with vibrant pops of reds and yellows, evoking the mosaic tiles at temples in Myanmar. The artwork also draws attention to the history of Tainan, from its colonial architecture to the temples that held communities together.
■ ArtDoor Gallery (藝境畫廊) 639, Ruiguang Rd, Taipei City (台北市瑞光路639號), tel: (02) 2658-5268. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until March 12
Photo courtesy of Aura Gallery
Opening tomorrow at Aura Gallery Taipei is a retrospective exhibition, Takuma Nakahira. The late photographer Takuma Nakahira was known for his out-of-focus black-and-white photographs, which were considered profound and revolutionary in post-war Japan. His works challenged the widely-held perception that photography had to be realistic, instead using the medium to express existential thoughts or simply capture raw feelings and emotions. In 1971, Nakahira spent seven days in Paris, taking 100 photographs that would become the series, Circulation: Date, Place, Events. They contained harried sketches of his life in Paris, including strangers’ faces, fruit stands, street posters and what he ate for breakfast every day. Nakahira was also a writer, film critic and founder of the short-lived photography journal, Provoke, before he was gripped by his delusions, eventually sinking into obscurity.
■ Aura Gallery Taipei (亦安畫廊台北), 313, Dunhua N Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段313號); tel: (02) 2752-7002. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 12pm to 7pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until March 18
Photo courtesy of Nunu Fine Art
The works of sculptor and Taipei National University of the Arts professor Dung Ming-lung (董明龍) are exhibited alongside those of his students at A Gallery. PM2.5 – TNUA Sculpture Exhibition (PM2.5董明龍師生雕塑聯展) features creations that range from shocking (Chang Wen-wan’s (張文菀) dismembered hands) to geometric (Liu Wan-yu’s (劉婉妤) half circles). The exhibition title is curious, as PM2.5 stands for a particle of pollution 2.5 micrometers in diameter — not exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of large stone sculptures. However, the works exhibited seem to have a light and weightless quality to them. Dung’s own work is influenced by the limestone mountains near his home in Hualien. While some of his work is practical (benches in the shape of hearts and shells), others are more abstract — although they all exude a calm and zen-like nature.
■ A Gallery (當代一畫廊), 22, Alley 36, Lane 147, Xinyi Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市信義路三段147巷36弄22號), tel: (02) 2702-3327. Open Mondays to Saturdays from 10am to 6pm
■ Until March 25
Photo courtesy of ArtDoor Gallery
Maya Hewitt’s paintings appear grotesque and morbid — but in a way that draws viewers into her world rather than repulsing them. It’s hard not to fixate your gaze on the little details — embryos in containers, a tea ceremony taking place next to an operation, and human-bird hybrids pecking on each other’s buttocks. While the London-raised artist did not have a religious upbringing, she says that she is drawn to religious figurines because of the mystery they hold. She then appropriates them and creates her own folklore. Even though she doesn’t paint cityscapes, Hewitt’s paintings still have a flaneur-like quality, but instead of one flaneur, there are multiple observers. In some paintings, her subjects are trapped behind what appears to be museum displays, blurring the boundary between exhibit subject and viewer. Hewitt’s solo exhibition, Shed Our Skins (蛻而新生) opens at Nunu Fine Art tomorrow.
■ Nunu Fine Art (路由藝術), 5, Ln 67, Jinshan S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市金山南路1段67巷5號), tel: (02) 3322-6207. Open Wednesdays to Sundays from noon to 7pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until March 26
Photo courtesy of In River Gallery
Chen San (塵三) is known for his landscape paintings that combine Chinese brush painting with Western impressionism. His latest solo exhibition, Orange Scenery (桔築山色), which opens at In River Gallery tomorrow, includes paintings with ample orange, yellow and purple hues. Far from the subdued quality that traditional ink painting evokes, Chen’s paintings are intense and emotive. While the outlines of mountains and rivers are vaguely evident in some paintings, others are more abstract. It’s as if Chen is recreating the feeling of being in nature rather than the physical scenery itself.
■ In River Gallery (穎川畫廊), 2F, 45, Renai Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路一段45號2樓), tel: (02) 2357-9900. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 1pm to 8pm
■ Opens tomorrow. Until March 29
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