A Japanese-style tearoom made of steel and calligraphy installations made of human hair are among the eye-catching works on display at Art Taipei, which opened yesterday.
One of the largest art fairs in Asia, Art Taipei is showcasing more than 3,000 works of art from 20 nations and regions, according to the Taiwan Art Gallery Association, which organized the fair with the Ministry of Culture and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.
Among the exhibited works is a Japanese-style tearoom made of steel by Japanese artist Tomohiro Kato. Everything in the tearoom, including the decorative flowers and window screens, are made of steel.
The work was inspired by the earthquake and the massive tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, which awakened Kato’s passion to preserve traditional Japanese culture and introduce it to more people, although with his unconventional touch, he said.
“The work is very different from ordinary tearooms and I hope to surprise people when they walk into this unique tearoom and enjoy a cup of tea,” Kato told reporters on Thursday.
Also on display are experimental calligraphy installations by Chinese artist Gu Wenda (谷文達), who used human hair to compose Latin, Chinese and Arabic letters.
Award-winning German sculptor Tobias Rehberger is displaying his work Die Welt kurz vor Erfindung des tiefen Tellers — an entire room covered in hand-painted watercolor tiles that create an optical effect.
Other head-turning artwork include boar sculptures made from fiberglass and acrylic by Paiwan Aboriginal artist Pahawlan Cilan, as well as Italian artist Loris Cecchini’s sculpture Wallwave Vibration, which is made of polyester resin and has been installed to look like it is growing out from one of the walls at the exhibition.
The fair also features artwork made from waste materials.
Japanese artist Yuko Mohri’s series, Urban Mining: For the Rite of Spring, features miniature street lights fixed on top of used beer and soda cans. The cans, collected from Japanese factories, are used as conductors to light up the mini light poles.
Mohri said she created the series because she is interested in urban mining, which refers to recycling metals, electronic waste and other discarded materials.
“I am curious to know: ‘What is nature? What is artificial?’ So I wanted to use this theme in my piece,” she said.
Works by masters such as Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, Russian-French artist Marc Chagall and Chinese-French painter Zao Wou-Ki (趙無極) are also on exhibit at the fair, and a special section showcases works by young Taiwanese artists, including animator-artist Mores Zhan (張徐展).
“Taiwan is a small nation and we do not have a large art market, so we need a platform to promote Taiwanese art and connect with the world,” Deputy Minister of Culture George Hsu (許秋煌) said on Thursday.
Last year’s fair attracted 45,000 visitors and generated NT$1.1 billion (US$33.5 million) in revenue. Hsu said he hopes those numbers would be topped this year.
Launched in 1992, Art Taipei is the longest-running annual art fair in Asia.
Art Taipei is to run until Monday at the Taipei World Trade Center’s Exhibition Hall 1.
Visitors can log on to www.art-taipei.com for ticket prices, a complete list of exhibits and visitor information.
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