Taipei gears up for Artist Fair Taiwan

2015/10/02

An eclectic artist fair showcasing long-term creative efforts by talents in various fields from around Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region is set to kick off Oct. 2 in Taipei City.

Staged at Taipei Expo Park, the one-week event features documentaries, installations, paintings and photographs by 200-plus artists displayed in domestic and overseas sections, as well as three themed exhibitions.

In addition, 13 avant-garde alternative art space groups from Taiwan and six from abroad are taking part in the fair. These include Hantoo Art Group of Taiwan, Woofer Tan from Hong Kong, Takibi of Japan and San Art from Vietnam.

According to a representative of event organizer Association of the Visual Art in Taiwan, the fair seeks to promote equal exposure and support for members of the arts community. “We invited rookie, veteran, solo and group artists to showcase their works and conduct creative exchanges in a major venue,” the representative said.

A highlight of the event is the exhibition “Within Border, Without Boundary—An Exhibition of Empty Space” featuring a series of works by photographers Chen Su-chen, Chuang Ying-chih, Lee Li-chung and Lin Rui-yang.

Chen’s “After” is a collection of shots taken in recently vacated motel rooms. The piece raises the question of the differences in function between overnight accommodation and homes.

Equally thought-provoking is Chuang’s “Space, Time and Memory at Ximending.” Chuang started photographing the area in Taipei’s Wanhua District in 2012. The shots capture the coexistence of subcultures and bear witnesses to large-scale demographic changes in the area.

Exhibition curator Lin Yi-kuan said “Within Border, Without Boundary” is special as all of the pictures are absent people. “It’s a stillness of time in a once busy corner.

“The empty space carries meaning for artists. They hope to spur audiences to contemplate the relationship between these spots and human activities, as well as delve into deeply hidden emotions connected to their experiences in such places.”

Since established in 1999, the association has worked tirelessly integrating resources for artists and enhancing industry-government communication.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237212&ctNode=2194&mp=9)