Post adolescence

Date : 25, August, 2001~30, September, 2001
Venue : The block across Alley216, Tun-Hwa S. Road to the intersection of Jen-Ai
Road and Civil Boulevard
Executive Committee: Fubon Art Foundation, Taiwan Cellular Corp., A.S.E
Cultural Foundation, The Eslite Bookstore
Planning Committee: Fubon Art Foundation

It was wall-to-wall beautiful people on the 15th floor of the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel on Thursday for a special preview opening of the inaugural Young Art Taipei Exhibition. A fixture in most international cities, it is a bit of a wonder why it has taken Taipei so long to launch such an art fair, one tucked in cozy little hotel suites.

Admittedly, it may not be the best place to view art — the smell of so many oil paintings in one room can be overpowering — but this new venue offered just enough hipness and creativity, proving to be exactly what the local art market needs right now.

Young Art Taipei is the brainchild of event organizer, Natasha Lo (羅健毓), who worked closely with influential art dealers such as Galerie Grand Siecle owner Richard Chang (張學孔).

Chang was gracious at the opening event, greeting visitors to the exhibition as well as introducing local artists' works that he was exhibiting within Room 1543.

All of the 42 rooms on the upper floor of this hotel were occupied, the majority of which were rented to local galleries but a smattering went to those from China, Japan and South Korea.

Some turned their hotel suites into darkened, black light displays, while others simply spread out artworks on the bed and elsewhere. In one room, an inordinate number of people crammed into the bathroom for what appeared to be an intense art discussion.

Young Art Taipei distinguishes itself from established art fairs with its focus on contemporary and affordable works by young artists

By Ho Yi
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, May 06, 2009, Page 15

Collecting art may seem like an unaffordable luxury for the average office worker. But for the organizers of Young Art Taipei 2009, buying a piece of art should and can be made as easy as purchasing a laptop computer. Billed as the first contemporary art fair held at a hotel in Taiwan, Young Art Taipei aims to position itself as a venue where novice collectors and art dilettantes meet emerging artists whose work they can afford.

Organized by Taiwan Contemporary Art Link (台灣當代藝術連線), a group consisting of local galleries including Dynasty Art Gallery (朝代藝術) and Aki Gallery (也趣畫廊), the three-day event starts today at Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei (台北王朝大酒店) with 42 participating galleries from Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea. As implied by the name, a hotel art fair showcases art in hotel rooms, where the space best accommodates small- to medium-sized pieces.

“This particular form of exhibition space encourages creative and unconventional approaches to arranging art works. One can be laid on a bed, hung on the wall or put in the bathroom. Small pieces like toy figurines can easily stand out as visitors inspect each part of the room,” the event’s chief organizer, Natasha Lo (羅健毓), explained.

The low cost for participating galleries — a mere NT$65,000 — also makes it easier for them to promote young and relatively unknown artists.

“To attend an art fair like Art Taipei, a gallery needs to throw in at least NT$500,000 to NT$600,000,” said Dynasty Art Gallery owner Frank Liu (劉忠河). “It is not economical for galleries to bring works that are priced at only NT$20,000. But if you lower the fee, young artists have a better chance to come to the front.”

At the hotel art fair, the key words are contemporary and young, and the focus is on art ranging from video and sculpture to installation and multi-media works by artists aged 45 and under. Prices are NT$8,000 to NT$100,000.

Though Taiwan’s contemporary artists have gained recognition on the international art scene, the market for their art didn’t take off here until three years ago. According to Liu and Galerie Grand Siecle owner Richard Chang (張學孔), the local art market traditionally has been dominated by oil paintings. Contemporary art works accounted for only a fraction of art on display as gallery owners and curators saw them more as museum pieces than works with commercial value. The rise of the Chinese contemporary art market over the past half-decade changed that, and made local collectors interested in contemporary Taiwanese art.

Many collectors turned to Taiwanese art because they believe the market for contemporary Chinese art is already saturated, Chang said.

“The market for Taiwanese art started to skyrocket about two years ago, but because of the global financial crisis, the bubble appears to have burst,” he said.

According to Chang, though most artists under the age of 45 have not had their work sold at auction houses, or on the so-called secondary market, which means their works are relatively affordable, these are the artists who are competitive when it comes to the international market.

“Figures like Chen Chieh-jen (陳界仁) and Michael Lin (林明弘) are always at top of the list when international art publications evaluate Taiwanese artists. Clearly, our strength lies in contemporary art,” Chang said.

Aki Gallery, Der Horn Art Gallery, Galerie Grand Siecle and Taiwan Contemporary Art Link are pleased to present our artist HOU I TING (AKI Gallery) Hung Yi (Der Horn Art Gallery), Yao Jui Chung and Huang Hsin Chien (both are Galerie Grand Siecle ) showing their works in “Fuxing International Biennale2008” from 20 September to 30 November, at Fuxing granary.

 
AKI Gallery is going to relocate to the place that near MRT Yuan-Shan station and Taipei Fine Art Museum this March. With different inter style and huge exhibition space, AKI Gallery provides viewer a greater and more comfortable viewing experience.

John Szarkowski (1925-2007). When he, curator of MoMA New York, held William Eggleston’s solo exhibition in 1976, he first bring out the word 「Faithful Documents」. This exhibition had caused the revolution of contemporary photography. Since then, the contemporary photography plays the role that more than document or just family record.

「Faithful Documents—Japanese Contemporary Photography」is not only wants to introduce the Japanese contemporary photography but also to bring in a new aspect for Taiwan image culture reference.

中平卓馬 NAKAHIRA Takuma 1938-
NAKAHIRA Takuma and 森山大道 are the master who lead the trend of Japanese contemporary photography. NAKAHIRA Takuma’s photo, the viewer will be moved from its strong Asia color, moisture , and the subtle melancholy of Japan.

 
本城直季  HONJYO Naoki 1978-
HONJYO Naoki’ s master piece was recently collected by Metropolitan Museum of New York . He likes to challenge viewer with brand new way of seeing and being seen in his work.

 


蜷川實花   NINAGAWA Mika
NINAGAWA Mika’s works full of the passion color, strong visual style and the symbol of female, such as flower and fish. And, these characters of NINAGAWA Mika’s photo express her personal feeling ultimately.

 
田口和奈  Taguchi Kazuna 1979-
Taguchi Kazuna was invited to participate Taipei Biennale in 2006. Taguchi Kazuna covers issues like the nature of photography, the relationship between painting and photography, and the relationship between the photographer and the shooting object etc.