Reality Impalpable (不確定的真相) is a solo exhibition of works by Chinese artist Li Hui (李暉). Li’s light installations — including one composed of 13,000 LEDs — are meant to serve as a symbol of China’s hectic and rapidly changing society, particularly his hometown of Beijing, which is contrasted with the philosophies of Buddhism and Confucianism.
■ Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA, Taipei), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路39號), tel: (02) 2552-3720. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Admission: NT$50
■ Opening reception on Friday at 6pm. Until June 26
Photo courtesy of MOCA, Taipei
Return to the Essence (返本歸真) surveys Taiwan’s abstract painting scene through the work of five artists: Chu Teh-i (曲德益), Lee Shi-chi (李錫奇), Tsong Pu (莊普), Yang Chi-hung (楊識宏) and Hsueh Pao-shia (薛保瑕).
■ Red Gold Fine Art (赤粒藝術), 15, Ln 116, Da-an Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市大安路一段116巷15號), tel: (02) 8772-5887. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
■ Opening reception on Sunday at 3pm. Until May 29
Modigliani and his Circle showcases works by and documents about Italian figurative painter Amedeo Modigliani and some of his friends and contemporaries, including Moise Kisling and Max Jacob. This is the first exhibition dedicated to Modigliani in Asia.
■ Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 80 Meishuguan Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市美術館路80號), tel: (07) 555-0331. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9am to 5pm. Admission: NT$260
■ Until July 31
Shanghai’s influx of foreign influences toward the end of the 19th century set traditional Chinese ink painting on a new trajectory, as an exhibit of 20 works by 16 artists at 99 Degrees Art Center attempts to show. The pluralistic tradition that evolved from the merging of disparate cultures and artistic styles continues to the present day. The works on exhibit span the past 100 years and include examples by Ren Bonian (任伯年), Wu Changshuo (吳昌碩), Huang Binhong (黃賓虹) and Chang Dai-chien (張大千).
■ 99 Degrees Art Center (99度藝術中心), 5F, 259, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段259號5樓), tel: (02) 2700-3099. Open Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 6pm
■ Until May 29
The Animal’s Soliloquy (動物的獨白) presents a new series of surrealist and psychedelic paintings of animals by Johnny Leo (廖文彬). Leo’s dreamy paintings address environmental degradation.
■ Butchart Contemporary Art Space (布查當代藝術空間), 155, Linong St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市立農街二段155號), tel: (02) 2820-9920. Open daily from 11am to 9:30pm
■ Until May 16
Sound Creature (聲音生物) is an exhibition of sound installations featuring environmental sound artist (wind, waves, water) Wang Fu-jui (王福瑞), cassette tape experimenter (classical music) Chang Yung-ta (張永達) and interactive sound installation guru Hiroko Mugibayashi from Japan, among others.
■ 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 May 8
On a hillside overlooking Taichung are the remains of a village that never was. Half-formed houses abandoned by investors are slowly succumbing to the elements. Empty, save for the occasional explorer. Taiwan is full of these places. Factories, malls, hospitals, amusement parks, breweries, housing — all facing an unplanned but inevitable obsolescence. Urbex, short for urban exploration, is the practice of exploring and often photographing abandoned and derelict buildings. Many urban explorers choose not to disclose the locations of the sites, as a way of preserving the structures and preventing vandalism or looting. For artist and professor at NTNU and Taipei
March 10 to March 16 Although it failed to become popular, March of the Black Cats (烏貓進行曲) was the first Taiwanese record to have “pop song” printed on the label. Released in March 1929 under Eagle Records, a subsidiary of the Japanese-owned Columbia Records, the Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) lyrics followed the traditional seven characters per verse of Taiwanese opera, but the instrumentation was Western, performed by Eagle’s in-house orchestra. The singer was entertainer Chiu-chan (秋蟾). In fact, a cover of a Xiamen folk song by Chiu-chan released around the same time, Plum Widow Missing Her Husband (雪梅思君), enjoyed more
Last week Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, a key advisory position, said in his Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan defense spending should be 10 percent of GDP “at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense.” He added: “So we need to properly incentivize them.” Much commentary focused on the 10 percent figure, and rightly so. Colby is not wrong in one respect — Taiwan does need to spend more. But the steady escalation in the proportion of GDP from 3 percent to 5 percent to 10 percent that advocates
From insomniacs to party-goers, doting couples, tired paramedics and Johannesburg’s golden youth, The Pantry, a petrol station doubling as a gourmet deli, has become unmissable on the nightlife scene of South Africa’s biggest city. Open 24 hours a day, the establishment which opened three years ago is a haven for revelers looking for a midnight snack to sober up after the bars and nightclubs close at 2am or 5am. “Believe me, we see it all here,” sighs a cashier. Before the curtains open on Johannesburg’s infamous party scene, the evening gets off to a gentle start. On a Friday at around 6pm,
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