DEPARTURES CULTURE
DEPARTURES CULTURE TAIWAN TODAY 50 Above: Tina Keng, whose eponymous gallery hosted painter Jenny Chen’s recent solo exhibition Order in Chaos, below are active at the highest end of the market, with US0-million-plus acquisition power, and, unlike most of their Asian peers who tend to stick to the artists they know, Taiwanese collectors are curious, open-minded and ready to embrace the new. It was this educated, deep-pocketed collecting base that led to the arrival of Taipei Dangdai, an international contemporary art fair, in 2019. “There is a truly great culture of appreciation here that has been passed down from generation to generation,” says the fair’s co-director, Robin Peckham. He says the long-established art market has been reinvigorated by the arrival of a second, and even third generation of young collectors who are looking for art from around the world while cultivating homegrown talents at the same time. In addition to introducing the latest contemporary artists represented by the world’s top galleries to Taiwan, Peckham believes the fair can also turn the spotlight on local artists who deserve global recognition. However, despite the presence of leading galleries such as David Zwirner and Esther Schipper, the strict quarantine rules have again stifled the fair this year and visitor numbers were not especially high. Eslite Gallery was one of the local participants in the fair. Established in 1989, it was one of the first galleries to show works by the internationally renowned artists Cai Guo-Qiang and Liu Xiaodong. While gallery director Emily Chao believes that Taipei Dangdai has brought an influx of valuable international art to Taiwan, she insists that, as a Taiwanese gallery, creating a unique identity is far more important than chasing international recognition. In early August, when many Western galleries were closed for the summer holiday, Eslite opened an exhibition of anime and manga interpreted by young Taiwanese and Japanese artists. In addition to addressing the Asian fascination with anime, the exhibition also showed the gallery’s desire to align itself with the younger generation; Eslite even trademarked the exhibition title, Animamix, with eyes toward extending the concept in future years. A few kilometres north, another veteran gallerist, Tina Keng, has recently staged a solo exhibition by New York-based Taiwanese artist Jenny Chen. Focusing on globally renowned Chinese masters such as Sanyu and Zao Wou-ki as well as nurturing local talent including Su Menghong and Wu Tianzhang, Keng is extremely proud of Taiwan’s position in the international art market. “Although the auctions were held in Hong Kong,” she says of sales both past and recent, “over 50 per cent of the works were purchased by the Taiwanese.” Like most gallerists, Keng and Zhao both admit that Taiwan has been somewhat slow to take part in the fierce competition of the international art market, despite the FROM TOP: COURTESY TINA KENG GALLERY, ANPIS WANG
© ESLITE GALLERY (2) “There is a truly great culture of appreciation here that has been passed down from generation to generation” – ROBIN PECKHAM strength of its artists and collectors. With this in mind, some of the local art-world notables campaigned the Taiwanese government, which finally reduced the tax on works of art from six to 1.2 per cent in April 2021. Still significantly higher than Hong Kong’s 0.5 per cent, it should nevertheless go a long way toward encouraging galleries and collectors to hone in on the island. It’s not just the art market that is thriving here: the cultural scene, writ large, is booming. Just a few days after Pelosi’s visit, Taipei’s mayor, Ko Wen-je, inaugurated the long-awaited TPAC – the Taipei Performing Arts Center, designed by the Pritzker Prize-winner Rem Koolhaas and his business partner David Gianotten. Koolhaas’s design was inspired by his culinary experience at the Shilin Night Market, a nearby international foodie destination, and TPAC is a delightfully futuristic-looking building with three geometrically shaped performance spaces cantilevered over the public space, allowing the centre to blend in with the vibrant street life of Shilin. On the opening day, TPAC showcased a world premiere composed by Taiwanese composer Nan-Chang Chien and performed by the Taipei Symphony, as well as Left: Cai Guo-Qiang’s Day and Night (209), gunpowder on paper, at Eslite Gallery a theatrical rendering of the story of the seventh-century Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang by Venice Golden Lion-winning film director Tsai Mingliang; as well as a dance musical which waltzed, tangoed and boogied through Taiwan’s past and present, including the 2019 legalisation of same-sex marriage. It was a blowout celebration – and one backed with strong words from TPAC CEO Austin Wang, who said, “Taipei is the most open and free metropolis in the Chinese-speaking world, where artists can create without concern for censorship.” He went on to thank Pelosi for the unexpected international publicity at a time when strict quarantine regulations still largely kept international journalists from visiting the island. TPAC belongs to a larger entity which also includes the Toyo Itodesigned NPAC in Taichung and the Francine Houben-designed Weiwuying in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. While they all have their own distinctive architectural features and programmes, these venues all share the same ambition: namely, global outreach. They don’t just invite leading performers to Taiwan, they also actively seek out and employ local talents to co-produce programmes with international partners. When compared to other Chinese-speaking regions where cultural collaboration has been hampered by epidemics or political restrictions, Taiwan’s open policy is already reaping significant international rewards, with international co-productions planned for both Taiwan and abroad in the coming years. It’s an exciting moment for Taiwan, perched as it is in one of the world’s most interesting corners. Don’t be surprised if, in a few years’ time, it has emerged as one of Asia’s major art capitals and a standout in the global cultural scene. 51 DEPARTURES
