Taipei Art tripping

CEBU, Philippines — Feeling insecure about the foreign art market?  Yes, it can be quite intimidating.  The American and European galleries can be quite high brow and hi-faluting.  Not to mention extremely expensive, virtually certain to break the bank.  But for great introduction to non-Filipino contemporary art, perhaps a visit to Art Taipei might be worth a shot.

The four-day event is guaranteed to gently acquaint newbies to a more cosmopolitan art scene than what’s available in the Philippine isles. And no worries – even though it’s labeled as the “Taipei” art fair, one isn’t limited to just the disputed territory of Taiwan.  Here, the enthusiast can expand his horizons even to South East Asian, Japanese, Korean and Russian artists, as galleries from these climes head over to Taiwan to attract the domestic market.

Art Taipei 2018 was no exception, with spectacular concepts and stimulating discussions designed to pique any art lover’s interest.  The range and breadth of Asian artists were in full display, and wont to capture the hearts (and wallets) of innocent bystanders.

One universal example was a painting by Wang Xiaobo, a boy rendered in lurid red, astride a pure white horse set off by an aquamarine horizon and crimson fields.  All the members of our multi-racial party uttered a collective gasp upon encountering the work, united in recognition of a stunning piece.

Local artist Xavier Wei is a constant feature in the fairs, and this year was no exception. The figurative/impressionist painter has a very homoerotic vibe to his works, even though his male nudes are interspersed with female subjects. Small works of 12x12 inches retailed for 20,000 NTD (around Php30,000), and it was so tempting to just nab a small, portable piece and lug it immediately back home. No need to worry about shipping a huge canvas!

Female artist Liao Ying Hsi was a revelation, with an admirable ability to manipulate heavy metal and deliver strong, sculptural pieces that could easily dominate building lobbies. The Taichung native seems to have no difficulty in hoisting steel structures and rendering them into polished and sophisticated conversation pieces.

For shock value, there was Australian sculptor Sam Jinks, with true-to-life sculptures of unnaturally alive humans.  Every detail of his hyper-realist feats was employed to miniature perfection, each fingernail, each wrinkle on the soles of the feet, each bluish vein on porcelain skin. His “Tattooed Woman,” for example, a geriatric female with exposed breasts and tattoos to adorn them, received less attention than his “Kneeling Woman,” but inch by startling inch, it was a product of the same genius that easily propelled the prostrate blonde kneeler to camera and Instagram fame.

Malaysian artist Nik M. Shazmie, carried by G13 Gallery, was a new personal discovery, with an intensely drawn blue-skinned, red-haired doppelgangers surrounded by fish that could be coined as shark swordtails. One could imagine that his painting, entitled “Hidden Threats,” could dominate any contemporary living room.

What a pleasant surprise to bump into a huge toy sculpture by Filipino artist Ronald Ventura, as his vicious black bulldog emasculated into cuteness held court in a prominent spot of the huge venue.  That particular Taipei gallery carried Kaws, Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara toys amongst its offerings, but Ronald Ventura’s pug, holding fast to a golden dog bone, was the centerpiece.  Truly a feat for any Filipino to be proud about.

The Japanese presence was strong, and quite a number of galleries featured Yayoi Kusama and the ubiquitous Murakami. But notable amongst these Japanese artists were sculptor Naoki Shimoyama and visual artist Chihiro Nagashima.

Shimoyama’s wood camphor creations are, for every inch of lovingly-chiseled feature, sumptuous delights to behold.  For example, in her “A common continuity as the Natural Reason and Result,” two sculpted mutts are cleverly fashioned into a single heart, with a result that almost (but not quite) shocked, but certainly captivated. 

Nagashima, in turn, has an anime feel to his works, featuring wide-eyed waifs that we commonly see in escapist Tokyo, interspersed with dragons and Easter eggs. Think Dragon Ball Z and Astro-boy genre.

A constant favorite is young Japanese artist Shoichi Okumura, whom this writer first encountered in Art Kaohsiung two years ago. This time, an entire wall was devoted by “Imavision,” his Taiwanese gallery, to the 60’s electric vibe of his heroines. Olumura’s full use of the lighter spectrum of the color palette allowed the artist the ability to mesh eclectic elements of flowers, babes, hanging laundry and jalopies in one spectacular mishmash.

And yet, there were many more, too many to individually mention, much less notice.  The sheer number of galleries and artists would ordinarily be impossible to sustain even an art addict’s attention.  But the fair is neither overwhelming nor draining. At the end of the exposure trip, there was still definitely enough energy for a refreshing hotpot meal in Taipei 101 beside the International Convention Center, where the fair is usually held.

And guess what?  The rumor mill is going crazy with a new art fair to be launched in January of next year, Taipei Dangdai.  Magnus Renfrew, the former director of the Hong Kong Art Basel fair (inarguably Asia’s most prestigious art event), has upped and marked Taiwan as a hotbed of creativity, and together with banking giant UBS, will propose Dangdai as an alternative fair to art-philes. Truly, many exciting things are brewing in this island nation. 

So is it time to book tickets to Taiwan?  It wouldn’t hurt to make plans. After all, even if one is unsure about whether to invest in non-Filipino art, the food alone in this friendly isle is worth the trip.  Emptying one’s pockets on great food isn’t that bad an alternative to falling in love with regional artists (which one could very well still decide on after the trip). Art would just be icing on the confection.