Asian Art Report: January 2007 - Contd...
ASIAN ARTISTS ABROAD
LI JIN: Eat Drink Man Woman
Haines Gallery, San Francisco – my old stomping ground – is presenting Li Jin this month. We have become familiar with these fantastic scrolls fusing traditional elements of calligraphy and soft watercolor washes and scenes of domestic China with a kind of ‘jovial irreverence’ locally at Sydney’s Ray Hughes Gallery. “Colorful, playful, and thoroughly postmodern, the texts in these paintings are derivatives of the titles and allude to a larger narrative at play within the image. Jin’s work combines characteristics of the New Literati school, led by artists such as Zhu Xin Jian and Zhou Jing Xin with elements of the avant-garde, as seen in the oil paintings of Fang Li Jun and Zhang Xiao Gang.” (Haines) Showing 18 January through 24 February, for more visit www.hainesgallery.com - a super gallery in a super city with a strong Asian connection.
Ho Tzu Nyen: Singapore to Berlin
“Sparwasser HQ (the Offensive for Contemporary Art and Communication, Berlin) is launching its new program called The Glowing Whistle Festival. The first artist involved will be Ho Tzu Nyen who will present his last project Bohemian Rhapsody, a film recently produced for the Singapore Biennale. The film is shot in the City Hall, the former Supreme Court of Singapore. Ho Tzu Nyen's work, based on Queen's well-known 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody, is simultaneously a court room drama (young men being sentenced to death), a documentary of its own production as well as a vehicle that incites the spectators' participation in an exercise of mental karaoke. By utilizing the exhibition space as a stage to accommodate moments of authenticity - or a scripted choreography of ideas - we suggest with the festival to look at different artistic positions working within performance and other 'staged' productions.” Showing through 11 March visit http://www.sparwasserhq.de (listing courtesy Asian Art Archive)
The Paradox of Polarity: Contemporary Art from Central Asia
Bose Pacia Gallery, New York, presents this exhibition curated by Leeza Ahmady as part of her ongoing project “The Taste of Others” intended at promoting and unifying the largely unknown and scattered artists of Central Asia, a region comprising of five nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. This region has begun to attract global attention, namely because of its strategic location as a neighbor of the Middle East and also because of its abundance of natural resources. The Paradox of Polarity is a small survey of the art flourishing in Central Asia today, and it is the first time these fifteen artists have been shown in NYC. Ahmady, born in Afghanistan, is currently the Managing Director of Asian Contemporary Art Week, at the Asia Society. Check out her showing at www.bosepacia.com until 17 February hit google for more on ‘The Taste of Others’ – an interesting journey!
Interpreting Indonesian History
The colonial period, the Japanese occupation, the revolution and Indonesian independence all left their traces in the Indonesian cities. “The Past – The forgotten Time”, organized by Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta takes the work of six Indonesian artists to the Netherlands for a show at Artoteek Den Haag, Denneweg. Including the work of Irwan Ahmett, Eko Nugroho, Yuli Prayitno, Agus Suwage, Prilla Tania and Wimo Ambala Bayang this exhibition explores visual aspects of this decolonization through comics, videos, photos, paintings and objects. “The artists interpret scientific studies, which are part of the research program Indonesia across Orders: ‘Street images: Decolonization and changing symbolism of Indonesian urban culture between the 1930s and 1960s’, a program by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. New authorities often tried to destroy the symbols of the previous authority figures, and replace them with new ones, in order to embed new identities in culture and society and to visualize them in the cities’ outward appearances. Thus, street names were changed, monuments were replaced, and buildings were given a different function and were used by different people. The cities’ inhabitants occupied public space that in colonial times was not accessible to them.” These Indonesian artists, through their art, often use a similar guerilla engagement with the city, its history and cultural memory. An 80 page catalogue accompanies this exhibition and the project has a long list of supporters. Showing through 28 January, for more visit www.cemetiartfoundation.org
RESIDENCIES: NEWS & GRABS
Call for Proposals: Residency at the Ningbo Art Museum, China
Since 2005, the Ningbo Art Museum and Artist Residence Program has invited international artists to participate. Eight furnished high-ceiling studios are available (each with a private garden) fully equipped with kitchen, bathroom, internet and laundry facilities. They are open to artists working in traditional media or contemporary formats such as video, multimedia presentation, installation, earth art, performance, as well as curators, critics, and researchers. Residencies are broken into three terms. Application deadline for the next round is Term 2 due 23 April 2007 for a residency period 8 May – 8 July 2007. The third term is October – December. For more visit Website: http://www.nma.org.cn
Call for Applications: ComPeung Artist-in-Residence Program 2007
ComPeung has revamped its artist-in-residence program and website. It is the first non-governmental artist-in-residence program in Thailand and was founded early last year by art professionals who strongly believe that places that defy the mainstream "obsession" with art commerce are needed. ComPeung aspires to be a place that experiments with, and questions the role of art and the interdependence of the artist and socity. Located just outside of Chiang Mai (Doi Saket), ComPeung invites interested artists to submit their proposals for a residency. For more visit http://www.compeung.org.
Call for Applications: De Appel Curatorial Training Program 2007/2008
De Appel is a contemporary Arts Centre, located in the heart of Amsterdam. Over its 25 years it has been operating, it has been running its renowned Curatorial Training Program for ten of those years. In September 2007, the new version of their 8-month long Curatorial Program will start. This year an international selection committee, chaired by Ann Demeester, director of de Appel and Head of the program, selects about 6 participants of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. Applications are currently open and close end of January. For more visit www.deappel.nl
Call for Applications: Rijksakademie Residency January - December 2008
The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam is a working and meeting place for young professional artists from all over the world. Fifty studios are available for resident artists who can work for one or two years on research, projects and production. A work period at the Rijksakademie is most valuable with three to five years professional experience, following an art study program. Each year approximately 25 artists are given residencies. Artists can apply online for residencies in January to December 2008. The deadline is 1 February 2007. For more visit http://www.rijksakademie.nl
BAROMETER: BIENNALES, FAIRS & AWARDS
While the Cairo Biennale continues through January, we turn to the next on the calendar, the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art scheduled to open 1 March. ‘The main project of the Biennale will be hosted by three exhibition spaces in the Russian capital: the former Lenin Museum, the Schusev State Museum of Architecture and a new space at the TSUM Shopping Center (before it is put into operation). The total exhibition space will be approximately 10,000 sq m. Unlike the First Moscow Biennale, the international team of curators will present a number of shows produced by individuals instead of a common collective project. All projects share the common theme of “Footnotes”, exploring ideas of geopolitics, markets and amnesia, and together will present more than 80 artists.’ (listing courtesy Asian Art Archive calendar) For more visit http://www.moscowbiennale.ru/english
2006 Taipei Arts Awards
The Taipei Fine Arts Awards, an annual contest held by the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Taipei Fine arts Museum under the supervision of the Taipei City Government … yikes! … gives expression to the vitality and progress of Taiwanese contemporary art. As their press announcement says, “Using a competitive approach, the exhibition is intended to offer a feeling for the pulse of contemporary art, and encourage artists possessing extensive potential, innovation, and vision via the professional museum mechanism.” A total of 22 artists were selected as Taipei Arts Awards finalists for 2006, whose average age is under 30, spanning video, installation, photography, and painting. The winners of The Taipei Fine Arts Awards are Jen Ta-hsien, Chen Chih-chien, Chen Wan-jen, Huang Pei-ying and Hsieh Mu-chi. The finalists are on show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan until 4 March. For more visit http://www.tfam.gov.tw
Dragonair Emerging Chinese Artist Awards 2006 Exhibition
The Dragonair Emerging Chinese Artist Awards (DECAA) 2006 is the second installment of the competition organized by Art Scene China and sponsored by Hong Kong's Dragonair. The top 20 artists were selected from over 1,100 applicants from China and internationally. Chen Jiao, only 23 years old, was awarded the Golden Dragon Award winner and the Silver Dragon Award was awarded to 25-year-old Yang Fan. The Viewers' Choice Award went to He Juan. An exhibition of the finalist is on view at Art Scene Warehouse, Shanghai until 31 January. Visit http://www.artscenewarehouse.com if you want to check out more hot young things from China …
NEWS: MUSEUMS & MOVEMENT
The latest bible, Indonesian Contemporary Art Now was launched at Nadia Gallery, Jakarta this month, a book by Marc Bollansee and Enin Supriyanto published by SNP Editions. Nadia Gallery have presented an exhibition to coincide with the book launch which continues through 23 January. For more contact http://www.nadigallery.com
The Fukuoka Asian Art Museum online database
The 2020 permanent collection pieces of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum collected from 21 Asian countries and regions can now be searched through the museum's new online database. Search the collection at http://faam.city.fukuoka.jp/search/index.php?lang=en
Kidlat Tahimik @ Lopez
The Philippine’s Lopez Memorial Museum’s contribution to the Museum Consortium Project, ‘Zero-In’, will present a talk by Kidlat Tahimik, renowned Filipino filmmaker on 20 January from 2 – 4pm. Tahimik will speak about art and technology and the compatibility of new and old practices. How does one sustain the other and where does this lead us in terms of film practice and education in the future?
Introductory Talks on Arts Administration
Gradually we are seeing more courses and seminars starting to pop up around Asia encouraging professional practice, such as the Ateneo University in the Philippines initiative in partnering with La Trobe and Singapore’s La Salle joining forces with Sotheby’s last year. The latest is Hong Kong Arts Development Council presenting a series of twelve introductory talks from 16 January through February, catering to the arts community and general public. Perhaps with a little too much focus on the performing arts, nevertheless I see this as part of HKs growing push to position itself as a hub of the region, the talks neatly coinciding with the ever-popular cultural festival in January. For more http://www.hkadc.org.hk
|
