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CHOU SHIH HSIUNG‘s large-scale installation 100 Faces of Youth (2019), presented by Each Modern gallery, was shunted off, rather unusually, toward the storage area of the fair. The location highlighted the guerilla nature of the piece, which from the back is tagged with graffiti portraits drawn by the artist, and features a moving “oil painting”—a large acrylic frame filled with the viscous liquid—among dozens of oil drums collected from the artist’s family business. All photos by Ysabelle Cheung for ArtAsiaPacific.
Ever since the announcement of Taipei Dangdai in early 2018, onlookers have speculated about Taiwan’s serious, but low-profile, collectors, and their interest in acquiring art beyond homegrown talent, antiquities and Old Masters. Nevertheless, the fair’s organizers have remained hopeful about the untapped potential in the area, with director Magnus Renfrew being one of the most vocal about Taiwan’s engagement in the art market.
Unfortunately, the fair’s opening coincided with a bout of inclement weather and media frenzy surrounding Art Stage Singapore’s last-minute cancellation. Yet, despite intermittent cloudbursts threatening both the skies and galleries’ finances, the fair drew a healthy crowd on its VIP preview day, with some booths so packed that it was difficult to shuffle around, let alone view the art. Curators from Asian and European institutions were present as well as discerning collectors, and Taiwanese galleries seemed eager to greet those who had traveled to their shores. Touted as a regional fair, there were 90 galleries across its main Galleries sector, the Young Galleries sector, Solos (single artist presentations) and Salon, which offered artworks priced at or below USD 8,000.
The presence of Taipei-based galleries and Taiwanese artists was strong. Several booths featured the work of Taiwanese artist Chou Yu-Cheng, who in 2018 had participated in the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art. Taipei’s Liang Gallery focused on recent works by Hsu Chia-Wei and included the artist’s five-channel video work that had been censored at the 12th Shanghai Biennale. Eslite, Project Fulfill Art Space, Michael Ku Gallery, Soka Art, Double Square Gallery and Each Modern all showed Taiwanese artists.
The 20 Western galleries participating are claiming a major stake in the Asian market. This included Sean Kelly, which opened its first project space in Taipei just before the fair’s opening; and Perrotin, whose juggernaut expansion across Asia shows no sign of slowing down.
While there is still an air of skepticism around the fair—which might be quelled by the yet-to-be-announced sales figures—it has drawn commercial interest, perhaps bolstered by the interpersonal connections of its committee members, which include Isa Lorenzo, Edouard Malingue and Patricia Crockett.
Ysabelle Cheung is ArtAsiaPacific’s managing editor.
Taipei Dangdai is on view at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center until January 20, 2019.
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