Taiwan

TECRO and IA&A Celebrate Contemporary Art from Taiwan at Twin Oaks

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On February 3, 2018, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) and International Arts & Artists (IA&A) held an opening reception for the exhibition What do you see? — Meet Taiwan Contemporary Art. The reception was hosted by Ambassador and Mrs. Stanley Kao at Twin Oaks Estate, the government of the Republic of China’s property in Washington, DC.

As a place of history and elegance, Twin Oaks has played a crucial role in promoting the R.O.C.-U.S. relationship for more than 8 decades. To celebrate the 130th anniversary of Twin Oaks, TECRO is hosting an exhibition of contemporary art from Taiwan that represents a dialogue between the estate and modern visual arts. What do you see? — Meet Taiwan Contemporary Art showcases five Taiwanese artists’ works from the collection of Art Bank, Taiwan.

During the opening reception, Ambassador Kao welcomed guests, which included art leaders, artists, collectors, diplomats, and others. Ambassador Kao made remarks on the history of the Twin Oaks estate, the purpose of the Art Bank, Taiwan program, and the role of arts in the Taiwan-U.S. relationship. In his comments, IA&A’s President and Founder David Furchgott highlighted the value of cultural exchange in the visual arts and creative fields. Finally, Yan-Huei Chen, the curator of What do you see? — Meet Taiwan Contemporary Art, introduced the exhibition and her work with Art Bank, Taiwan. Following the remarks, guests were invited to enjoy the reception and continue exploring the exhibition.

What do you see? — Meet Taiwan Contemporary Art

The exhibition What do you see? — Meet Taiwan Contemporary Art will be held from February 3, 2018, to June 30, 2018, at TECRO’s Twin Oaks Estate. The six-month long event showcases artwork from five Taiwanese artists on the subject of reality and the ways in which we interpret our reality through sight and language. The exhibition, which includes paintings and sculpture works, hopes to create a dialogue with local artists and to foster cultural exchange and collaboration between Taiwanese artists and their international peers.

This marks the first time that works from Art Bank, Taiwan will be shown in Washington, DC. A program under the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Art Bank aims to promote artistic creation and the cultivation of Taiwanese artists through a public collection program. Government agencies and private companies are encouraged to rent artwork from Art Bank for display in public places in order to raise appreciation for the arts, increase the circulation of artwork and invigorate the art market in Taiwan.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan) and jointly organized by TECRO, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and Art Bank, Taiwan.

Art in Context: Taiwan

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On February 23, 2017, IA&A hosted Art in Context: Taiwan, a discussion on the social and political conditions affecting artists and cultural organizations in contemporary Taiwan. The event was held at IA&A’s Hillyer Art Space during Taiwan-based artist Pin-Chieh Tseng’s solo exhibition, Soliloquize. 

The conversation, which was moderated by Sarah Tanguy, a curator with the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program, featured voices from the art, policy, and academic worlds, including Pin-Chieh Tseng, an emerging visual and installation artist from Taiwan, Jack Yeh-Chin Kuei, the Director of Taiwan Academy at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. (TECRO), and Dr. Ying-Chen Peng, an associate professor of art history at American University. Over the course of the discussion, panelists touched on issues such as the role of government patronage in the arts, gender, the creative economy in Taiwan, and the changing perceptions and representations of Taiwan on regional and global stages. Notably, Peng and Kuei highlighted the impact of Taiwan’s long history of colonization on shifting notions of cultural authenticity and identity on the island. In tandem with these political changes, art forms such as impressionism or traditional ink painting gained or lost prominence depending on the policies of ruling powers. Turning their attention to the contemporary conditions influencing art production, the panelists compared models of institutional support for the arts in the U.S. and in Taiwan.

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A project of IA&A’s Cultural Exchange Programs, the International Partnership Initiative champions international work between American arts institutions and their counterparts abroad by creating a forum for discussion and discovery among leaders in the artistic, academic, diplomatic, and policy communities. The Initiative’s research and programming facilitates cross-cultural understanding and builds stronger ties through global partnerships in the arts.