Sullivan+Strumpf, Yavuz Gallery, Artinformal etc.
By A&M

Taipei Dangdai returns for its sophomore edition this week. Its first edition in 2019 brought over 28,000 visitors. This year, the fair is helmed by Magnus Renfrew, Co-Founder and Co-Director, together with new Co-Director Robin Peckham. 99 galleries will be taking part in the main Galleries sector, with most coming from the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the participation from Southeast Asia between the current and previous editions, Renfew says, “We had a solid participation from Southeast Asia last year, and alongside returning galleries such as Yavuz and Sullivan+Strumpf, we are delighted to have newcomers this year such as Artinformal from the Philippines.”

Irfan Hendrian, ‘Reclaimed Objects and Materials 2’, 2019, sculpted paper, 50 x 66 x 10.5cm. Image courtesy of Sullivan+Strumpf.

Sullivan+Strumpf, which has spaces in both Sydney and Australia, will bring to the fair a group of artists from among the 40 established and emerging artists and artist estates they represent. “Taipei Dangdai had a strong first fair, so we wanted to back that up with Sam Jinks, an artist we showed the last time, and introduce some new artists, such as Irfan Hendrian from Indonesia, Kanchana Gupta from Singapore, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Kirsten Coehlo from Australia,” says co-founder Ursula Sullivan. “We felt that Taiwan was a sophisticated audience eager to discover new artists, so that has guided our decision making.”

Other Southeast Asian galleries taking part include Artinformal and Yavuz Gallery. Manila-based Artinformal, established in 2004 by Tina Fernandez with a group of contemporary Filipino artists as an initiative to bring art and its practice closer to the community, will present the works of Philippine visual artist JC Jacinto. Yavuz Gallery, which was established in Singapore in 2010 will bring artists from outside the region: Debra Dawes, Andre Hemer, Julian Meagher, Guy Maestri and Caroline Rothwell.

Handrio, ‘Harmony’, 1980, oil on canvas, 88 x 149cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

Southeast Asian artists will also be represented at the fair by galleries from Taiwan. Renfew says, “We have some excellent presentations of artists from Southeast Asia such as Marina Cruz being presented by Mindset Art Center in the Solos Sector and 20th century Indonesian Modern Master, Handrio, being presented by Asia Art Center in the Galleries Sector. Many other participating galleries feature artists from Southeast Asia in their programme.”

Asia Art Center is collaborating with Art Agenda, S.E.A. to bring Handrio, as well as two other Indonesian modern artists Fadjar Sidik and Umi Dachlan. “We've tracked keen interest in the works of modern and post-war Southeast Asian artists amongst Taiwanese and other Asian collectors since the mid-2010s,” says Jefferson Jong, Director of Art Agenda, S.E.A.. “Their acuity in building Asia-focused, art historically-driven art collections mean they are often looking beyond national boundaries at a broader pan-Asian name list of artists. Handrio, one of the most iconoclastic pioneering abstract artists from Indonesia, certainly piques their interest. His works range from USD7,000 to USD25,000 which is still at a very accessible and attractive level.” These Indonesian abstract works will be in conversation with Mono-Ha masters from Asia Art Center Nobuo Sekine, Noriyuki Haraguchi and Susumu Koshimizu, as well as Chinese abstract expressionist Yang Chihung for a comprehensive presentation of post-war avant-garde abstract styles in Asia.

Maya Hewitt, ‘Stay with Me’, 2019, oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 152.5 x 152.5cm. Image courtesy of Nunu Fine Art.

Another Taipei-based gallery Nunu Fine Art will include Southeast Asian art in its line-up through the works of British-Philippine artist Maya Hewitt, in addition to those of Danish artist Kaspar Bonnén, American artists Petah Coyne and Rona Pondick, Irish artist Rodney Dickson and German artist Peter Zimmermann at its booth, as well as Taiwanese artist Kao Ya-Ting at the Salon section. “The expectation of Nunu Fine Art during Taipei Dangdai is to serve as a platform that connects innovative contemporary art from the East to the West,” says founder Nunu Hung. “These artists represent gender and cultural diversity, as well as contemporary issues that we are concerned about. Through presenting extraordinary works from these international artists, Nunu Fine Art aims to bring the audiences at Taipei Dangdai on an unforgettable journey.” Hewitt’s work is priced at approximately USD20,000.

Magnus Renfrew. Photography by Sean Wang, image courtesy of Taipei Dangdai.

Taiwanese collectors —and institutions— have had a sustained interest in Southeast Asian art. “There is a longstanding and deep respect amongst both collectors and institutions with regards to art from Southeast Asia,” says Renfrew. “This interest extends to both modern and contemporary art from the region as well as its cultural production under a wider definition. On an institutional level, Taipei Fine Arts Museum will have an exhibition celebrating the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand during Taipei Dangdai.”

Robin Peckham. Photography by Sean Wang, image courtesy of Taipei Dangdai.

The pride of place that Southeast Asia takes in the fair reflects the country’s relation with the region. “Taipei Dangdai's Ideas programme of talks and screenings this year is titled 'Islands, the Straits between Them’, which refers to Taiwan's intellectual and aesthetic position as a Pacific island occupying a significant patch of ocean between the Japanese archipelago and the Philippine archipelago,” says Peckham. “In line with the Taiwanese government's 'New Southbound Policy’, there is a concerted effort to think of Taiwan within a cultural context that very much includes Southeast Asia. We see this especially in some of the presentations at the fair, like Asia Art Center's group showcase of southeast Asian and Japanese post-war artists by way of producing a historical background for modern and contemporary art of Taiwan. Within the Ideas programme, our documentary film partner Giloo has organised a screening of the film 'Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll’, which is intended to help us think through how popular culture both reflects and becomes a part of our heritage.”

Taipei Dangdai is presented by UBS and held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre, Hall 1 (TaiNEX1). It runs from 17 January to 19 January, with a VIP preview and vernissage on 16 January. For more information, click here.

Click here to read our preview of the inaugural Taipei Dangdai in 2019, and here for our report on the fair.