By Trista di Genova
The China Post
There’s a motion, there’s a move, a trend.
But what’s the chord? Where’s the heart?
Saturday night is opening night for “The Wild East” art show, in which twenty-four local artists have come together to show work inspired by the theme of “celebrating the clash between East and West civilizations,” as organizers put it.
Art lovers and collectors will find wall-to-wall art, but throughout the evening there will also be wine, food, live music, artists on hand to introduce their work, portraits done on-site by Beryl Chen and Alice Wei, the screening of Taiwanese artist Kenbo Liao’s work — and firedancing at midnight.
The hauntingly beautiful music by Angel & The Macedonian Music Band will be featured, as well as local favorite free-flow spoken word poets Babylon (Canadian Zach Touzin) and The Shaman (Taiwanese-Texan Elliot Tsai).
Overall, the collective is excited about what promises to be the party of the year, and a landmark event for the local arts community.
“Taiwan is making art hip,” says the show’s private sponsor, Canadian entrepreneur Ross Kenneger in an interview Tuesday. “This show is not foreign-led. Never forget: Taiwan is a tiger; it has its own identity that moves us all. What’s happening here is the center of cool, and artists are doing it for themselves. We have put together a massive event. Forget Carnegie’s — this is it. This has not been done before.”
What makes the show’s venue unique is that it is held at the Beat Studio, an independently run residence-turned-gallery founded by British artist Timothy Nathan Joel and Canadian Daniel DesJardins, overlooking Minchuan park in leafy Songshan district.
“This is the start of something that always has always been what should be,” Tim said the other night. “We’ve been here five years and it’s the right time. The time is now; efforts have fused together. We keep saying how if you build it, they will come, and that’s how it is. It’s always about what you do and who you are. And if you believe it, people will come. I’ve always liked the saying, ‘Some dream, some do, some do both.”
The work is a mix of artists who are showing their work for the first time in a gallery show, as well as an impressive lineup of those who have already made a name for themselves, such as Hack, the editor of Discontinued Magazine, “Stig” Hansen, Stuart Hamby, and Wu Bai.
“The show is a chance to meet people, be introduced to other artists; a short of launching pad, in a sense,” Tim said.
“Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche put ideas to it; the Romantics put a feel to it; the Beats brought it back into atomic energy; Taipei put a move on,” Kenneger lionized.
What: “Wild East” Art Show and 886 Magazine launch party
Where: Beat Studio Taipei, No. 14, 4F, Fujin Street, Lane 359, Alley 2, Taipei
Reservations are recommended for VIP viewing of the artwork, Saturday, 7-9 p.m.: 09 39 791 245.
When: Saturday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. – 1 a.m.
No cover charge.
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