Ocula Report Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber 15 Mar 2019 : Stephanie Bailey for Ocula In Meiro Koizumi's three-channel video installation, The Angels of Testimony (2019), the central frame features an interview with Hajime Kondo about his time as a solider of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The conversation centres on war crimes perpetrated in China, including the beheading of Chinese prisoners for...
Ocula Conversation Diana Campbell Betancourt Diana Campbell Betancourt is a curator working predominantly across South and Southeast Asia. Since 2013 she has been the founding artistic director of the Samdani Art Foundation and chief curator of the Dhaka Art Summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a transnational art event that has grown in size and scale ever since its first edition in 2012. Backed by...
Ocula Report Chinternet Ugly at Manchester’s Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art 7 Mar 2019 : Mike Pinnington for Ocula China, home to 802 million internet users, is subject to sophisticated online censorship. This shrouded state of affairs, unsurprisingly perhaps, serves to reinforce stereotypes around conformity elsewhere. Any realm, digital or otherwise, subject to such strict scrutiny must necessarily be bland and uncritical, right? I was mulling over such...
Hanart TZ Gallery has been a pioneer in exploring the Chinese cultural map for over 30 years, and has represented and worked with numerous artists now internationally prominent. The Gallery opened in November in 1983 with the mission of introducing new Chinese contemporary art both to the Asia region and internationally. The Gallery soon became a magnet for both established and emerging artists from the Greater China areas of Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as the international diaspora. As such the Gallery has served as a significant link with the international art world; its role in landmark exhibitions, such as The Stars 10 Years (1989) and China’s New Art Post-1989 (1993, toured until 1998), and Power of the Word (1999, toured until 2002) are iconic.
Other significant shows that Hanart TZ Gallery has organized include: international exhibitions of monumental sculptures by the celebrated Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming at South Bank Centre in London (1991), Place Vendome in Paris (1997-1998) and Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (2003); A Strange Heaven, Photography from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong (Europe tour, 2003); Liu Guosong (Liu Kuo-sung) solo exhibition at the Palace Museum, Beijing (2007); and Zhang Xiaogang, Fang Lijun, Feng Mengbo joint exhibition at Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2008). In 2010, the Gallery opened a new exhibition space, Hanart Square, for featuring shows of experimental art and installations.
It is our belief that publication and intellectual discourse are critical to encouraging creativity and disseminating information, and over the years the Gallery has worked with many writers and curators, and has produced over a hundred catalogues. In 2015, Hanart TZ Gallery published a major book, 3 Parallel Artworlds: 100 Art Things from Chinese Modern History, featuring texts by fourteen international scholars and interpretations of one hundred Chinese artworks from the past century. In recent years the Gallery has extended its focus to building links and exchanges with artists and scholars of the Pan-Asia region.
Ocula Photolog West Bund Art & Design 2018 9 November 2018 'With a strong selection of returning exhibitors, the 2018 edition welcomes 87 galleries in the Galleries section, among which 39 are participating for the first time.'– West Bund Art & Design (8–11 November 2018).
Ocula Conversation Inga Svala Thórsdóttir Artists Since meeting in Iceland in 1990, Inga Svala Thórsdóttir and Wu Shanzhuan have developed a cosmic database of signs, words and forms as a result of their continual and unbiased questioning of the nature of things. 'Our studio was basically a piece of A4 paper,' explains Thórsdóttir, recounting the initial years of their collaboration. From this...
Ocula Photolog Art Basel 2018 15 June 2018 'The anchor of Art Basel's show is its Galleries sector. Art Basel 2018 edition welcomes 16 galleries that join the fair for the first time, further rejuvenating the show and giving younger galleries the opportunity to present their program alongside today's leading established galleries.' –Art Basel (14–17 June 2018).
Ocula Photolog Art Basel in Hong Kong 2018 29 March 2018 'The sixth edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong brought together a uniquely global mix of galleries spanning six continents, outstanding artworks by established and new artists from across theworld and a singular gathering of international collectors and institutions.' –Art Basel in Hong Kong (29–31 March 2018).
Related Press Beer with a Painter: Emily Cheng Hyperallergic : 8 February 2019 I feel quieted in Emily Cheng's studio — to the point where I wondered, afterwards, if I'd even posed questions. A fountain is gurgling, and she has set out beer and snacks. The paintings invite reflection more than commentary. I had visited her studio more than 10 years ago, and at the time felt that she was a painter whose work fell outside...
Related Press Art Insider: Johnson Chang Hong Kong Tatler : 27 September 2018 With his thick-rimmed glasses, Mandarin-collar jacket and broad smile, Johnson Chang is an instantly recognisable figure at many of Hong Kong's art events—but he's famous for far more than his fashion sense.
Related Press Art Basel 2018 Round-Up Reports Buoyant Sales At Core Event Artlyst : 18 June 2018 Art Basel Switzerland which is always an important barometer in the art market has reported that some of the world's premier galleries experienced remarkable sales across all levels of the market.The fair in Basel closed on Sunday, June 17 2018, amid reports of significant sales to private collections and institutions by galleries across all...
Related Press CHEN CHIEH-JEN NAMED ARTIST OF THE YEAR AT 12TH AWARD OF ART CHINA ArtAsiaPacific : 23 May 2018 On May 21, Taiwanese artist and filmmaker Chen Chieh-jen received the prestigious Artist of the Year honor at the Award of Art China (AAC) ceremony in Beijing. In its 12th year, AAC is an annual award founded by Chinese art media group Artron, recognizing the best of contemporary art within Greater China. Chen was presented with a trophy for his...
Related Video & Audio Illuminated Presence: Yeh Shih-Chiang + Yeh Wei-li Hong Kong Art Centre : 22 October 2015 In Illuminated Presence, Hong Kong Arts Centre presents a powerful and moving exhibition of works by the late Taiwan master painter and calligrapher YEH Shih-Chiang (1926-2012). The exhibition is accompanied by a new series of interpretative works by photography-based artist YEH Wei-Li from Taiwan, created in response to Yeh Shih-chiang’s...
Related Video & Audio Johnson Tsong-zung Chang, Curator, Director of Hanart TZ Gallery Artshare : 25 August 2015 In this video Artshare.com talks with leading expert and Chinese contemporary art pioneer, Johnson Chang Tsong-zung. We discuss his gallery, Hanart TZ, his views on the market, on the Hong Kong art scene and much more.
