Established in Taipei in 2009, TKG+ supports experimental, innovative, and socially-engaged contemporary art in Taiwan. TKG+ encourages aesthetic approaches that combine diverse media and attempt to connect different art forms to initiate dialogues. Similar to the expansiveness entailed by the “+” symbol in TKG+, we desire to discover more promising artists based on TKG’s (Tina Keng Gallery) work in modern art by Chinese artists, and to further explore the qualitative change in art in modern society. For many years, TKG+ has supported emerging Taiwanese artists and promoted budding contemporary art. Furthermore, we strive to extend our exhibitions to the international stage. We are pleased to present for the 2018 West Bund Art & Design: Mit Jai Inn (b. 1960), Hou I-Ting (b. 1979), Charwei Tsai (b. 1980), and Joyce Ho (b. 1983). Working across painting, installation, and video, these artists examine social environment through their unique artistic vocabulary.
Currently active on Thailand’s contemporary art scene, Mit Jai Inn is famous for his variegated abstract paintings and is especially adept at decorating the canvas with neon color dots. His palette may seem feathery, but in fact, it poses a stark contrast to the power found in the actual works. Different from the academic art centered in Bangkok, Mit is opposed to creating within the traditional boundaries. He often invites the viewer to interact with his work. His love for the nation also drives him to actively engage in society with his art. Just as the country itself uses different colors to signify different political factions, the various colors Mit uses can be seen as a metaphor for the factions in the country or the different levels of social class. In particular, the paintings displayed in the form of a flag refer to the Flag of Thailand, while the congruously arranged palette projects the harmonious utopia Mit longs for. In the meantime, both sides of his paintings are bestowed with different structures and can be displayed in various ways, symbolizing Mit’s distinct and undetermined responses to the present social issues. For him, there is no such thing as a fixed system that can provide the best solution to the challenges we are going to face in the future, and this resonates with the unfinished state of his work: everything is still in progress. Mit has made significant contributions to transforming the development of Thailand’s contemporary art. Continuously influencing Thailand’s art scene, Mit’s work has been showcased at Palais de Tokyo, Singapore Art Museum, Mori Art Museum, and 2018 Biennale of Sydney.
Hou I-Ting’s work in recent years has expanded from the discussion on body and space to the relationship between body and its public social surroundings. Hou has a flair for placing female bodies in specific historical contexts to facilitate reconstruction and dialogues. The art series “Twilight Zone” presents how personal values are compromised by commercialization, and how wages are paid based on working hours amidst the production and consumption mechanisms owing to the rapid growth of urban offshore manufacturing industries and full-scale invasion of capitalism into traditional society. Furthermore, she uses embroidery in her work to represent the silent protest of women in their assigned roles as laborers of major offshore manufacturers. This protest is a fight against the consumption system’s dominance over cheap labor, which has already helped establish the endless consumption cycles. At the same time, her photography documents the collective memory of how cities achieve economic growth through labor-intensive industries. Hou has exhibited internationally in Italy, Mexico, China, South Korea, the U.S., and Germany. This year, she is invited to show at the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. Hou’s work is housed in major collections such as the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney, Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts; Taipei Fine Arts Museum; and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts.
Charwei Tsai’s pursuit of the metaphysical Buddhist concept of “emptiness” is a recurring motif in her work. Her signature inscription of the Heart Sutra is an important way for her to meditate and introspect. Her video piece on view this year, Water Moon, is inspired by classic Buddhist scripture. Water Moon shows how everything we deem real is actually as unreal as the moon reflection in the water; reflections may seem real, but they are unattainable in reality. Tsai’s comprehension of emptiness is based on the philosophical notion of “eternity is each passing moment.” Each passing moment serves as a clash between the past and the future and possesses the power to determine how the future unfolds, while continuously repeating this cycle; the world rises and ceases along with people’s thoughts at each moment. Apart from art making, Tsai also founded art magazine Lovely Daze, working as designer, editor, and publisher. Since her participation in the group exhibition J’en Rêve held by the Cartier Foundation in 2005, she has exhibited internationally. Her video series “Hear Her Singing” was featured in the English art magazine, Frieze. Tsai’s work is housed in prominent collections such as the M+ museum in Hong Kong, Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, DSL Collection in Paris, and Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
Joyce Ho’s work often makes use of the everyday fragments and careful observations of unintentional “movements” to manifest the strained relationship between people and reality, along with a sense of aloof distance. Consequently, her work creates an absurd atmosphere around the most ordinary objects through the viewer’s gaze. Such contrast makes it easier for the viewer to enter the alienated space the artist constructs and to look at these daily objects in detail, while consciously contemplating how these objects connect with the fragments of everyday life. By way of illustration, in the video installation Where would we go? the artist shows in life-size an actor doing a 60- second countdown silently. As the figure overlaps with the viewer’s face when fading out, the reflected image in the mirror can be seen as the self-expectations and identification of the person standing in front of the mirror. Joyce Ho has participated in Ars Electronica: Buddha on the Beach in Austria and “Encounters” of Art Basel Hong Kong. She has exhibited internationally in China, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, the U.K. and received critical acclaim. This year, she is invited to the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.
With their own distinctive perspectives, Mit Jai Inn, Hou I-Ting, Charwei Tsai and Joyce Ho strive to engage in social observations. Through their own life experiences, reflections on historical events, and support for global issues, they seek to respond to contemporary social issues. TKG+ hopes to lead the viewer to reflect on the role art plays in different contexts, and also aims to bring more perspectives in contemporary art to the 2018 West Bund Art & Design.