ART TAIPEI and the APAGA, Asia Pacific Art Gallery Alliance

The Important Support for Maintaining the International Exhibitors of ART TAIPEI APAGA, Asia Pacific Art Gallery Alliance

APAGA, Asia Pacific Art Gallery Alliance, is composed of Taiwan Art Gallery Association, Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Asosiasi Galeri Senirupa Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan Art Dealer’s Association, Galleries Association of Korea, and Art Galleries Association Singapore. The goal of this non-profit organization is to enhance cooperation, communication and exchange information between the gallery associations of Asia-Pacific countries. APAGA has been committed to expanding and researching the art market in the Asia-Pacific region, and to promoting the development of its members in Asia-Pacific region, the US and Europe. The current chairman of the alliance, Oliver Chang, also currently chairman of Taiwan Art Gallery Association, played a role of initiator of APAGA in 2014.

Despite the epidemic and inconvenience of international travel, ART TAIPEI 2021 is still taking place and gathering 32 foreign galleries. The joint forces from APAGA members are essential. ART TAIPEI 2021 concatenates members from Galleries Association of Korea, Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Art Galleries Association Singapore, and Japan Art Dealer’s Association to showcase galleries and artworks from 5 different Asia-Pacific countries/regions and 6 major cities in its offline and online editions. The APAGA section features uJung Gallery, Jung Gallery and Suppoment Gallery from Seoul; LEE&BAE from Busan; Gallery Tsubaki from Tokyo; Hanart TZ Gallery from Hong Kong; and Studio-ID Art Gallery from Singapore.

Hong Kong-based Hanart TZ Gallery presents “Yeh Shih-Chiang + Yeh Wei-Li – Artistic Convergence of Two Generations”. Throughout the years, YEH Shih-Chiang dwelt in deep seclusion and rarely ventured out. He pursued extreme simplicity and isolation almost his entire life, and sought to challenge the boundaries of the two-dimensional picture. He was able to destabilize the boundary between ink and paint with his passionate brushwork. Born in Taiwan, grown up in the United States, Yeh Wei-Li often uses deliberate decorations and light and shadow outlines in real space to set up a stage for moaning monologues or scenes on the negatives. He refers to his art as photography of “planting”, where he painstakingly plants and takes care of the scenes and objects in a space with light filtering through, which he then harvests.

Seoul-based uJung Gallery presents Korean artist Hyunjin Kwon’s solo show. Kwon explores the possibility of color through pure abstraction. Audiences are often moved by her mesmerizing color. The artist uses flow of colors to tell a poem or show dream like images. Another solo show is presented by Busan-based LEE&BAE dedicated to artist Hu Haiying. Graduated from the University of Jingdezhen (China) and majored in Ceramic Pottery, Hu created her landscape series by using simplified outlines and continuing the traditional theme. Keeping with Qinghua blue with the addition of slightly green in the vicinity and sunset sprinkled gold, the artist creates “ceramic landscape” with her unique artistic language.

Exhibiting for the first time with ART TAIPEI, the Singaporean Studio-ID Art Gallery presents artists from Indonesia, India, South Africa and UK, including John Martono, Madhuri Bhaduri, Natasha Barne, Piers Bourke, Nidhi Samani, and Samantha Redfern. Among these brilliant artists, Piers Bourke will exhibit his new works specially created for ART TAIPEI. His artistic practice combines the printing techniques of progressive proofs and traditional painting method. This painting series uses collage and new technology to present a twisted ribbon effect through the second cutting and assembly, which creates a different visual layer. His work is collected by the well-known “Hell's Kitchen”chef - Gordon Ramsay, and they’re currently on display in Ramsay's restaurant in London until the end of 2021.

Also in the online edition of ART TAIPEI 2021, you will be able to explore Korean artists Lim SeungHyun, Kwon HyeJo, Lee InSeob, and Suk ChulJoo’s works showcased by Suppoment Gallery from Seoul; as well as Gallery Jung featuring artists Hyunok Kim, Sunguck Kang, Intae Kim, Jongin Park, Heungwoo Shin, and Dusik Yoon.