Venue｜Messe Basel
Galleries Sector Booth｜E14
Participating Artists｜Yun Gee, Su Xiaobai, Sopheap Pich
Unlimited Sector Booth｜U59
Participating Artist｜Wu Tien-Chang
Opening Hours
Unlimited Opening
06.10 (Mon.) 4:00-8:00 p.m.
VIP Preview
06.11 (Tue.)- 06.12 (Wed.) 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Vernissage
06.12 (Wed.) 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Public Days
06.13 (Thurs.) -06.16 (Sun.) 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
The Milestone of Taiwanese Gallery History:
Tina Keng Gallery Enters Galleries Sector of Art Basel in Basel
Established in 1970, Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, has been one of the world’s most influential art fairs. Under strict scrutiny from the jury panel, entry into this fair has been a coveted golden ticket for outstanding galleries worldwide. Now, Taiwan has finally reached a milestone this year. With years of proactive international strategies, Tina Keng Gallery has been selected for the first time to be part of the Galleries sector, as the very first gallery from Taiwan to have accomplished this. Wu Tien-Chang, one of the pioneers in Taiwanese contemporary art and one of Tina Keng Gallery’s artists, will also present his iconic piece Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions at the Unlimited sector, a special curated platform for large-scale installation projects at the fair.
Tina Keng Gallery (Booth E14):
Foregrounding Taiwanese Contemporary Art Through an Asian Lens
As the very first in Taiwan to enter the Galleries sector of Art Basel in Basel, Tina Keng Gallery presents a meticulously curated project that spans Chinese modern and contemporary art, from early 20th-century modernist pioneer Yun Gee to contemporary master Su Xiaobai. This project is also a tribute to East Asian aesthetics encapsulated by the work of Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich. Exploring the spirit of the times, material experimentation, and different thematic focuses across a century, the project reveals the core of Eastern aesthetics, which emphasizes materiality, spiritual introspection, and the construct of “imagery beyond representation.” This presentation highlights a multilayered Asian cultural identity that Tina Keng Gallery has endeavored to cultivate and promote, offering Western audiences a more nuanced understanding of Eastern aesthetic philosophy and contemporary artistic thought.
Zhuangzi’s Dream of the Butterfly: An Extramundane Manifestation of Asian Aesthetics
As a pioneering figure in overseas Chinese artists, modernist painter Yun Gee (1906–1963) immersed himself in various avant-garde Western art theories in the early 20th century, while infusing his own experiences with Eastern philosophy. By merging the compositional elements of traditional Chinese painting with the literati qualities that accentuate poetic imagery, Yun Gee ultimately refined his painting expression into a multifaceted prism, reflecting spiritual narratives and underlying emotions. This gave rise to his theory of Diamondism, which combines form, color, and inner perception, establishing a significant trajectory in Chinese modern art.
The Düsseldorf-based abstract artist Su Xiaobai (b. 1949) creates a visual vocabulary with traditional mediums — oil paint, lacquer, and linen — which embody Eastern history, tinged with wabi-sabi aesthetics. His work emanates a sense of time, with the texture of lacquer exuding a warm luster. The sensuous and rounded edges, the weathered and cracked surfaces, all speak of a unity of humanity and nature, transforming the dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art into a transcultural experience.
For Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich (b. 1971), nature and memory serve as profound sources of creative inspiration, allowing him to deepen his connection with traditional culture. Through the use of natural materials from Cambodian everyday life, from bamboo, rattan, burlap, mineral pigments, to metals, rendered with traditional weaving techniques, he imbues concrete forms with solidity and ethereal qualities within an abstract composition. A sultry atmosphere of the tropical forest permeates his sculptures, transporting the viewer to an ancient terrain of cultural memory, where whispers of bamboo and rattan echo and linger.
Through the diverse works of these three artists, Tina Keng Gallery’s presentation at Art Basel in Basel pivots on the famous thought experiment “Zhuangzi’s Dream of the Butterfly,” from Zhuangzi’s philosophical classic “On the Equality of Things.” His idea explores the relationship between dream and reality, leading to philosophical inquiries that span cognitive deconstruction and the transformation between self and the external world through phenomenological contemplation. The Zhuangzi-inspired project unveils the core of Eastern aesthetics, which revolves around materiality, spiritual introspection, and the construct of “imagery beyond representation” through an artistic language that bridges spirituality, cultural experience, and memory.
Unlimited:
Wu Tien-Chang presents Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions in Basel, Switzerland
Adjacent to Galleries, the Unlimited sector is a unique platform dedicated to large-scale projects. Curated by Giovanni Carmine, Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, this sector showcases installations, sculptures, video installations, and performances by leading artists from around the world, attesting to the impact and social significance of artistic creation through non-traditional contexts.
This year, Taiwanese contemporary artist Wu Tien-Chang (b. 1956) has been selected for this sector with his iconic work Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions (2015). Drawing on Taiwan’s complex history, blended with a singular style of playful melancholy, Wu’s work brings a distinct Taiwanese flair amidst a constellation of international artists, challenging and expanding the narrative of contemporary art.
Previously on view at the Taiwan Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale, large-scale video installation Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions concatenates into one theatrical spectacle varying elements of Taiwanese history, black comedy, and gaudy decorations commonly seen in Taiwanese folk ceremonies, aided by optical illusions, special effects, and props.
In the video, the protagonist — in a latex mask and plastic, glitzy sailor suit — carries a guitar, and steps forward briskly to the tune of Goodbye! Harbor by Taiwanese singer Wen Hsia (1928–2022), who sang wistfully about parting and yearning. Against a backdrop of rotating scenes referring to Taiwan’s colonial days, the protagonist magically changes costumes and props on stage, unknowingly haunted by specters of a past steeped in eerie nostalgia.
Directed by Wu, this illusory narrative not only resonates with the current global geopolitical climate, but limns Asia’s shared memory, where love and death, self and others, identity and nation remain an integral part of the human condition.
Integration of Cross-Disciplinary Leading Brands: A Surging Cultural Black Tide
The participation of Tina Keng Gallery in Art Basel in Basel can be seen as a significant first step of Taiwan’s art industry into the top-tier international market. It also represents an important alliance between leading brands and technologies. AUO Corporation, an innovator in display technology, has developed A.R.T. (Advanced Reflectionless Technology) and the High Fidelity ART Display, which has garnered recognition from international renowned museums. This is the first time the display screen debuts in Wu Tien-Chang’s Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions.
At Art Basel in Basel, a platform connecting blue-chip galleries, esteemed institutions, and leading artists, Tina Keng Gallery’s presentation encapsulates the unique perspective of Taiwanese contemporary art, allowing Eastern humanistic thought, history, and philosophy to coalesce into a perceptive journey through multiple dimensions of contemporary art.
Unlimited U59- Wu Tien-Chang Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions
