I’m a big art snob from Chicago, and would like to know of any galleries in the Taipei area of interest. Bars or restaurants with quality work-would also be of interest-Let me know if you know anything.
Where are the contemporary art galleries in Taiwan. 
Did you check out the guggenheim in Taichung.
At the risk of being labeled an elitist, I’ll venture to say it is virtually impossible to find decent contemporary art in Taipei. There used to be a small but very nice gallery called Caves (I don’t know it’s connection to the bookstore) in a basement near the train station, but they vacated there a couple of years ago. If you like old paintings of men on cliffs with waterfalls, however, there’s lots of good stuff.
I know this is slighly OT, but if you’ve ever been to Hanoi you’ll find an abundance of terrific galleries of contemporary art. Obviously that was one of the great influences of the French on Vietnam. Taiwan never had such a benefit so its art scene is still pretty much fixed in the ancient past. But that’s just my opinion, others may feel differently.
Yep so far it seems to be an ongoing dilemma- waterfalls, big mountains, maybe a stork or two, what have you…
but c’mon this is a city of 4 million people I know there has to be some places out there-
There’s a bar in Jung Li (sorry if I spelt it wrong) called “The River”-that shows some OK stuff upstairs- but that’s all I know so far-
If anyone else has any ideas-let me know
so I can go and get all elitist and uppity and stuff
thanks for any sort of reply
Mother Theresa
There’s Stock 20 behind Taichung train station.
taiwanfun.com/central/taichu … 01cc20.htm
tccgc.gov.tw/report/taichung … t01-06.htm
Also the Taichung Seaport Arts Centre is reputedly pretty big and has some good stuff.
tcsac.gov.tw/
The map is here:
tcsac.gov.tw/architectural/m … 921014.htm
If you’re not necessarily only looking for contemporary taiwanese artists, you could try dawo art (http://www.dawo.com.tw/, their web site is a little outdated …). They have mostly European stuff they try to introduce to Taiwan. They’re in Xinzhu though. Xpet.
Went to the Taichung Seaport Arts Center (link in my post above) last week. It’s big and has lots of interesting stuff, mostly modern and by established local artists. Well worth a visit. Exhibitions change regularly so I won’t go into great detail, but I saw an exhibition of acrylics, as well as various installations, ceramic work and paintings. They have a cafe which serves meals: not terribly exciting but reasonably priced.
“walking into the center of the forest” by Morne Swanepoel
A brilliant artist from South Africa who happens to be in Taiwan for a time is showcasing his first solo exhibition.
Opening July 31 2004 5:00pm
Exhibit dates: July 31 2004 to August 20 2004
Venue: f(x) Gallery
1fl No.36 Lane 364 Sec 1 Keelung Rd. Taipei
For more information:
heaven-earth.com/morne-swanepoel.htm