For nearly three hundred years, from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, Tainan ‘Fucheng’ (Taiwan’s capital) acted as Taiwan’s administrative and economic center. The city thus holds a special position in the history of Taiwan and is the focus of an exhibition at the National Museum of Taiwan History in Tainan (http://www.nmth.gov.tw/Default.aspx?tabid=279&mid=712&language=en-US&itemid=684). The exhibition is based on the geographical contours of Tainan, and combines historical documents and maps by applying GIS techniques to undertake research on the old Capital of Taiwan at different historical junctures.

Ceramics is an integral part of daily life and ceramic art is a precious treasure of the Taiwanese people. Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum recently launched the competition of the 5th Taiwan Ceramics Gold Awards with “Happiness” as its theme. The winning pieces consist of tea sets, drinking vessels, vases, lamps, wall decorations, lighting fixtures, hanging clocks, etc.  They are currently exhibited at the museum till June 20, 2010 (http://www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw/exhibition/2009goldaward/).

Well known for his outrageous style, Jean-Paul Gaultier is an expert at exaggerated fashions, such as corsets, tutus and tights. He has extended fashion vocabulary and emphasized the imprisoned female form by adorning it in multiple layers of irony. Gaultier and French choreographer Régine Chopinot, two astonishing talents of the fashion and performance worlds, came together in their first collaborative effort for a series of twelve performances from 1983 to 1994. The results of that collaboration will be presented at Taipei Fine Arts Museum from May 29 to August 15, 2010 (http://www.tfam.museum/03_Exhibitions/Default.aspx?PKID=347). The eighty costumes of the exhibition are on loan from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the National Theater Costume Center in Moulins. There are also drawings, photographs, and videos on display.

“Material” as a medium to express an artist’s thoughts is critical in sculpting art. In 2009, the Juming Museum in Taipei held an exhibition on stainless steel. This year the Museum switches its focus to wood. The exhibition examines the forms and cultural meanings of “wood” in contemporary sculpting art in Taiwan. The 11 artists in the exhibition have all developed their own unique contemporary/modern language of art and rich spiritual content through wood carvings. As they experiment various concepts and styles, the sculptures become epitomes of sculpting art in different periods of time. The exhibition is held from May 1 to July 25, 2010 (link).

Organized by National Museum of History and the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Kaohsiung County Government, the exhibition includes leather figures, paper figures, papercutting, hand shadows, films and digital leather figures. Leather figures come from the Museum and the Shadow Play Museum of Cultural Bureau of Kaohsiung County. Paper figures are from Department of Fine Arts of Tunghai University. Some specimens of papercutting are from Mr. Li Huan-zhang, winner of the Global Chinese Culture & Arts Award in 1991. Digital leather figures are from Shu-te University. The exhibition is held at National Museum of History in Taipei and runs from April 23 to Oct 17, 2010 (link).