Art Critiques

19.08.25

tianmifu on the third floor of the fenqihu hotel

4 or maybe 5 out of 5 stars

23°30'18.9"n 120°41'44.0"e

located on the third floor (which was really the ground floor since the hotel goes into the ground?) was this piece of art. and what i found really striking is that it really isn’t giving hotel art vibes. and this isn’t to my knowledge a traditional style of calligraphy: it isn’t 行書 (semi cursive) or 草書 (cursive). it seems to just be really raw and looks almost like the scribe or artist wrote this with their non dominant hand.

anyways had me thinking about how we classify certain kinds of art as hotel art—i immediately think of impressionist flowers in a vase, or some kind of super geometric (yet not precise) abstract painting with bright colors thats just there to take up wall space and make a room feel like it has some remnants of a soul. which is kind of ironic because most of that type of art makes a room feel super corporate to me.

anyways, this doesn’t do that to me. i would totally buy this if i could.

21.08.25

‘obsessed with you’ by sid&geri on the third floor of ponding

overpriced plastic charm bracelet out of 5 stars

25°02'57.0"n 121°31'19.6"e

above an art book store in taipei is a cafe, and above that cafe is a gallery space. sid&geri make good use of the narrow space. the whole thing feels temporary, and i mean, shit is literally held together with duct tape. its a polarizing show that makes me feel like i’m k-holing—like if bladee was anxious and made you feel like shit when you listen to him. its a polarizing show really which makes me feel like its successful in a way.

the focal point of this show is a mannequin head with long braided hair with hairbrushes tied to the ends spinning so that toy cats balanced on bricks are being brushed. but the brushes don’t reach, which pretty much sums up the vibe of the show. i’m left unsure as to which parts are intentional and which are not. i’m also left unsure as to whether i like it or not.

23.08.25

four solo shows on the third floor of the taipei fine arts museum

silent letters feeling the units by hsu jui chien

4 stars out of 5

hsu jui chien fills 5 rooms with this show—he probably takes up almost a third of the level with his work. its on the floor, its in the floor, its on the walls, its on podiums, and its hung from the ceiling. and yet, despite this depth and the varying and often ambiguous materials he uses, the show is cohesive.

everything is made in house. frames are welded together. some ambiguous substance from metal casting is left stuck in metal sponges. the metal is scorched and discolored where its been hit by a flame. everything is connected through heat. the holes in the floor are reminiscent of crucibles or kilns; the springs suspended from the ceiling are induction heating coils. yet amidst this density, hsu still gives us room to breathe with a certain ambiguity that surrounds his choice of materials. i mean i can’t tell what half this shit is made of.

on an interesting side note, the description of this show is wack. i mean its well written but despite, idk, having been to the show i have no clue what this guy is yapping about half the time. the last section about how the pieces come together to form the narrative is pretty spot on. especially this part: 透過步行、停下、靠近，再離開，慢慢去建構對「材料」的感知。

no i will not translate this go paste it into google translate.