Weekly News Roundup: October 10, 2024
By The Editors
Exterior of Juming Museum in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Flooding Damages Artworks at Taiwan’s Juming Museum
The private Juming Museum in New Taipei, dedicated to the late sculptor Ju Ming (1938–2023), sustained considerable damage to artworks by the artist as well as several loaned from overseas for the exhibition “Fang Wu – Asian Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition” (2024) due to flooding caused by Typhoon Krathon. The storm ravaged parts of Taiwan on October 3, with Kaohsiung city receiving the brunt of the effects. The museum attempted to salvage what it could by conducting a cleanup and drawing up an inventory of the damage with the assistance of the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department, but an estimated 86 outdoor artworks and 50 storage items were ruined by unrelenting floodwaters. On October 7, the museum announced the “Friends of Juming” (朱銘之友) donation program to help restore the damaged artworks, an initiative that requires anyone who contributes to donate NTD 1,000 (USD 31) in support of safeguarding these invaluable cultural assets. Located in the hills of Jinshan District, the museum is home to a vast sculpture garden that displays the works of the late Taiwanese artist, known for his minimalistic, boxy bronze-and-steel sculptures.
Exterior of the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Sakura City. Courtesy Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art.
Bankrupt Japanese Museum Pushes Back Closure Date
Nearly two months after the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture, announced it would close in January 2025, it has delayed the date to March due to a major spike in visitor numbers and a petition urging it to remain open. According to the Financial Times newspaper, the museum—which is run by the cash-strapped Japanese chemical giant DIC Corporation—receives very few visitors despite its extraordinary permanent collection, which features 754 works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock. With the company facing severe financial losses, DIC’s board of directors announced in late August that a committee had been established to determine the art institution’s future, with possibilities including downsizing, relocation to Tokyo, or permanent closure. But an unexpected public outcry, including people picketing against its closure, is now challenging the board’s direction. If the museum does shutter, it remains unclear what will become of its JPY 11.2 billion (USD 77.4 million) collection, the majority of which is owned by DIC.
Installation view of MIRE LEE’s Open Wound, 2024, seven-meter-long motorized turbine, steel, cement, silicone, oil, clay, dimensions variable, at Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London. Photo by Lucy Green. Courtesy Tate Modern.
Tate Modern Reveals Latest Turbine Hall Commission
Korean artist Mire Lee’s large-scale kinetic sculptural installation Open Wound (2024) was unveiled at London’s Tate Modern on October 8, marking her first major presentation in the United Kingdom. Composed of skin-like fabric sculptures suspended from the ceiling of the massive Turbine Hall by metal chains, the work is the annual 2024 Hyundai Commission. Lee recommissioned one of the building’s original cranes to hang a seven-meter-long, motorized turbine, referencing the oil-fired devices that used to fill the former power station-turned-museum. As the turbine spins, it pumps a dark liquid through silicone tubes and onto a drip tray holding construction mesh and bent steel rebar sculptures; these continuously absorb the blood-like liquid and transform into the “skins” hanging from the ceiling. Mechanical yet visceral, Open Wound prompts reflections on history, industrialism, and the human body.
Exterior view of One Bangkok office towers. Courtesy One Bangkok.
Commissioned Works by Star Artists to Debut at New Bangkok Mega Development
New artworks by British Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor and Anglo German sculptor Tony Cragg for the One Bangkok development will be revealed on October 25, when the landmark eight-hectare complex opens in the Thai capital. Their installations will be permanently on display within a two-kilometer “Art Loop,” a pathway featuring a diverse array of public artworks that winds through the One Bangkok complex. The works on display have been curated by Apinan Poshyananda, a committee member of One Bangkok and the artistic director of the upcoming Bangkok Art Biennale. Kapoor’s and Cragg’s sculptures will also be featured as a primary commission for the Biennale, which is titled “Nurture Gaia” and slated to open on October 24. With a whopping investment value of USD 3.2 billion, One Bangkok marks one of Thailand’s largest private sector projects and encompasses luxury hotels, dining, and office towers as well as cultural experiences.
Installation view of "Cha Chaan Teng" at Art Basel in Hong Kong, 2024. Courtesy Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Hong Kong Tourism Board Stages Themed Cafe at Art Basel Paris
To kick off the three-year global partnership between Paris and Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board is presenting the immersive experience of a Hong Kong-style cafe, known as a cha chaan teng, at Art Basel Paris, which is set to run from October 16–20 at the Grand Palais, a historic museum complex in the heart of the French capital. The pop-up diner at the fair will serve many of the city’s popular fusion dishes, including pineapple buns, egg tarts, and milk tea. Additionally, Hong Kong artist Trevor Yeung will showcase chandelier-like installations from his Chaotic Suns series (2018– ) to illuminate the cafe and its classic design elements, such as colorful tiles and neon signage. The son of a restaurant owner, Yeung reflects the vibrant atmosphere of these iconic Hong Kong eateries with his bundles of mismatched light bulbs, showcasing the strange balance between chaos and order in Hong Kong’s everyday life.
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