Sustainability Takes Center Stage at Art Taipei’s 30th Edition – Artsy Feedzy

Last week, one of the most historical art fairs in Asia, Art Taipei, celebrated its 30th edition, welcoming 144 galleries to the World Trade Center 1 in the center of the Taiwanese capital.

Founded in 1992, Art Taipei is organized by the Taiwan Art Gallery Association and shares a similar background to other regional art fairs such as Art Fair Tokyo and KIAF Seoul. All three fairs are well-positioned in their local markets, and all three have been recently accompanied by newer local fairs: Taipei Dangdai (which launched in 2019), Tokyo Gendai (which launched this year), and Frieze Seoul (which launched in 2022).

With so many art fairs and packed art-world schedules, deciding on what events to attend has become all the more important for collectors and exhibitors. Miyatsu Daisuke, one of the most prominent collectors in Japan, was present at Art Taipei and told Artsy that he has been to the fair almost every year. He pointed to the innovation, diversity, democratic system, and freedom of the country as key points. “Taiwan is a very special place to me,” he said.

Some 47% of the galleries participating in this year’s edition of the fair are based outside of Taiwan, and this year, the fair also places a focus on sustainability in a number of ways. It has introduced the “Art Assets and Sustainability Demonstration Zone” and the “Cultural Digital Dual-life Application Platform” to allow for the registration and management of digital artwork certificates. The aim of the initiative is to integrate the art industry with sustainable methods and promote “carbon mobility” through art trading, as well as engender the circulation of net-zero carbon emissions, bringing carbon neutrality into art collections.

Art Taipei will also present a special exhibition, “ART ASSETS x ESG,” curated by the contemporary curatorial brand bísút with the aim of adding three-dimensional weight to the history of ink art and giving context behind the discipline as it has shited throughout different time periods. The exhibition focuses on generational artists working with ink, including Shiy De-Jinn, Li Yuan-Chia, Yeh Shih-Chiang, Lee Chung-Chung, Li Huasheng, and Yuan Hui-Li. The initiative will also introduce a digital rights registration and management platform for artworks in a new transaction model, “Combining Carbon Rights with Artwork Collection.” Collectors who purchase works from the exhibition will also acquire a blockchain certificate—a smart contract that is also carbon neutral, introducing a new way of art transaction for sustainability.

The list of galleries list for Art Taipei carefully reveals several highlights, including Asia Art Centre. The gallery, which has spaces in Taipei and Beijing, presents works by its newly represented artists Katja Farin and Kayla Mattes.

Most overseas galleries participating in the fair are from Japan and Korea. With its close relationships with Taiwanese collectors, Tokyo-based Tomio Koyama Gallery brought its roster of gallery-represented artists, such as Xu Ning, Makiko Kudo, and Shintaro Miyake, with artwork prices ranging from $1,000–$40,000. On the first day, a work by Tomoko Nagai was sold to a Taiwanese collector. The gallery noted the renewed presence of Japanese collectors, who were marking their first visit to the fair since after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another regular participant, LEE & BAE from Busan, presented a bold solo show of Korean artist Sangmin Lee with 13 works by the artist. Lee’s art is made of carved glass sheets to realize the beauty of light and shadow. Depending on the size of the artwork, Lee’s work is priced around $25,000 on average.

There are also a number of galleries making a first-time appearance at the fair this year. Hiro Hiro Art Space from Taipei joins the Flash section of the fair, presenting a duo show of Taiwanese artists: painter Chia-Chun Chung and ceramist Zong-Jia Yang. A spokesperson from the gallery told Artsy that the fair was proving to be a good destination for small and mid-size galleries.