Yao Jui-Chung
Yao specializes in photography, installation and painting. The themes of his works are varied, but most importantly they all examine the absurdity of the human condition. Representative works include Action Series. We can find the clue he explores the question of Taiwan’s identity in Military take over (1994), subverts modern Chinese political myths in Recovering Mainland China (1997), and examines post-colonialism in The World is for All (1997~2000) as well as Long March-Shifting the Universe (2002). In recent years, he has created photo installations combining the style of “gold and green landscape” with the superstitions that permeate Taiwanese folklore, expressing a false and alienated “cold reality” that is specific to Taiwan. Representative works include the series of Celestial Barbarians (2000), Savage Paradise (2000) and Heaven (2001). Another photo installation series Libido of Death (2002) and Hill (2003) tries to probe into the eternal issue of body and soul. Recently, Yao Jui-Chung has assembled all the black-and-white photos of ruins he took in the past fifteen years, grouped under the themes of industry, religious idols, architecture and military bases. They reveal the enormous ideological black hole in Taiwan hidden behind the trends of globalization and Taiwan’s specific historical background as a continuation of the main theme of his work: the absurdity of the historical destiny of humanity. Since 2007, Yao has started to create a series of works including Wonderful (2007), Dust in the Wind (2008~2010), Dreamy (2008~2010), Romance (2009) and Honeymoon (2010~2011). He appropriates masterpieces from Chinese art history and recreates them in his own way, transforming them into his personal history or real stories in an attempt to turn grand narratives into the trivial affairs of his individual life. Yao intends to usurp so called orthodoxy with his recreated landscapes. In 2010, Yao grouped his students into a team of photography workshop called "Lost Society Document"(LSD). He encouraged them to photograph and survey in their hometowns. Through the way of field survey, they attempt to draw the outline of “mosquito houses” which have been widely criticized, publish three books named "Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan", and practice the possibility of observing the society by the meaning of art.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2015 Golden Land, Goedhuis Contemporary, London, UK
2014 The Space That Remains: Yao Jui-Chung’s Ruin Series, Church of Santa Maria della Pietà, Venice
Good Times, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2013 Long, long Live, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
Something Blue, TKG+ Projects, Taipei, Taiwan
2012 Long Live/ Landscape, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan; Beijing, China
2011 Honeymoon, MOT/ARTS, Taipei, Taiwan
Fresh from Taiwan, Goedhuis Contemporary, London, UK
2010 Dreamy, Goedhuis Contemporary, London, UK
Honeymoon, Hanarts, Hong Kong, China
2009 Romance, Inart Space, Tainan, Taiwan
2008 Phantom of History, Galerie Grand Siecle, Taipei, Taiwan
2007 Wonderful, IT Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Cynic Republic, VT Art salon, Taipei, Taiwan
2006 Everything will Fall into Ruin, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
2005 The Cynic, Chi-Wen Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2004 Long March-Shifted the Universe, IT Park, Taipei, Taiwan
2003 Elysium, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, UK
2002 Libido of Death, Lee Ka-Sing Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2000 Savage Paradise, Lee Ka-Sing Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1998 The Introduction of Taiwan’s Contemporary Art vol. 4, MOMA Contemporary, Fukuoka, Japan
1997 Recover Mainland China-Prophecy & Action, Dimension Endowment of Art, Taipei, Taiwan
1996 Recover Mainland China-Preface & Do Military Service, IT Park Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
1994 Territory Maneuver, IT Park, Taipei, Taiwan
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015 Asia Biennial, National Taiwan Fine Art Museum, Taichung, Taiwan
Ink Remix-Contemporary Art from China, Taiwan & Hong kong, Canberra Museum of Art, Australia
South by Southeast, Osage Foundation, Hong Kong
2014 {INSERT 2014}, Mati Ghar Indira Genahi National Center for the Arts, New Delhi, India
ALTERing-NATIVism, MoNTU, Taipei; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Pop Art Factory-Heating, Cooling, Contemporary Art in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan
Something in space escapes our attempts at surveying, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Asia Anarchy Alliance, Tokyo Wonder Site (Hongo, Shibuya), Tokyo, Japan
Beijing Photo Biennial, Hubei Museum of Art, Hubei, China
Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale, OCT Contemporary Art, Shenzhen, China
Seoul International Media Art Biennale, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Asia Triennial Manchester 2014, Manchester, UK
Taiwan Biennal, National Taiwan Fine Art Museum, Taichung, Taiwan
The Mirror and Monitor of Democracy in Asia, Gwangju Art Museum, Korea
Jie: Contemporary Art from Taiwan, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Singapore Art Prize, Singapore Art Museum
Post POP : East meet West, Saatchi Gallery, London , UK
2013 True Illusion, Illusory Truth-Contemporary Art Beyond Ordinary Experience, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Multitude Art Prize, UCCA, Beijing, China
Rolling! Visual Art in Taiwan, Seoul Museum of Arts, Seoul, Korea
Zhongshan Park Project- Shanghai Biennale, MOCA Shanghai, Shanghai, China
(CON)TEMPORARY SPACE-TIME, Stattberlin, Berlin, Germany
Horizon Realm: Contemporary Art from Taiwan, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, USA
OPEN 16. International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations, Venice Lido and Island of San Servolo, Venice, Italy
CARGO EAST project- Gazing into Freedom: Taiwan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
From subvert to create the reality: Taiwanese contemporary art after 80s, Asia Museum of Modern Art, Taichung, Taiwan
Beijing Photo Biennale, China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China
MUSEUM OF ARTE ÚTIL: Working Document Structure, Rooms, Examples and Live Projects, Vanabbe Museum, Netherland
2012 Busan International Film Festival, Busan Cinema Center, Busan, South Korea
Predicting Memories: Vienna Art Week 2012, Vienna, Austria
Shanghai Biennale, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, Shanghai, China
INK: The New Ink Art from China, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Unhomely-Tales of the Island, Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, UK
Boundaries on the Move Taiwan- Israel a Cross-culture Dialogue, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
2011 Dual Senses and Dynamic Views-Contemporary Art Exhibition across the Taiwan Straits of 2011, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2010 Taiwan Discovered-in place and time, The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Miami, USA
2009 Dream in a Contemporary Secret Garden, Chelsea Art Museum & Gallery, New York, USA
Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2008 Inward Gazes: Invitation Asia Performance Art 2008, Macao Museum of Art, Macao, China
2007 Taiwan: From within the Mist, Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, South Dakota, USA; Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, BC, Canada; Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center and Ransburg Gallery, University of Indianapolis, USA; Illges Gallery, Columbus State University, Georgia, USA
2006 Islanded: Contemporary Art from New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan, Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand; Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
2005 International Triennale of Contemporary Art YOKOHAMA 2005-Art Circus-Jumping from the Ordinary, Yokohama, Japan
2004 Reality Spells - Exhibition of Chinese Conceptual Photography from 90', Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, New York, USA
2003 A Strange Heaven-Contemporary Chinese Photography, Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic; Art Museum Tennis Palace, Helsinki, Finland
City-net Asia: Transition of Identity, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
2001 Promenade in Asia-cute, Art Tower Mito, Mito, Japan
2000 Close up-contemporary art from Taiwan, Charles H. Scott gallery, Emily Carr Institute of Art, Vancouver; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria B.C., Canada
Very fun park-contemporary art from Taiwan, Hong Kong Art Center, Hong Kong, China; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth, Australia
1999 Face to Face-Contemporary Art from Taiwan, Gold Coast City Gallery, Queensland, Australia
1998 You Talk/ I Listen, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; La ferme du Buisson center d’art contemporain, Paris, France
Contemporary Taiwanese Art Exhibition-The New Identity, ARTIUM, Fukuoka, Japan
1997 La Biennale di Venezia, Palazzo delle Prigioni, Venice, Italy
1996 The 6th Iranian Photo Biennial, Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
1994 The Taipei Biennial of Contemporary Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Busan Biennial, Busan, Korea
1992 The Taipei Biennial of Contemporary Art, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
1990 Contemporary art trends in the R.O.C, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Selected Public Collections
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Collection, Cornell University, USA
Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, France (French National Library, Paris)
Art Museum of Seoul, Korea
Asia Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
Asia Art Museum, Taichung, Taiwan
Hanart T Z Gallery, Hong Kong
MOMA Contemporary, Fukuoka, Japan
The Red Mansion Foundation, U.K
Apart from creating art, Yao Jui-Chung has curated exhibitions including The Realm of Illusion-The New wave of Taiwan Photography (2002), King-Kon Never Die -The Contemporary Performance & Video art in Taiwan (2003) and Spellbound Aura-The New Vision of Chinese Photography (2004). His essays have been published in many art journals. He has also published several books, including Installation Art in Taiwan since 1991-2001 (2002), The New Wave of Contemporary Taiwan Photography Since 1999 (2003), Roam The Ruins of Taiwan (2004), Performance Art in Taiwan 1978~2004 (2005), A Walk in the Contemporary Art : Roaming the Rebellious Streets (2005), Ruined Islands (2007), Yao Jui-Chung (2008), Beyond humanity (2008), Nebulous light (2009), and Biennial-Hop (2010), "Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan ⅠⅡⅢⅣ(2010~2016). His works have been collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan; the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Collection, Cornell University, USA; Bibliothèque National de France, Paris, France (French National Library, Paris); Art Museum of Seoul, and many other private collectors. Now, Yao Jui-Chung works as an artist and teacher at the National Taiwan Normal University Department of Fine Arts.