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.