A Multigenerational Exploration of Taiwanese Contemporary Art in London: “A Blast of Lyricism”

How powerfully can art express a geography’s history, experience, and future? Curated through a collaboration between Tina Keng Gallery and Professor Chia-Ling Yang from the University of Edinburgh, the exhibition A Blast of Lyricism brings the potent, lyrical voice of Taiwanese contemporary art to the heart of London at Frieze No. 9 Cork Street. This marks a major milestone as the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to contemporary Taiwanese art in the United Kingdom. The show is on view until 15 November 2025.

At the core of the exhibition lies the concept of lyricism. In Taiwan, this has evolved beyond mere romantic sentiment into a critical, site-specific mode of expression. In the postwar era, artists educated abroad fused Western lyrical abstraction and Abstract Expressionism with traditional ink painting and East Asian atmospheres. By the 1980s and 1990s, this sensibility was kneaded with political issues such as martial law, rural transformation, and identity.

Intergenerational Voices and Thematic Divisions

The exhibition unites nine key Taiwanese artists from seven different generations: Ava Hsueh (b. 1956), Chiang Yomei (b. 1961), Chen Chun-Hao (b. 1971), Yao Jui-Chung (b. 1969), Yang Chung-Ming (b. 1974), Su Meng-Hung (b. 1976), Chiu Chen-Hung (b. 1983), Lee Juo-Mei (b. 1985), and He Yusen (b. 1995).

Structured across four thematic sections, the show explores how lyricism transforms through traditional and external influences:

1. Post-Republican Pseudo-Landscape (后民國偽山水): Artists challenge traditional ink painting and landscape forms, reinterpreting Sinophone heritage with contemporary sensibilities.
2. Secret Realm of Things (物的秘境): The intersection of the poetic and the material is probed; everyday objects and organic forms evoke subtle connections to human experience and memory.
3. Temperature of Feeling (情的溫度): Fragmented narratives and open-ended compositions offer reflections on cultural translation and indigenous identities.
4. All Conditioned Phenomena (有為法): Meditative compositions embody the cyclical nature of time and the fluidity of existence.

Cultural Bridge and Tea Ceremony

The exhibition extends beyond visual presentation. A series of artist talks and academic forums curated by Professor Yang foster dialogue between Taiwanese artists and European scholars on identity, aesthetics, and the politics of form. The opening is accompanied by a tea service in collaboration with Deerland Tea, transforming art, ritual, and Taiwanese lifestyle into a unified cultural expression.

This event proves that Taiwanese artistic perspectives can serve as a vital nexus where Eastern and Western aesthetics converge in an increasingly polycentric art world.

Exhibition Details

• Exhibition Title: A Blast of Lyricism: Contemporary Taiwanese Art in London
• Gallery: Tina Keng Gallery
• Venue: Frieze No. 9 Cork Street, Mayfair, London
• Dates: On view until 15 November 2025
• Curator: Prof. Chia-Ling Yang (University of Edinburgh)
• Important Note: The first large-scale exhibition dedicated to contemporary Taiwanese art in the United Kingdom.