Parkett – 220 Artists’ Editions & Collaborations since 1984 +5 will be on view at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM). The collaborative work between Parkett and over two hundred contemporary artists from around the world since 1984 will be showcased, including iconic names like Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor, Ai Weiwei, Richard Serra, Yayoi Kusama and many others.
The contemporary art publication Parkett stands out from other art magazines with its emphasis on collaborating with artists in developing a direct platform for artistic dialogues. For each volume, the biannual journal handpicks three to five compelling artists to collaborate in this singular publishing project. The artists’ involvement begins with joining Parkett in selecting the authors, who are tasked with researching and introducing the artists’ creative process in depth. The artists also help select the images, page design, and, in particular, they create an artist edition project especially for Parkett. These signed and numbered editions may take any form, from paintings, objects, prints, installations to photographs and audiovisual works. Additional artists are called to design the spines or inserts. The innovative and close collaboration with artists was a pioneering publishing endeavor, when it was first launched in 1984. As of 2013, Parkett has worked with over 300 artists and accumulated 1,400 essays, 800 contributing authors and a readership of 30,000 across 40 countries.
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is presenting all 220 of Parkett‘s artists’ editions under the theme of “everyday spaces.” Visitors can view the works in different rooms including Studio, Playroom, Wardrobe, Garden, City, Reading Room, and Meeting Room. Within these spaces, where an inviting and pleasant ambience replaces the solemnity of conventional art reading, viewers may amble and experience at leisure the collaborative projects of Parkett with over two hundred celebrated contemporary artists from around the world. The spatial and thematic flow of so many diverse works of art under one roof, inside familiar everyday spaces, brings the audience closer to explore the meaning of individual works and their background. While visitors revel in Parkett‘s universe of artists’ collaborations, they can also view all Parkett volumes in the Reading Room to peruse texts and essays illuminating the artists’ works and context or appreciate the magazine’s design.
Artists with whom Parkett has collaborated span many different and diverse positions and generations across many countries, with a number of popular Asian artists among the ranks. Parkett‘s collection of artists’ editions gives clues to trends and directions in the West and the globalizing bearing and perspective of contemporary art beyond. Parkett‘s cooperation with artists has resulted over the years in an important library of contemporary art knowledge. London’s Whitechapel Art Gallery noted on Parkett, “the most important artists of our time have created editions, that represent the essence of their art or reveal an unexpected dimension.” To encourage viewers to read more and explore diverse artistic positions and splendor, the museum has produced a range of elaborate and accessible brochures, that serve both as reference and collectors’ items. Parkett‘s rich content is sure to take the public on an informative and interesting tour into the mesmerizing world of artistic ideas.
Continuing with Parkett‘s spirit of artist-institution cooperation, five special projects co-produced by Taiwanese and Japanese institutions and artists are also on view. These local projects echo Parkett‘s accomplishment over the last three decades. The name “+5: Meeting Room” reinforces the idea of face-to-face contact between institutions and artists. Organizations demonstrating sustained commitment to artistic collaboration have been invited to participate, including Taiwan’s The Cube, ARTCO Magazine, Taipei Contemporary Art Center, TSAI Charwei, artist and editor of Lovely Daze magazine, and Japan’s TeamLab. The cooperation between these five projects and various artists illustrates the passion, imagination and synergy unleashed, when artistic groups join forces.
This year marks Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s 30th anniversary as a witness to the development of contemporary art in Taiwan. TFAM is celebrating this landmark occasion by inviting Parkett, which has also thrived for soon 30 years, to stage an exhibition in Taiwan. The show, which originated at MoMA, New York, has been on view at major venues in Europe and Asia. The exhibition at TFAM is the most complete to date and is accompanied by a new, comprehensive catalogue with color reproductions of all works and essays in Chinese and English by TFAM director Huang Hai-Ming, Deborah Wye, curator, MoMA, New York, Philip Tinari, director UCCA, Beijing, as well as by authors Pu Hong and Susan Tallman. TFAM invites the local audience to cherish this opportunity to observe the trajectory of international contemporary art and open themselves up to different perspectives. A global understanding in a globalized age will pave the way for a dynamic and prosperous field of contemporary art transcending temporal and geographical boundaries.
*image (left)
Damien Hirst
What Goes Up Must Come Down, 1994
Plexiglass, hairdryer and ping-pong ball
Diameter: 300 x 300 mm | 11.8 x 11.8 in | Edition of 30 + 15 APs for Parkett 40
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved
