Written: Poe H. (English) | K. J. Tzeng (Chinese)
Photos: Daniel Allen
Produced by: Dan Hwang

Straddled between multitude of ideals on cultural, political, and design, the host of this year Summer Olympics will present to the world a cityscape unlike any other in the world. The scope of this urban renewal is breathtaking, there isn’t one district untouched by teams of engineers, workers, and construction equipments. For visitors, the city is similar to a sculpture garden of sort, with exception of its scale.

Living in Beijing, English writer and photographer Daniel Allen has spent much of the last five years documenting China’s amazing architectural transformation, which looks set to continue and diversify for years to come. In his most recent work, Beijing in Focus, Allen concentrates on three of the Chinese capital’s most iconic structures: the National Center for Performing Arts (aka “the Eggshell”), the Beijing National Stadium (aka “the Bird’s Nest), and the National Aquatic Center (aka “the Water Cube”).

» EN AVANT Feature: Beijing, China - Iconic Structures

Written : Poe H. (English) | K. J. Tzeng (Chinese)
Produced by: Dan Hwang

Links: (Red), Sotheby’s (AUCTION) RED

“Art intimates and needs reaction, Art needs to be the transformative presence, a quality it shares with grace, which itself is on the lookout for the lost. All of the pictures and the sculptures here are grace unbound and a reaction from the greatest artists to AIDS - our generation’s holocaust…” so wrote by the front man of iconic rock band U2, Bono, in the foreword for Auction (RED).

This massive undertaking all started when art dealer Enrico Navarro suggested to Bono an art sale to benefit the (PROJECT) Red initiative, which Bono has tirelessly devoted himself since its inception. Not long after that, British artist Damien Hirst, best known for his works on the subject of death, got involved also. Hirst soon begun a letter writing campaign to his friends and to artists whose works he admired, in request for their contributions to Auction (RED). In total, 69 artists replied and donated some 83 lots of artworks - a compilation that can best some of the collection found in top contemporary art museums.

» EN AVANT Feature: Auction (RED)

New Museum of Contemporary Art - New Home
Written by: Poe H.

Due to abysmal reviews and criticism of an exhibit, Marcia Tucker, then the curator of painting and sculpture at the Whitney Museum of American Art, was fired from the position. However, a few weeks after that fateful day in 1977, the ever resilient Tucker went and created New Museum of Contemporary Art.

Some 30 years later, New Museum of Contemporary Art is consider a premiere institution of the arts. Because of its impartial look at works, the museum acquired the uncanny ability to find some of the most well known artists early in their careers and introduce them to the public. Artists such as Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, just to name a few.

位在紐約曼哈噸的New Museum of Contemporary Art是Marcia Tucker在1977年於惠特尼博物館擔任畫和雕刻作品館長時，在對一場展覽極端的批評後，因而建立對當代藝術具有時代意義的New Museum of Contemporary Art。

30年後的今天，New Museum of Contemporary Art已經成為當代藝術家或藝術團體的首選舞台。 因為它公平地看待每件藝術作品的態度， 以及它後天不可思議地神奇力量發掘了早期就已經介紹給大眾而目前當紅的藝術家，例如：Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince…..等。

» New Museum of Contemporary Art

» Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA