One of the four artists who make their art fair debut with Artemis Art is Anisa Abdullah, well-known in Malaysia for her paper collage on canvas works.

While Anisa is a painter by training, she discovered the art of paper collage quite early in her career. Her works are faithful depictions of everyday life, translated into meticulously executed paper collages, comprising thousands of paper fragments cut out from periodicals and printed matter.

This year marks Anisa’s second appearance at Art Taichung, after her debut in 2019, bringing along a taste of contemporary Malaysiana through her skillfully put together paper collage works.  

Contemporary abstract artist Dedy Sufriadi has a wide repertoire of work and styles, encompassing the use of many different elements and mediums. The many disparate visual styles that can be found across his vast body of work can be tied together by one common trait – his mastery of color and composition. Dedy is perhaps best known for his work related to text, an element of modern life that humans are subject to at virtually every waking moment, whether realized or not.

His participation in this year’s edition of Art Taichung primarily features his pure abstract works within the artist’s Tabula Rasa series. In these works, Dedy allows his intuition to roam free, approaching the blank canvas without any prior plan, using only the materials he has at his disposal within his immediate surroundings. 

As an avid reader and one who spent close to a decade studying existentialist philosophy, Dedy’s Tabula Rasa process is one that has been distilled from the artist’s reading of many classical and modern philosophers who have expressed the “blank slate” idea, among them John Locke, often attributed for popularizing a more modern view of the theory. Without the benefit of pre-planning, the immediate state of mind and senses of the artist become the wellspring for the creative energy expressed onto the canvas, his two-decade-long experience as a visual artist providing experiential boundaries to inform him when “enough” is enough.

A more complete repertoire of Dedy’s works may be viewed on his artist profile page, including his text-related Hypertext series, one that he is perhaps best known for. 

Another artist making his art fair debut with Artemis Art is DRIN, the moniker by which young Filipino artist Aldrin Dave Basister goes by.

Combining illustration and surrealism, his artworks recollect the artist’s own life story and memorable experiences, often set in a fantasy world of his own creation. 

Using bright and vivid colors that create an atmosphere of joy and wonder, his works evoke a certain childlike innocence that invites the viewer to contemplate their own experience and memories, juxtaposed against characters set in surreal and unusual settings, creating a kind of dialogue between the viewer and what is viewed.

Also making his debut with us is Mnookin, an artist based in Kaohsiung, located within the southern region of Taiwan. 

Inspired by classical children’s paintings, Mnookin’s artworks express the beauty of life seen through the artist’s eyes. Although melancholic at first glance, Mnookin transforms various perceptions and emotions in life into stories told through his works.

His works are a reminder that there is always something beautiful to observe in life, even though on the surface what is initially seen may appear bleak. 

I Wayan Sarcita Yasa, or simply Sarcita for short is a young Bali-born artist currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Fine Art at the prestigious Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. As is quite typical of student artists from ISI, Sarcita has been active in the Jogja art scene for the past few years while pursuing his degree. 

His works incorporate many fundamental elements of life, making them self-reflections expressed through the cartoonish surrealist pop style he applies to his art. What also sets his works apart from many other artists using similar styles is the color palette, predominantly monochrome with judiciously applied highlight colors.

The spatial feel exuding from his works almost informs us that the artist is very much exploring the limits of where his vision can take him and that there is a lot more to look forward to from the depths of his creative spirit.

His use of the ordinary ballpoint pen has made self-taught Malaysian artist Syahbandi Samat one of the more unique Malaysian artists currently practicing, and whose works are almost always instantly recognizable. His appearance at Art Taichung this year marks the artist’s Taiwan art fair debut.

Syahbandi’s works delve deep into his own psyche, projecting his inner thoughts, experiences, and aspirations. Successfully breaking away from the need to “please” with his artistic creations, Syahbandi addresses issues that are important to him, such as corruption, the environment, and of course, introspective works dealing with his own life experiences. His use of visual metaphors and unique symbolism provides his artworks with an aura of intrigue, engaging the viewer to contemplate beyond what is obvious to the eye, imagery that is often construed as dark and macabre.

Included in our presentation of Syahbandi’s works are three of his “lollipop” sculptures, which made their debut earlier this year at Art Fair Philippines 2023.

Visually articulating the dialectics of space, and delving into human psychological scarring and memories are among the ideas central to the body of work by Indonesian artist Taufik Ermas. He survived a near-death tragedy during the major 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake that caused his home to collapse, burying him alive for a short period of time before being rescued. This life-changing experience has become an important touchstone in his artistic career as he continues to deal with the trauma experienced more than a decade and a half ago.

Augmentation of canvas surfaces is a key feature in Taufik’s artworks, achieved either through his layer/contour technique, physical ridges (or its inverse, niches) created on the canvas surface without tearing through or cutting the canvas; or through physical canvas and frame modifications that create negative spaces within his visual narratives, better known as his Cut-Out series of works. Both styles of artwork have been included in our participation this time around.

Through his paintings on these augmented surfaces, Taufik’s works articulate the many philosophical and psychological nuances of human life. His expressions are the result of the artist’s keen observations, both in his immediate community and surroundings (including his own experiences), or of global events and phenomena.