Humberto Duque from Mexico started a two-month
stint as artist in residence at the Kuandu Museum
of Fine Arts (KdMoFA) on April 19. He is creating works
of art and running a workshop during his stay, and is also
expected to work with TNUA graduate students to experience
the joy of teaching at nearby elementary schools.
The young artist’s work ranges from paintings, installation
art, visual art and video art. He has been traveling
around the world, having been artists in residence in
New York, Seoul, Vienna, Norway, Portugal, California,
Finland, Japan and other places. These experiences have
exerted important influences on his work.
His work attempts to incite puzzling sceneries. In the
process of creation, the combination of different elements
gives viewers a glimpse into a new yet puzzling universe.
The elements that make up such sceneries can be models
of impossible structures, or artifacts with inexplicable
purposes. The goal of his work is to leave hints or traces
that allude to possibilities in a time that is not ours.
Duque notes that during his stay at KdMoFA, he will
focus on the connections between fields that are seemingly
unconnected, such as literature, architecture, baseball,
sci-fi, and language. “Fiction” is an essential concept of his work. He stresses that although he is telling stories
of the non-existent, he contrives to show the possibilities
of these things.
Duque describes Taipei as an exciting metropolitan
with modern infrastructure as well as an amazing culture
and beautiful natural sceneries.
KdMoFA’s artists in residence program will invite six
artists from Korea, the United States, Mexico, Pakistan
and China this year. Since its introduction, the program
has provided an environment for art creation and workshops
by many artists from different fields and places.
Forums and seminars have also been held to allow the
artists to share their experiences with TNUA students
and teachers.
In order to enrich the program, KdMoFA has invited
Su Yao-Hua, director of Taipei Artist Village, and Prof.
Hsi-Chuan Liu, chairman of TNUA’s Department of Fine
Arts, to help with the selection of artists in residence beginning
this year.