Without artists, the sublime idea men have of the universe would collapse with dizzying speed.
- Guillaume Apollinaire, 1880-1918

What’s beyond Earth? What is beyond the Milky Way? These are questions that humans have been always curious about, injecting imagination into, aspiring after and standing in awe of. The exhibition named after a fiction ‘Cosmicomics’ written by an Italian novelist, Italo Calvino, features artworks about cosmos and civilization procured and collected by Art Bank Taiwan. This exhibition is divided into 4 parts: About Distance and Space, About Evolution and Destruction, About Force and Circulation, Space Theater in an attempt to correspond contemporary art to literature, demonstrating the common imagination toward outer space of artists and writers.
‘Cosmicomics’ is a collection of 12 incredible short stories. The protagonist, Qfwfq, whose name can be hardly pronounced, narrates The Distance of the Moon, A Sign In Space, The Dinosaurs, Without Colors…… and so many fantasies. Each story happens independently but sometimes is related. All of them begin from a scientific fact and depict the origin and development of the universe in a surreal mix of reality and fantasy. This book is absolutely not only a science fiction but an innovative word game with untamed expansion of imagination that expresses thoughts about this world, time and space, even touching those unspeakable subtle emotions deep in the heart.
Calvino felt that there are things that only literature can give us, by means specific to it. We can set out on a fantasy journey and place ourselves in unlimited imagination merely by opening a book. And so does to contemporary artwork. We do not need to recognize every symbol and metaphor hiding in texts or understand every detail arrangement on a canvas. Just immerse yourself in and feel it. Sometimes, a single image or a scene can be everything; sometimes, it is nothing. Prop a ladder, let’s leave this planet!

Time: 2019.2.20-3.31 Tue.-Sun. 9:00-17:00
Venue: Taoyuan Arts Center (No. 1188, Zhongzheng Rd., Taoyuan Dist., Taoyuan City 330)
Opening: 2019.2.22 Fri. 10:00

Artists
LEE Tzu-Hsun, Joyce HO, WU Chuan-Lun, CHOU Tai-Chun, LIN Hui-Heng, LIN Ru-Duo, TU Wei-Cheng, WONG Liang-Yuan, CHANG Huei-Ming, CHANG Hsien-Wen, CHEN Kuan-Hsun, CHEN Yen-Chih, CHEN Wei-Ming, CHEN Yen-Ping, CHEN Han-Sheng, YOU Meng-Shu, HUANG Chung-Yu, HUANG Yen-Ying, HUANG Zan-Lun, WEN Meng-Yu, YEH Hua, LAI Pei-Yu, SU Wan-Ting

Curator: YU Huan-Ting
Space Designer: SU Cheng-Pu
Advisor: Taoyuan City Government, Taoyuan City Council
Organizer: Department of Cultural Affairs, Arts Facilities Management Center, Taoyuan
Co-organizer: National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Art Bank Taiwan
Designer: CONCENTRIC DESIGN