Taipei Biennial 2025 Opens Tomorrow

October 31, 2025 – Taipei: The 14th edition of the Taipei Biennial, Whispers on the Horizon, opens on November 1 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM). Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath (Directors of Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin), the exhibition brings together around 150 works by 72 artists from 37 cities. The presentation includes 34 new commissions and site-specific installations, spanning painting, sculpture, film, photography, and performance.

Whispers on the Horizon explores yearning as an enduring human drive that reaches past the possible, knowing it will never hold, and still refuses to yield. It is both personal and collective, fragile and defiant; the thread that connects longing to imagination and change. The exhibition expresses a desire to speak about the future in a tone of quiet insistence rather than overt proclamation. “Whispers” evokes the fragility of communication—voices that endure even in silence, stories that persist despite erasure. The “Horizon” marks the meeting line between what is known and what is hoped for. Together, they suggest that the faintest murmur can redraw distance, and the smallest gesture can reshape how we imagine the world.

The conceptual foundation of this edition draws from three modest yet charged objects—though absent from the physical exhibition, they serve as metaphors guiding the show’s emotional and temporal arc. The puppet of Li Tien-Lu, featured in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s film The Puppetmaster (1993), represents a life dedicated to craft, embodying persistence across periods of occupation and renewal; the diary from Chen Yingzhen’s short story My Kid Brother Kangxiong (1960) conveys the voice of a young man who took his own life, torn between faith and despair, reflecting a generation caught between conviction and disillusion; the bicycle from Wu Ming-Yi’s novel The Stolen Bicycle (2015) symbolizes a son’s search for his missing father, evoking themes of loss, inheritance, and belonging. Together, these literary and cinematic references form an invisible architecture for the Biennial, with the puppet representing continuity, the diary interiority, and the bicycle pursuit—three distinct expressions of yearning that resonate throughout the exhibition.

The Biennial interweaves contemporary works with ones from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s collection. Around 30 TFAM collection pieces are placed throughout the exhibition in dialogue with both new commissions and existing works. A broad selection of photographs from the 1930s–80s forms a subtle thread running through the Biennial, echoing its three conceptual departure points: the puppet, the diary, and the bicycle. Additional pieces appear in formal or thematic resonance with individual artworks across the exhibition. They act not merely as historical artifacts but as living agents of yearning that bridge continuity and transformation. This curatorial approach fosters an intergenerational dialogue between those who shaped Taiwan’s cultural landscape and those addressing today’s urgency.

The exhibition architecture, specially conceived for this edition, features textile partitions in place of solid walls. These suspended elements function as permeable thresholds, arranged to allow sightlines between galleries and create a rhythm of visibility and connection. This spatial strategy echoes the thematic undercurrents of the Biennial, inviting a fluid and contemplative visitor experience. In addition, concise wall texts function as a self-guided tour, offering visitors clear context for each work on display and opening accessible pathways into the ideas shaping the Biennial.

Sam Bardaouil & Till Fellrath, Curators, remark: "We want to create a Biennial that could only exist here — one that listens to the histories, languages, and contradictions that make Taipei what it is. Our dialogue with TFAM's collection was not an act of nostalgia but of grounding: an insistence that the local, when deeply engaged, becomes a lens for the world. In Whispers on the Horizon, yearning is that bridge — it begins in the intimacy of memory and extends into a shared horizon where the local turns universal."

1F

The ground floor presents works exploring profound connections between devotion, memory, and endurance. Together, these works illustrate how devotion—to craft, memory, and care—serves as a means of survival.

• CIOU Zih-Yan's (b. 1985, Sanyi, Miaoli) Fake Airfield (2025) reconstructs a decoy airstrip from the Japanese colonial era, featuring a hand-built cardboard aircraft with a film projection inside the cockpit. The installation examines how collective memory is shaped blending historical fact with fiction.

• CHEN Chin's (b. 1907–1998, Hsinchu) painting Out in the Fields (1934) offers a serene yet powerful depiction of a woman in the fields. CHEN painted elegant women whose style and presence came to symbolize a Taiwan in search of its identity.

• Nari Ward's (b.1963, St. Andrew) SOUND SYSTEM (2025) transforms marble into a symbolic stack of speakers, celebrating Jamaican sound culture as a form of social sculpture and exploring how rhythm fosters the architecture of belonging.

• Afra Al Dhaheri's (b. 1988, Abu Dhabi) Weighted PAUSE (2025) uses thick, looped ropes in a meditative arrangement, inviting viewers to contemplate slowness as a form of resistance in a fast-paced world.

• Sylvie Selig's (b. 1941, Nice) embroidered works reinterpret myths of transformation, while Korakrit Arunanondchai’s (b. 1986, Bangkok) Love After Death (2025) creates an immersive ritual space where mourning, memory, and faith merge through flickering light and sound.

B2

The Biennial’s basement level focuses on the body as both witness and site of transformation. The floor becomes a subterranean mirror: a descent into the self where yearning takes form through breath, repetition, and ritual.

• Ivana Bašić's (b. 1986, Belgrade) Passion of Pneumatics (2020–2024) and Metanoia (2025) transform the act of breathing into sculpture, using rhythmically crushed stone and glass vessels that evoke the motion of lungs to embody the desire of transcendence.

• Christopher Kulendran Thomas (b. 1979, London) presents AI-generated paintings that reinterpret Sri Lanka’s colonial history, blending political narrative with digital abstraction to question historical truth in the age of automated memory.

• YU Ji’s (b. 1985, Shanghai) Flesh in Stone series (2020–2024) uses cement to create forms that appear simultaneously solid and vulnerable, revealing the relationship between the body and architectural space.

• SYU Ching-Pwo's (b. 1930 – 2021, Banqiao) photograph Confidence (1956) captures two men leaning close in conversation, with a bicycle beside them like a quiet hinge — separating and connecting at once, reflecting the exhibition’s recurring motif of pursuit and loss.

• Jacky Connolly's (b. 1990, Lower Hudson Valley, New York) The Mineral Kingdom (Dark Green) (2025) transforms personal grief into digital landscapes, using dreamlike imagery to merge memory with virtual terrain.

2F

On the upper level, the Biennial shifts its focus to themes of modernity, representation, and shared belonging. These works trace a modern artistic lineage shaped by the desire to perceive, interpret, and connect—a collective reimagining of the world through the lens of yearning.

• TENG Nan-Guang's (b. 1907, Beipu, Hsinchu) photograph Taipin-Ting, Taipei I (1942) captures the city’s transformation under colonial modernity, combining documentary accuracy with a cinematic viewpoint.

• CHEN Cheng-Po's (b. 1895–1947, Chiayi) luminous landscapes from the 1920s and 1930s presents Taiwan’s changing landscape under Japanese rule, reflecting a dialogue between Taiwanese tradition and global modernism.

• LIU Kuo-Sung's (b. 1932, Bengbu, Anhui) Floating Mountain (1978) breaks from traditional ink painting to develop new abstract forms, connecting classical cosmology with modern perspectives.

• Eva Jospin’s (b. 1975, Paris) Ici (2025) constructs a mirrored forest inspired by the divided classical painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, transforming themes of separation into a visual poetry of reflection.

• P. Staff's (b. 1987, Bognor Regis) Skeleton (2025) turns the gallery into an exploration of control and resistance, layering infrared imagery and poetic narration to examine how bodies are regulated and liberated.

• Mona Hatoum’s (b. 1952, Beirut) Cellules (2012–2013) encases fragile red glass orbs within steel cages, creating a powerful metaphor for the duality of protection and confinement in relation to belonging.

Li-chen Loh, Director of Taipei Fine Arts Museum, notes: “Since its inception, the Taipei Biennial has been a platform that embraces cacophony. This edition creates dynamic spaces for reflecting on the intricate relationships between local experiences and global contexts, inviting visitors to reconsider their place within our interconnected contemporary realities. It encourages us to slow down and soften our preconceptions—to listen to the murmuring voices around us, and to gently reconnect with the world, again and again.”

The opening weekend will feature a two-day forum comprising six panel discussions—Belonging, Dissonance, Yearning, History, Seeing, and Collaboration—which bring together participating artists, writers, and scholars to examine the Biennial’s core themes. These sessions will explore the intersection of personal narratives, local contexts, and global discourses, extending the exhibition’s ideas into the public sphere.

Throughout its five-month run, Whispers on the Horizon will continue as a dynamic platform with a series of performances and educational programs. The exhibition will culminate with Lina Lapelytė’s durational piece in the final week, expanding her exploration of collective voice. For more information, visit the Taipei Biennial 2025 website (www.taipeibiennial.org/2025) or follow the TFAM Facebook /Instagram page.

Fatma Abdulhadi (born in 1988, Riyadh - lives and works in Riyadh)

Korakrit Arunanondchai (born in 1986, Bangkok - lives and works in New York and Bangkok)

Ivana Bašić (born in 1986, Belgrade - lives and works in New York)

Rana Begum (born in 1977, Sylhet - lives and works in London)

Jacopo Benassi (born in 1970, La Spezia - lives and works in La Spezia)

Hera Büyüktaşcıyan (born in 1984, Istanbul - lives and works in Istanbul)

Edgar Calel (born in 1987, Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa - lives and works in Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa)

CHANG Chao-Tang (born in 1943, Banqiao – died in 2024)

Fran Chang (born in 1990, Poços de Caldas - lives and works in São Paulo)

CHEN Cheng-Po (born in 1895, Chiayi - died in 1947)

CHEN Chih-Chi (born in 1906, Xizhi, Taipei - died in 1931)

CHEN Chin (born in 1907, Hsinchu - died in 1998)

Skyler Chen (born in 1982, Kaohsiung City - lives and works in Rotterdam)

CHENG Sang-Syi (born in 1937, Keelung – died in 2011)

Musquiqui Chihying (born in 1985, Taipei - lives and works in Taipei and Berlin)

Gaëlle Choisne (born in 1985, Cherbourg - lives and works in Fougères and Paris)

Isaac Chong Wai (born in 1990, Guangdong - lives and works in Berlin and Hong Kong)

CIOU Zih-Yan (born in 1985, Sanyi, Miaoli - lives and works in Miaoli and Yunlin)

Jacky Connolly (born in 1990, Lower Hudson Valley, New York - lives and works in Athens and New York)

Rohini Devasher (born in 1978, New Delhi - lives and works in New Delhi)

Afra Al Dhaheri (born in 1988, Abu Dhabi - lives and works in Abu Dhabi)

Simon Dybbroe Møller (born in 1976, Aarhus - lives and works in Copenhagen)

Mohammad Al Faraj (born in 1993, Al Hassa - lives and works in Al Hassa)

Monia Ben Hamouda (born in 1991, Milan - lives and works in al-Qayrawan and Milan)

Mona Hatoum (born in 1952, Beirut - lives and works in London)

HE Zike (born in 1990, Guiyang - lives and works in Beijing and Guiyang)

HO Huai-Shuo (born in 1941, Guangdong - lives and works in New Taipei City)

HO Yen Yen (born in 1993, Taipei - lives and works in Taipei)

HSIAO Yung-Sheng (born in 1959, Zhunan, Miaoli – lives and works in Taipei)

HUANG Tse-Hsiu (born in 1930, Taipei – died in 2014)

Anna Jermolaewa (born in 1970, Leningrad - lives and works in Vienna and Linz)

Eva Jospin (born in 1975, Paris - lives and works in Paris)

Joeun Kim Aatchim (born in 1989, South Korea - lives and works in New York)

Minjung Kim (born in 1962, Gwangju - lives and works in New York and South France)

Christopher Kulendran Thomas (born in 1979, London - lives and works in Berlin and London)

Lina Lapelytė (born in 1984, Kaunas - lives and works in London and Vilnius)

LEE Chun-Shan (born in 1912, Shaoguan, Guangdong - died in 1984)

LEE Hui-Fang (born in 1948, Taichung – lives and works in Taipei)

LI Dyao-Lwun (born in 1909, Shilin, Taipei - died in 1992)

LIN Shou-Yi (born in 1916, Taoyuan - died in 2011)

LIU An-Ming (born in 1929, Heifeng, Pingtung – died in 2022)

LIU Kuo-Sung (born in 1932, Bengbu, Anhui - lives and works in Taipei)

LONG Chinsan (born in 1892, Huaiyin, Jiangsu - died in 1995)

Omar Mismar (born in 1986, Taanayel - lives and works in Beirut)

NI Hao (born in 1989, Hsinchu - lives and works in Hsinchu)

Henrique Oliveira (born in 1973, São Paulo - lives and works in London)

OU YANG Wen-Yuan (born in 1928, Guangxi – died in 2008)

Bunny Rogers (born in 1990, Houston - lives and works in Queens, New York)

Hiraki Sawa (born in 1977, Ishikawa - lives and works in London and Kanazawa)

Sylvie Selig (born in 1941, Nice - lives and works in Paris)

Jeremy Shaw (born in 1977, North Vancouver - lives and works in Berlin)

SHIY De-Jinn (born in 1923, Sichuan - died in 1981)

P. Staff (born in 1987, Bognor Regis - lives and works in Los Angeles and London)

SYU Ching-Pwo (born in 1930, Banqiao - died in 2021)

Young-jun Tak (born in 1989, Seoul - lives and works in Berlin)

Fuyuhiko Takata (born in 1987, Hiroshima - lives and works in Chiba)

TENG Nan-Guang (born in 1907, Beipu, Hsinchu – died in 1971)

Sung Tieu (born in 1987, Hai Duong - lives and works in Berlin)

Kiriakos Tompolidis (born in 1997, Essen - lives and works in Berlin)

Álvaro Urbano (born in 1983, Madrid - lives and works in Berlin and Paris)

WANG Hsiang Lin (born in 1984, Taipei - lives and works in Taipei)

WANG Yao-Yi (born in 1987, Tainan - lives and works in Taipei)

Nari Ward (born in 1963, St. Andrew - lives and works in New York)

WU Chia Yun (born in 1988, Yilan - lives and works in New York)

YANG Chih-Hsin (born in 1923, Qingshui, Taichung – died in 2005)

YAU Meng-Jia (born in 1946, Wanhua, Taipei - died in 1996)

Yeesookyung (born in 1963, Seoul - lives and works in Seoul)

Shizuka Yokomizo (born in 1966, Tokyo - lives and works in London)

YU Ji (born in 1985, Shanghai - lives and works in New York and Shanghai)

YUAN Chin-Ta (born in 1949, Yuanlin, Changhua – lives and works in Taipei)

ZHANG Ruyi (born in 1985, Shanghai - lives and works in Shanghai)

Tobias Zielony (born in 1973, Wuppertal - lives and works in Berlin)

Taipei Biennial 2025 Opens │Press.pdf

Taipei Biennial 2025 Opens │Press.odt

Appendix_About curators, Taipei Biennial and sopnsors .pdf

Appendix_About curators, Taipei Biennial and sopnsors .odt