TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Blue-chip galleries David Zwirner and Gagosian are headlining the Taipei Dangdai art fair from May 11-14 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall One.

The fourth edition of Taipei Dangdai features 90 international and local galleries and opened on Thursday (May 11) for media and VIP previews. Top galleries have returned for the event while Hong Kong-based Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery attended for the first time.

Taipei Dangdai co-founder and Co-Director Magnus Renfrew, shared his insights with Taiwan News about the changes in the nation's art market after the COVID-19 pandemic surge. He said the art fair was an opportunity for collectors to engage with art in person after doing research on social media during quarantine.

Renfrew said that a number of overseas Taiwanese returned to Taiwan during the pandemic from the U.S. and Europe. “This is sort of a re-engagement and also brings internationalism to the collector-base from a younger generation.”

Taipei Dangdai Co-Director Robin Peckham estimated there will be around 40,000 people visiting the four-day event. On Thursday evening, there was still a long line waiting to get into the venue at 7:30 p.m., even though it was set to close 30 minutes later.

Peckham suggested visitors take time to find the artworks they adore. He introduced a few galleries and artists, including David Zwirner Gallery’s Robert Ryman, Eric Firestone Gallery, and Taiwan's veteran abstract artist Li Yuan-chia (李元佳), who is represented by Richard Saltoun Gallery.

On Thursday, Shanghai-based Gallery Vacancy nearly sold out all their paintings by the young Belgian artist Laurens Leriers. Founder of Gallery Vacancy, Lucien Tso (禚宇祥) noted that most of the buyers are local or from South Korea, aged 35 to 55 years old.

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