KALEIDOSCOPE ASIA 1

Welcome to KALEIDOSCOPE ASIA. Based out of Singapore, launched in partnership with Arthub Asia and sponsored by Value Retail, this is the first issue of the brand new, biannual and bilingual (Chinese/English) sibling edition of KALEIDOSCOPE dedicated to contemporary art and culture from the Asia Pacific region. Under the visionary art direction of acclaimed Munich-based Bureau Mirko Borsche, the magazine combines its defining curatorial and interdisciplinary approach with an emphasis on the power of images and a keen attention to the update, as best epitomized by new cover tagline: “Visual Culture Now.”

In the opening section of HIGHLIGHTS, twelve profiles account for the best of the season: GUAN XIAO (by Pablo Larios), MING WONG (by Binghao Wong), MA YANSONG (MAD) (by Beatrice Leanza), MATSUMOTO TOSHIO (by Alexander Shulan), ZHAO YAO (by Venus Lau), AAAJIAO (by Leo Xu), TAKURO KUWATA (by Jeffrey Uslip), MARIA TANIGUCHI (by Joselina Cruz), DUDDELL’s (by Robin Peckham), LI RAN (by Ho Rui An), NATTOFRANCO (by Xerxes Cook), and CHENG RAN (by Mariagrazia Costantino).

To follow, our signature MAIN THEME section is devoted to altered realities, possible futures, fictionalized histories, visions at the border of utopia and dystopia, framed by the urban landscape of Asia’s “cities on the move.” The survey is composed of four extensive interviews with iconic artists from different Asian countries, including: CAO FEI (by Gavin Wade); MR. (by Alessio Ascari); HO TZU NYEN (by Francesca Girelli), and MOON KYUNGWON & JEON JOONHO (by Hans Ulrich Obrist).

To follow, this issue’s MONO section and cover story are dedicated to Chinese artist YANG FUDONG, whose work sits between the traditions of cinema and visual art and resonates with the decadent aura of Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s, revealing the artist’s passionate attraction to beauty and a rarified approach to the haunting questions of contemporary life. This definitive monographic survey comprises an essay by Davide Quadrio and Noah Cowan, an interview by Li Zhenhua and original portraits by Ka Xiaoxi.

Later on, the VISIONS section invites the eye to an enthralling journey across almost 100 pages of visual contributions by artists, curators and image-makers, including: LIU CHUANG, “Love Story”; HAJIME SORAYAMA; CHEN TIANZHUO; KEIZO KITAJIMA, “Photo Express: Tokyo”; TIMUR SI-QIN, “Premier Machinic Funerary”; BIRDHEAD; and KORAKRIT ARUNANONDCHAI.

Lastly, the closing section of REGULARS features our insightful columns on the past, present and future of art and culture: PRODUCERS features Carson Chan’s conversation with Ballistic Architecture Machine; in FUTURA 89+, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets interview young artist Ho Rui An; Melanie Pocock decodes Singapore’s art scene as part of the PANORAMA series; and in PIONEERS Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen talk to Japanese living legend Keiichi Tanaami.