Last year, the fledgling new art fair Taipei Dangdai: Art & Ideas made mincemeat of the commonly held belief that it takes a fair a few years to build a solid art world following. The inaugural edition turned out big-name blue-chip galleries, famed global collectors (and Chinese movie stars), and, most importantly, robust sales. Oh, and yes, the fair even had its very own giant inflatable KAWS sculpture to draw in the crowds. 

Now—with a very different political climate in nearby Hong Kong—all eyes are on Taipei as the second edition of the fair gets ready to kick off. This year promises to be even bigger than the last, so before you set off navigating the sprawling exhibition center, check out these six standout booths worth scoping out. 

Miles McEnery Gallery

Ryan McGinness, Taipei Dangdai 5 (2019). Courtesy of Miles McEnery Gallery.

You’ll be seeing red—quite literally—at New York’s Miles McEnery Gallery’s booth with a curation of artworks dominated by the bold color. Expect works by Tomory Dodge, Inka Essenhigh, Beverly Fishman, Markus Linnenbrink, Michael Reafsnyder, and Patrick Wilson. What’s more, Ryan McGinness will debut a new series of semi-psychedelic paintings made especially for the fair (all named “Taipei Dangdai”) which layer symbols from all corners on the world into electrically colorful canvases.

Booth C03

Richard Saltoun Gallery

Li Yuan Chia, Untitled (late 1950s). Courtesy of Richard Saltoun Gallery.

Taiwan native son Li Yuan-Chia will be the focus of this single-artist booth. Now recognized as one of the county’s first abstract and conceptual artists, Li  was most active in the years from 1958 to 1965 while living in Taipei, before moving to Bologna, Italy. Richard Saltoun Gallery has been active in propelling the artist’s recent rediscovery and here will presenting a selection of works that have not been offered on the market for more than 50 years. 

Booth E23

Pace Gallery

Mao Yan, Oval Portrait of Thomas, No. 2 (2013). Courtesy of Pace Gallery.

After much success at the inaugural edition of Taipei Dangdai last year, Pace is returning to the the fair with an international group of artists from their roster. Among the offerings will be recent paintings by Chinese artist Mao Yan. The artist’s moody, almost ghostly, portraits are rendered in hues of cool grays and blues. The images aren’t tied to any time or place; instead the sitters appear depicted in billowy passages of paint that hover at the edge of dissolution, liked aged daguerreotypes.

Booth D06

Lehmann Maupin

Lee Bul, Perdu XXX (2019). Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin Gallery.

Catch the latest mixed-media paintings of South Korean dynamo Lee Bul. Part of her “Perdu” series, these recent works are made with elements of mother of pearl to create materially alluring, tendril-like abstract compositions that seem at once oddly futuristic and biomorphic. Also on view with Lehmann Maupin will be works by Tony Oursler, Kader Attia, and Liza Lou.

Booth D22

Axel Vervoordt

Installation view of Untitled work Jiro Yoshihara at Axel Vervoordt Gallery © Axel Vervoordt Gallery & Jan Liègeois

If your passion is for mid-century avant-garde art, be sure to swing by Axel Vervoordt’s booth where the ZERO, Gutai, and Dansaekwha movements will all be well represented. Artists on view will include Jiro Yoshihara, Sadamasa Motonaga, Tsuyoshi Maekawa, Piero Dorazio, Lee Ufan, Roman Opalka, Piero Manzoni, and Bosco Sodi.

Booth E03

Alisan Fine Arts

Walasse Ting, Girl with a Floral Fan (1990–1999). Courtesy Alisan Fine Arts.

New Ink Art has seen rising enthusiasm in recent years and at Hong Kong’s Alisan Fine Art’s booth you can find works by two of the movement’s early devotees, Chung-hsiang and Walasse Ting. Both artists create lyrical, colorful scenes that hark back to ancient calligraphic traditions in subject matter, but are enlivened by the use of saturated, brilliant colors, and unexpected framings that together make the works feel delightfully contemporary. Also on view a group of Chinese Diaspora artists including Wang Tiande, multimedia artist Chu Chu, and performance artist Zhang Yu.

Booth B04

Taipei Dangdai: Art & Ideas takes place at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center,Hall 1 (4th Floor) No. 1, Jingmao 2nd Road, Nangang District, Taipei City. VIP Preview: Thursday, January 16: 2p.m.–5p.m; Vernissage: 5 p.m–9 p.m.; Public Days: Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19.