Exhibition Introduction
In a city, how many similar stories are out there? And how many unfamiliar corners? As Taiwan’s most populous city, New Taipei City has undergone administrative re-zoning, bringing together diverse communities and serving as a repository of history and contemporary life. Within this landscape where rivers, mountains, and the ocean intertwine with human culture, time shapes the evolving relationship between city and countryside, community and individual, ultimately forging a multifaceted, symbiotic urban community. Whether passing through or staying, whether then or now, people continue to cross paths and reflect one another in this city. Through these encounters, memories and trajectories intertwine, weaving the ever-evolving story of New Taipei City.
“Encounters in Reflection” is an exhibition about seeing and revisiting the New Taipei City Art Museum’s collection. It is also a curatorial practice about how artists are present, and how they re-present the city. Spanning from the 1930s to the present, the exhibition consists of 50 works that trace the artistic and cultural evolution of New Taipei City, drawing on collections from the Taipei County Cultural Center and the New Taipei City Art Museum .
Through two sub-themes—Nature/ Landscape/ Boundary and Humanity/ Memory/ Urban Community—this exhibition explores how people, events, and objects interact and reflect one another across time and space, shaping memories, geographical experiences, and social landscapes. Between the encounter and reflection within the exhibition space, the viewer is invited to contemplate the practice of museum collection exhibitions, as well as the production, translation, and reconfiguration of urban visual culture. Guided by the curatorial approach, these artistic journeys unfold in varied ways—at times parallel, at times layered, and at times interwoven—yet always distinct in their temporal and spatial dimensions. They illuminate the unique collection context of the New Taipei City Art Museum, while revealing an artistic panorama of the city.