Horizon Ablaze is an international exhibition at Taichung Art Museum (TcAM). Curatorial teams from Taiwan, the Philippines, and Panama have shaped the exhibition through multiple venues and research exchanges, evolving it into an organic project focused on tropical culture and embodied experience. Curators Takamori Nobuo (guest senior curator), Tessa Maria Guazon (director of the Jorge B. Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines), Juan Canela (chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama), and Jennifer Choy (curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama) bring together artists from five continents to explore diverse responses to “heat”. Featuring artists and works from Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Southern Europe, and Central America, the show investigates how tropical climates mold cultural experience, bodily perception, and artistic practice, highlighting interactions across diverse tropical regions and cultural contexts. Can this shared sensation become a language for exchanging memories across the world?
Spanning Taiwan’s sultry summer months—where tropical and subtropical climates meet—heat is never abstract. From sticky air and blazing sun to restless, mosquito-filled nights, it is a deeply familiar, bodily experience. The exhibition explores the many facets of heat across diverse cultural settings through a wide range of media and perspectives. Rooted in colonial history, it reconsiders tropical imagination, and reflects on the dialectical relationship between modernity and local specificity.
Participating Artists
Luchezar Boyadjiev（b. 1957, Sofia, Bulgaria; lives and works in Sofia, Bulgaria） Edgar Calel（b. 1987, Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa; lives and works in Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa）Penelope Cain（b. 1970, Sydney, Australia; lives and works in Netherlands）Buen Calubayan（b. 1980, Manila, The Philippines; lives and works in Manila, The Philippines） Chang Chien-Chi（b. 1961, Taichung, Taiwan ; lives and works in Graz, Austria）Ciou Zih Yan（b. 1985, Miaoli, Taiwan; lives and works in Miaoli and Yunlin, Taiwan）Donna Conlon & Jonathan Harker（Donna Conlon, b. 1966, Panama; lives and works in Panama; Jonathan Harker, b. 1975, Panama; lives and works in Panama）Musquiqui Chihying & Kasper Gregor（Musquiqui Chihying, b. 1985, Taipei, Taiwan; lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan and Berlin, Germany; Kasper Gregor, b. 1986, East Germany; lives and works in Dresden and Berlin, Germany）Corinne de San Jose（b. 1977, Bacolod, Philippines; lives and works in Manila, Philippines） Elyla（b. 1989, Nicaragua; lives and works in Nicaragua）Rahima Gambo（b. 1986, London, UK; lives and works in London, UK）Posak Jodian（b. 1987, Taipei, Taiwan; lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan）Liao Jui-Fen（b. 1968, Taichung, Taiwan; lives and works in Taichung, Taiwan）Jaekyung Jung（b. 1975, Korea; lives and works in Korea）Esther Yi-Chun LIN（b. 1990, Nantou, Taiwan; lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan）Chihhung Liu（b. 1985, Hsinchu, Taiwan; lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan）Liu Yu（b. 1985, Taichung, Taiwan; lives and works in Taitung, Taiwan）Maharani Mancanagara（b. 1990, Indonesia; lives and works in Bandung, Indonesia）Cristina Mejías（b. 1986, Spain; lives and works in Spain）Verónica Navas（b. 1995, San José, Costa Rica; lives and works in Costa Rica）Neli Ružić（b. 1966, Split, Croatia; lives and works in Split, Croatia） Ljalje’elan Patadalj（b. 1997, Pingtung, Taiwan; lives and works in Pingtung, Taiwan） Eliazar Ortiz Roa（b. 1981, Dominican Republic; lives and works in Dominican Republic）Andrea Santos（b. 1991, Panama; lives and works in Panama） Ampannee Satoh（b. 1983, Thailand; lives and works in Thailand）Ana Elena Tejera（b. 1990, Panama; lives and works in Panama and Paris, France） Tsai Tsung-Yu（b. 1975, Chiayi, Taiwan; lives and works in Tainan,Taiwan）Tsai Yung-Hsin（b. 1991, Taoyuan, Taiwan; lives and works in Taichung, Taiwan） Wang Shou-Ying（b. 1934, Changhua, Taiwan; lives and works in Taichung, Taiwan）Working Hard, Kuo Po-Yu, She Wen-Ying（Kuo Po-Yu, b. 1989, Taipei, Taiwan; lives and works in , Taipei, Taiwan She Wen-Ying, b. 1989, Taipei, Taiwan; lives and works in , Taipei, Taiwan; Working Hard, founded in 2015） Costantino Zicarelli（b. 1984, Al Jahra, Kuwait; lives and works in Metro Manila, The Philippines）Collection from NCPI Collection from NTU Hospital.
Venue: Green Museumbrary Lobby and TcAM Exhibition Room A,B,C
Photo：卓杜信XhinMania