Taiwanese artist Kao Pao-hui’s (高寶惠) solo exhibition “25 Seasons (二十五節氣) – Landscapes of Paper and Lacquer” opens now until March 17, 2024, at the Spazio Nobile Gallery in Belgium.
A graduate of the Industrial Design Department of the Huafan University (華梵大學), Kao previously worked as a construction materials designer. She then went to the Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) in the Netherlands to pursue a master's degree, which led her to become an artist.
Kao sees herself as a researcher. Her interest in researching materials sparked during her time working in a construction material company in Taiwan. She said that when she was preparing for her final project at DAE, she became intrigued with the changes that happen on paper when it meets water.
She explained that paper creases when it dries after it meets water, which causes itself to become three-dimensional and structurally stronger. The artist uses the hardened paper to create her art. She made a connection with her own experience and said it is just like her own growth in accepting the challenges of living alone in the Netherlands.
Her work was selected as a finalist for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in 2022. Subsequently, Spazio Nobile, an art gallery in Brussels, Belgium, holds her first solo exhibition “25 Seasons” starting Nov. 23.
Lisa Coirier, the founder of Spazio Nobile Gallery, was previously invited by the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute to run workshops. She also collaborated with the Ministry of Culture in 2019 to curate an art exhibition titled “Formosa: A New Layer of Taiwan (福爾摩沙：台灣的新層次)” in several cities across Europe.
Coirier said that Kao’s innovation shows a new level of artistic creation in Taiwan. Taiwanese artists prefer to connect with nature, she noted, and Taiwanese culture that has integrated with the Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch influence is unique and exquisite.
For more information, please visit Spazio Nobile’s website.