Exhibitions across Asia celebrate Year of the Monkey

The 'Excessive Blessings for the Year of the Monkey' exhibition poster, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, February 2, 2016.The Year of the Monkey in the Chinese Lunar calendar begins on February 8, and in celebration, a host of museums and galleries across Asia have organised exhibitions that present everything from the animal in folk art to a look at the creature through science.

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung City is hosting an exhibition of prints dedicated to the Year of the Monkey. The 31st annual exhibition of New Year Prints entitled "Excessive Blessings for the Year of the Monkey" is part of a competition organised by the museum.

A total of 80 prints were selected out of 256, submitted by contestants ranging from 10 to 70 years of age. Artists used a variety of mediums and techniques including intaglio, relief, screen and digital printing covering cultural aspects such as cartoons and pop culture.

The exhibition also features two commissioned pieces: Tsai Yi-Hsiung's "Warm Flows of the Spring" and Kuo Po-Chou's "A Complete Success for the Year of the Monkey".

Tsai Yi-Hsiung's piece portrays the energy and joyful spirit of the spring, whereas Kuo Po-Chou's work signifies the harvest of blessings year after year. Through March 27.

The National Folk Museum of Korea in collaboration with Seoul Grand Park Zoo is also celebrating the Year of the Monkey with an exhibition entitled "Monkey" that examines how the primate's behaviour and characteristics are expressed and embedded in Korean culture.

Seventy works of art are on display, including paintings, ceramics, mask and ink slabs, reports the Dong-A Ilbo publication. Divided in three sections, the "Different Names of Monkeys" explores how the various names given to the primates are based on physical characteristics, such as the old world monkey, the gibbon and the Japanese macaque, while "Monkey, the 9th of the Zodiac Animals" examines the 12 Chinese Zodiac symbols in Korean culture, and "Monkey, an Auspicious Animal" looks at how monkeys representing good fortune have been expressed in painting, stationery and pottery. Through February 22.

Currently at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, according to the Shanghai Daily, the "Legend of Apes and Monkeys" features 10 different themes around the primates with artworks and a scientific explanation behind the pieces on display. Animation scripts, sculptures, film posters and oil paintings make up the displays. Through April 17.

Chinese luxury department store Lane Crawford has commissioned contemporary artists to set up installations on the theme of monkeys for the Lunar New Year. Featured artists include Angel Chen, Hui Hoi Kiu, Desmond Leung and Jan Zhou among others.

Milan-based engineer Andrea Minini has designed a gold monkey graphic for the department store that creates a sense of motion and highlights the shape of a monkey. Mosaic Art Projects, led by artists Karen Pow and Chao Harn Kae, is displaying "Percipient Monkey," an enormous paper-mâché creation, at a Lane Crawford store in Hong Kong.

Singapore is celebrating the Year of the Monkey in a rather unique way. This year, the Straits Times reports that the public can give life to an art work called "Mother Tree" by posting photographs and videos on social media using the hashtag #CNY2016SG.  Every 18 posts spark an 18-second light show in a tree located on the Garden Bridge. Through March 8. – AFP/Relaxnews, February 2, 2016.