(Taiwan, b. 1970)
Deng Wen-Jen (Taiwan, b. 1970) was born in Hualien, Taiwan, and currently lives and works in Taichung, Taiwan. She holds a Master’s degree in oil painting from L'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. As an artist of Pingpu indigenous heritage, Deng's work spans the field of textile art, particularly using soft sculpture, installations, and video to reinterpret traditional dyeing, weaving, and embroidery techniques, breathing new life into them. Recently, her work has focused on Taiwanese history, indigenous culture, and ethnic fusion. She has participated in international artist residency programs.
Deng Wen-Jen's work originates from a deep exploration of Taiwan's food culture, particularly drawing inspiration from everyday cultural elements such as night markets and vegetable markets. Her early works skillfully combine oil painting and embroidery, using Taiwanese floral fabric as the background to depict scenes from the streets, such as small shops, night markets, vegetable markets, and betel nut vendors, showcasing a rich local flavor. After nearly two decades of studying food culture, she gradually turned to fiber materials, creating woven tapestries and indigo-dyed embroidered maps to explore themes of ethnic integration, historical movement, and mythological narratives. Through these works, she delves into the paths of cultural migration and species dissemination. Her work transcends the boundaries of traditional craft and decorative arts. In “Afternoon Tea,” Deng explores everyday food culture through embroidery and soft materials, transforming iconic Taiwanese dishes—such as hot pot, sesame buns, noodles, pig’s blood soup—into art. Using low-saturation linen embroidery, she captures the temperature and texture of these foods, evoking not only visual illusions but also sensory memories of taste and touch. Through this, she redefines the aesthetics and sensory experience of daily life. Her “Feast-man-woman” series, on the other hand, seeks to challenge the boundaries between food and desire, engaging in a tactile and emotional exploration of sensuality.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 “Globalization at Table v.s. Formosa The Treasure Island”, Lishan Art Space, Taipei, Taiwan
2021 “À la recherche du temps perdu”, Chen jinglan's Western Style House, Kinmen, Taiwan
2019 “NAMASTE” Creation of India, 107 Gallery, Taichung, Taiwan
2018 “Transcending: Between Virtuality and Reality”, NCKU Art center ,Tainan, Taiwan
2017 “Flying Shuttle”, Soulangh culture Park, Tainan, Taiwan
Childhood”, Bistrot Artisse, Bordeaux, France
2011 “Le Festin - La vanité”, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2008 “Festin-Culture II, Nourriture·Image·Culture Book’s Illustration and
Publication", Taichung, Taiwan
2006 “Festin”, Arts Center National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2003 “Feast-Food Amour”, Sinica art center, Taipei, Taiwan
2002 “Feast-Fairy Tale”, Tamshui Culture Center, New Taipei, Taiwan
2001 “Feast at Tamshui”, Curtain Studio, Tamshui, Taiwan
2000 “Feast” Painting-installation, St Eustache Gallery, Paris, France
1997 “Childhood”, Bistrot Artisse, Bordeaux, France
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 "Island Sunflower Reflections", QCC Art Gallery, New York, USA
2024“Crossing Ecotones - Thousands of Threads”, NTMOFA, Taichung, Taiwan
2024“Where the Adventure Begins”, Taoyuan Children’s Art Center Inaugural Exhibition,
Taoyuan, Taiwan
2024“VOC, Sea Monsters, Artillery Fire, and Them: 400 Years of Fort Zeelandia”,
TNAM, Tainan, Taiwan
2023 “Cheongju Craft Biennale 2023”, Cheongju, South Korea
2023 "A Journey of Lightness: 25 Years of Hantoo", Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2022 “Seek-kipakim” Aboriginal Cultural Park Bajiaolou Special Exhibition Hall, Pingtung, Taiwan
2021 “She Says, Her Story-Contemporary Women Artists from Taiwan”, International Arts & Artists building IA&A at Hillyer, NW, Washington, USA
2020 “The Art of Transformation - Residency as a Way to Engage with Craft ”, National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, Nantou, Taiwan
2019 “Womensemble: Creating Female Subjectivity in Art”,
National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, Taipei, Taiwan
2018 “Femi-Flow: Creating Female Subjectivity in Art Flow”, National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, Nantou, Taiwan
2017 "Hardcore Rally with the Hantoo Art Group", National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
2016 "Border Crossing Post-Paradise: Hantoo Art Group and Taiwanese Contemporary Art", Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan
2015 “Art: Gwangju : 15”, Kimdaejung Convention Center, South Korea
2011 “Beautiful Life: Memory and Nostalgia”, South Hill Park Bracknell Gallery, UK
2008 “Betel Nut Beauties”, Point Éphémère, Paris, France
2004 「野生農場 – 遊樂園」，鳳甲美術館，台北，台灣
2000 “Feast-man-woman”, Arts, in Fine Gallery, Paris, France
2000"Salon of May", Eiffel-Branly space, Paris, France