Born in 1981 in Dumaguete City, Philippines
Lives and works in Manila, Philippines
Maria Taniguchi works across a diverse range of media which includes painting, video, sculpture, pottery, printmaking, drawing, and writing. Her work focuses on concepts of composing, constructing, and framing, whilst referring to the craftsmanship and history of the Philippines. She works with a variety of approaches towards processing the legacies of modernism within an ambiguous cross-cultural context.
In 2008, Taniguchi initiated an ongoing series of works that take the form of large-format canvases covered in a meticulous arrangement of hand-painted bricks. These labour-intensive, process-driven works may be considered the fundamental root of her artistic practice, which, at its core, explores the systems and structures of making art and the materiality and architecture of painting itself.
The methodical process of creating the brick paintings is an important objective of the work for Taniguchi; time and effort dedicated to the production of each artwork requiring discipline and a singular focus. Despite the structural format of the grid and the mechanical process of production, the appearance of the paintings varies considerably from canvas to canvas, dependent on the ratio of paint and water the artist uses. Taniguchi has related the works to an external mechanisation of the body as well as a reference to the cells that make up a biological organism. Intimately connected to Taniguchi’s other works and to each other, the brick paintings represent a small part of the larger, more complete matrix of her practice. Untitled and unnumbered, the finished canvases are hybrid objects that Taniguchi views as both paintings and sculptural forms.
education
2010
- LUX Associate Artists Program, London
2009
- MFA in Art Practice, Goldsmiths, University of London
2007
- BFA in Sculpture, The University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts
solo shows
2023
- SOFT DOUBLES, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Figure Study, Silverlens, New York, USA
2021
- room of phases, Silverlens, Manilla, Philippines
2019
- Maria Taniguchi, carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany
2017
- The 4th West Bund Art & Design (with Perrotin), Shanghai, Mainland China
- Maria Taniguchi, Ibid. Projects, Los Angeles, USA
- Maria Taniguchi, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Maria Taniguchi, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
2016
- Maria Taniguchi, Perrotin, Hong Kong SAR
- Maria Taniguchi, Ibid. Projects, London, UK
2015
- Maria Taniguchi, carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany
2014
- Maria Taniguchi, Silverlens, Singapore and Manila
2013
- Art Statements, Art Basel 44 (with Silverlens), Basel, Switzerland
2012
- Maria Taniguchi, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
- End Frame Video Art Project 3: Untitled (Celestial Motors), curated by Clarissa Chikiamco, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
2011
- Echo Studies, Jorge B. Vargas Museum & Filipiniana Research Center, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
2010
- Y’a le feu au lac ("There’s Fire on the Lake"), curated by Adeena Mey, Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp, Cully, Switzerland
2005
- Grave Findings: A Reclamation Project, curated by Joselina Cruz, Lopez Museum and Library, Manila, Philippines
2004
- Maria Taniguchi, Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines
2003
- New Domestic Animals, curated by Nilo Ilarde, Green Papaya Art Projects, Manila, Philippines
group shows
2022
- Horror in the Modernist Block, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
- We Belong To Each Other, carlier | gebauer, Berlin, Germany
- All States No State, presented by Silverlens, Tanjong Pajar Distripark, Singapore
2021
- Art Histories of a Forever War: Modernism between Space and Home, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei
- Considered Gestures, curated by Yael Buencamino, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
- Collision Point on Dimensions: 35°42‘59.0” - N 139°46‘07.4”E - 36.0892”AA Ft., The 5th Floor, Tokyo, Japan (joint exhibition with Floating Between the Tropical and Glacial Zones organized by TOKAS)
2020
- Floating World, Perrotin, Hong Kong SAR
- The 5th Dhaka Art Summit | Seismic Movements | Spatial Movements, curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt, Ruxmini Reckvana Q. Choudhury and Teresa Albor, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Construction of Truths, curated by Joselina Cruz, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
2019
- La última de las tribus ("The Last of the Tribes"), curated by Viviana Kuri, Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
- Tomorrow: Selections from The Permanent Collection, Live Forever Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan
- SPECTROSYNTHESIS II—Exposure of Tolerance: LGBTQ in Southeast Asia, curated by Chatvichai Promadhattavedi, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), Bangkok, Thailand (in collaboration with Sunpride Foundation)
- The 5th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art | Immortality, curated by Xiaoyu Weng, Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant, Ekaterinburg, Russia
- Who Writes?, curated by Jo Ying Peng, Galería OMR, Mexico City, Mexico
- The Empathy Lab, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, USA
- Blood and Soil: Dark Arts for Dark Times, curated by Anders Kreuger and Julija Fomina, Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, Lithuania
- Primary Drives, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
2018
- The 15th Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA EXCON 2018) | Bisan tubig di magbalon ("Don't Even Bring Water"), curatorial direction by Green Papaya Art Projects, Civic Center, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
- The 12th Gwangju Biennale | Imagined Borders | Imagined Nations / Modern Utopias, curated by Clara Kim, Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, Gwangju, South Korea
- In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections, curated by Pauline J. Yao and Shirley Surya, M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong SAR
- These Painter’s Painters, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Art Patrons, Qiao Space and Tank Shanghai Project Space, Shanghai, Mainland China
- The 21st Biennale of Sydney | SUPERPOSITION: Equilibrium & Engagement, curated by Mami Kataoka, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, Australia
2017
- Choruses, Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong SAR
- Maria Taniguchi*, The Museum of Modern Art Gunma, Gunma, Japan
- Anarchéologie, curated by Marcella Lista, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
- Marching in Circles, curated by Robin Peckham, Long March Space, Beijing, Mainland China
- Almost There, curated by Patrick D. Flores and Kyongfa Che, Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Manila, Philippines (in collaboration with The Japan Foundation Asia Center)
- Damage Control, Ibid. Projects, Los Angeles, USA
- Translación, curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
2016
- Afterwork, curated by Freya Chou, Cosmin Costinas, Inti Guerrero, and Qinyi Lim, in dialogue with Rahel Joseph and Azzad Diah, ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (in collaboration with Para Site)
- The 44th Salón Nacional de Artistas, curated by Víctor Albarracín, Inti Guerrero and Guillermo Vanegas, Pereira, Colombia
- Sriwhana Spong and Maria Taniguchi: Oceanic Feeling*, curated by Susan Gibb, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Singapore, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
- AMP, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Judea, curated by Arin Runjang, West Den Haag, The Haag, Netherlands
- Apeirophobia / Aporia, curated by Sohrab Mohebbi and Miljohn Ruperto, Human Resources, Los Angeles, USA
- Business as Usual (The Day After Ground Zero), Osage Gallery, Hong Kong SAR
- Histories of a Vanishing Present: A Prologue, curated by Cesar Garcia with Kris Kuramitsu, The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, USA
- Afterwork, curated by Freya Chou, Cosmin Costinas, Inti Guerrero, and Qinyi Lim, Para Site, Hong Kong SAR
- With Institutions Like These..., curated by Victor Wang and Alex Meurice, Averard Hotel, London, UK
- RIVIERA Prologo Bookshop, curated by Dallas and Caterina Riva, Istituto Svizzero, Milan, Italy
- GLOBALE: New Sensorium | Exiting from Failures of Modernization, curated by Yuko Hasegawa, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany
2015
- The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8), Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
- The 2nd HUGO BOSS ASIA ART | Award for Emerging Asian Artists, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, Mainland China
- The Vexed Contemporary, curated by Joselina Cruz, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
- TOWER, Ibid. Projects, London, UK
- Reverence and Reproach: Modernist Legacies in Contemporary Film and Video, Tate Britain, London, UK (screening)
- Missing Links: Video, Moving Images and Time-based Works from Southeast Asia, curated by Gridthiya Gaweewong, Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand
- Sights and Sounds: Global Film and Video—Philippines, The Jewish Museum, New York, USA
2014
- Maria Taniguchi*, Ibid. Projects, London, UK
- Stick Up, Don’t Move, Smile (Reinventing Black, 1957 to Today), curated by Nilo Ilarde, Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines
- Don’t You Know Who I Am? Art After Identity Politics, curated by Anders Kreuger and Nav Haq, Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA), Antwerp, Belgium
- Market Forces—Erasure: From Conceptualism to Abstraction, curated by Charles Mereweather, Osage Gallery, Hong Kong SAR (in collaboration with School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong)
- The Bold Sopranos, curated by Ariana Gellini, Gallery Exit, Hong Kong SAR
- Material Memory, curated by Valentina Suma, Fluxia, Milan, Italy
2013
- HIWAR | Conversations in Amman, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, Darat al Funun—The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
- The Midnight Marriage, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
- The Philippine Contemporary: To Scale the Past and the Possible, curated by Patrick D. Flores, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Manila, Philippines
2012
- Without a Murmur, curated by Joselina Cruz, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
- Handumanan, Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Manila, Philippines
- Duchamp in Southeast Asia, curated by Tony Godfrey, Equator Art Projects, Singapore
- A Reader of Materials and a Writer of Forms, curated by Lucy MacDonald, MOT International, Brussels, Belgium
- The Porous Border, curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana, Art Gallery g23, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Ley Hunting, curated by Gary-Ross Pastrana, Silverlens, Manila, Philippines
- The 9th Ateneo Art Awards, Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines
- Obstruktionist, curated by Adeena Mey and Laurence Wagner, Fribourg, Switzerland (Part I); Urgent Paradise, Lausanne, Switzerland (Part II; and Past Vyner Street, London, UK (Part III)
- Rambler's Association*, curated by Caterina Riva, Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland, New Zealand
- Death Can Dance: 100 Artists | Images, Symbols, and Signs, curated by Lori Hersberger, Townhouse, Zurich, Switzerland
- DETROIT, LUX Associate Artists Program, London, UK (screening)
- Cinema Rehiyon, curated by Clarissa Chikiamco, Negros Museum, Bacolod, Philippines (screening)
- Maria Taniguchi*, Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines
2011
- The 8th Ateneo Art Awards, Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines
- It's Natural to Imagine Jungles*, MO_Space, Manila, Philippines
- Young London, curated by Adam Thomas and Tara Cranswick, V22 Collection, London, UK
- +Pyramid*, Green Papaya Art Projects, Manila, Philippines
- Performing Pinoy. Video e identidad cultural en Filipinas: 1999–2009, curated by Juan Guardiola, CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain (screening)
- Complete and Unabridged: A Survey of Philippine Conceptualism (Part II), curated by Ringo Bunoan, Isabel Ching and Gary-Ross Pastrana, Osage Gallery Kwun Tong, Hong Kong SAR
- JUMP CUT: Dialectic Dream, curated by Caterina Riva, The Barber Shop, Lisbon, Portugal
- Roving Eye: Film and Video Works from Southeast Asia, curated by Joselina Cruz, Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand, Norway
2010
- SLIP Sensor (Part II)*, Cell Project Space, London, UK
- Material/Parallel*, Galleria Duemila, Manila, Philippines
- Pyramid*, curated by David Chan, Osage Gallery Soho, Hong Kong SAR
- Blind Field: Photography and Place, curated by Wawi Navarroza, Silverlens SLab, Manila, Philippines
- Latitudes—Encounters with the Philippines, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
- Homestay, curated by David Chan, Osage Gallery, Shanghai, Mainland China
- No Soul for Sale: A Festival of Independents, Tate Modern, London, UK (with Green Papaya Art Projects)
- Next Wave Festival, Melbourne, Australia (screening)
2009
- Lost in Your Eyes / Foreign Correspondent*, curated by Caterina Riva, FormContent, London, UK
- Flexible Aura, curated by Byeon Hyun-joo and Christine Takengny, Brain Factory, Seoul, South Korea (with Supercream)
- Hangover Square*, Mag:net Gallery Ayala, Manila, Philippines
- Goldsmiths MFA Degree Show, University of London, UK
- Uncommon Sense (Trauma, Interrupted, Too), curated by Flaudette May Datuin, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Manila, Philippines
- boyleANDshaw Art Salon Project 4, curated by Elea Himmelsbach, Artprojx Space, London, UK
- 3 Young Contemporaries*, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2008
- FUTURAMANILA, Osage Gallery Kwun Tong, Hong Kong SAR and Singapore
- Galleon Trade: Bay Area Now 5, curated by Jenifer Wofford, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA
- Splitting Images, with Yason Banal for his newspaper project Utopia: Sleepwalking, Manila, Philippines
2007
- Happy Endings, Green Papaya Art Projects, Manila, Philippines
2006
- The Sedimentation of the Mind is a Jumbled Museum, Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Manila, Philippines
- Conflict Resolutions, Future Prospects Art Space, Manila, Philippines
2004
- SENI Singapore 2004: Art & the Contemporary | Home Fronts, curated by Ahmad Mashadi, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (with Big Sky Mind)
- Cancelled Metaphors (Part I), The Art Center, Manila, Philippines
- Configured Drawings, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Manila, Philippines
2003
- Under Construction, curated by Roberto Chabet, Big Sky Mind, Manila, Philippines
- Biennial Sculpture Symposium + Exhibition, Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore
* Two- or three-artist exhibitions.
public collections
- The Burger Collection, Hong Kong
- K11 Art Foundation, Shanghai
- Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco and Paris
- M+ Museum, Hong Kong
- Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane
- Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing
- Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
- Taguchi Art Collection, Tokyo
awards
2015
- The 2nd Hugo Boss Asia Art Award for Emerging Asian Artists, Shanghai
2012
- Ateneo Art Awards, Manila
2011
- Ateneo Art Awards, Manila
RESIDENCIES
2013
- Khalid Shoman Foundation, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan
2012
- Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland
2003
- Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore
