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Juror’s Statement, Oil Painting Category HSUEH Pao-Shia

Closer to Life via the Senses

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Taichung's leading annual art event—the 21 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City—began with preliminary and final selections during
this past May and June. Five jurors were responsible for the Oil Painting Category: HO Chau-Chu, CHEN Huei-Tung, LIN Jaw-Tsang, LIN Chin-
Hsien, and HSUEH Pao-Shia. Overall, the 303 submissions presented a wealth of subject matter, brought viewers ‘closer to life via the senses.'
The large number of submitted works (303 pieces in total, including 50 international art pieces) made it challenging in the preliminary selection
stage to nominate 14% of the total submissions for the final selection stage. After careful consideration and agreement by most of the jurors, 44

submissions were chosen. These nominated works in many aspects mirrored the artists' attentive observations of life and use of specific themes to

portray history, memory, daily life, objects and nature. Some artists employed realistic, dramatic, or abstract and collage techniques to express these
themes.
By observing the original works, jurors could closely study the relationship between techniques and ideas. At the same time, jurors could
precisely compare the differences between works. During the final selection, they reviewed the nominated 42 submissions and agreed that all the

works—mostly from Taiwan, but also including paintings from Russia, New Zealand, Singapore and India—were candidates for prizes. After six
rounds of voting, jurors chose the winners of the top three prizes and five Awards of Merit.

The First Prize winner, YANG You-Sheng's“Dwelling”, uses a realistic approach to display the traces of remainder. Among the leftovers, “a

previous presence leaves remaining trails behind”for observers to trace“what”once existed in this place. Perhaps the artist is attempting to use an

imaginative approach to“engage in”the puzzles through a human head in the painting. CHANG Kuo-Erh's“Morning Greetings”won Second Prize,

utilizing a realistic technique to showcase a scene with the streaming morning sun and caressing breezes moving over the grassland. This delicate
work, with refracted light, presents a desirable tranquility. Third Prize winner, CHIEN Shih-Che's“Rambling”, displays changes and layered spaces

via color blocks and an abstract method. The linear lines in the painting dominate the entire movement of this work, presenting the spatial relationship

found in the“prolonging of time” .

Five Awards of Merit were given to the following artists and works: New Zealander Lucas K. Doolan's“Abstract Collage No. 19”uses a collage
to present texture and, between absolution and precision, displays the abstract characteristics of modernism.
Russia female artist Mengiliy Olga Anatolievna's“She is distracted”depicts a girl who is sitting in front of a piano, but reading her favorite

book placed on the sheet music. Fellow Russian artist Savelenko Alexander Anatolievich's triptych“Battle Wounds”narrates a multi-panel story.

The middle panel shows a wounded soldier grasping a flag in his left hand and is flanked by two related works—the left panel portraying a nurse
caring for the soldier's wounds and the right panel depicting another soldier sewing the fl ag—to underline the inevitable wartime injuries. This work
expresses the artist's salute to soldiers who defend their nations and presents their commitment and attitude.

TSAI Ren-De's“A Love Song in City”employs layered dark and light colors and irregular symbolic icons to construct varied multi-dimensional
spaces. KAO Zhao-Liang, as an artist as well as a magician, raises a question regarding “reality” in his work “As the Red Curtain Unfolds”.
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The above-mentioned 21 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition prize-winning works refl ect the voices of the artists responding to the time. Via the
senses, one can search the memory and history and, between“genuineness”and“reality”, explore the various experiences of different stages of life.

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