Page 153 - 第20屆大墩美展專輯電子書

Juror’s Statement, Watercolor Painting Category CHIEH Chia-Chu

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It was my great pleasure to be part of the juror committee in the Watercolor Painting Category of the 21 Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of
Taichung City, organized by Taichung City Government. Over the past 21 years, the city government has endeavored to promote this event and
encouraged artists from around the world to participate. The total number of submissions has grown to over 1,000 pieces per year during the past
few years, which is quite rewarding.

This year, the judging committee in the Watercolor Painting Category included KUO Ming-Fu, HUNG Tung-Piao, HUANG Ming-
Chu, TSAI Hsien-Yu, and myself. A total of 201 submissions were received, including 21 art pieces from Malaysia, Iran, mainland China,
Hong Kong, India, and the United States. During the preliminary selection stage, 33 works were chosen, including two from Hong Kong and
Malaysia. During the final selection, 32 original paintings were sent in for the judges to evaluate, with the committee deciding upon the winners

of First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize and four Awards of Merit, plus 24 short-listed works, which included submissions from Hong Kong and
Malaysia.

First Prize goes to HUANG Chien-Yu's“People in the Rain”. Mr. Huang applied a variety of sophisticated watercolor painting skills
to ingeniously illustrate the conundrum of people scurrying their way out of the rain. The art piece conveys such a vivid image that viewers
immediately relate to the situation. The success of this painting comes from acute powers of observation and a profound understanding of our
living environment. Its 109 cm ×158 cm size is also quite impressive. The fact that it was created by this young student is indeed remarkable as it
is a challenging task to paint on this large a scale.

Second Prize was awarded to ZENG Jun-Wei's“Waiting for the Stars to Appear Again”. It is refreshing to see a young student express
the complex feeling of“waiting”via ordinary scenes from our daily lives—busy streets, rows of towering buildings, and intertwined power

lines. Mr. Zeng's lovely concept is realized with a simple, but unique, composition and executed with his own special approach and absolute
confidence.

YU Wen-Jane's“Urban Oblivion”earned Third Prize. Life in a modern society can be fast-paced and stress-ridden. The artist tried to depict

this state via reconstructed overlapping images of MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) passengers using this urban public transportation system. The
picture is complex, yet not chaotic, in order to stress that modern living is nothing relaxing but, rather, teems with activities. The communicated

idea is that the more convenient our lives are, the more“oblivious”we are to appreciating the presence of now. This concept is perfect and
moving.
The other four artists earning an Award of Merit also presented great original works that deserve to be contemplated and carefully relished.
As fellow juror GUO Ming-Fu noted, the standard of the submitted pieces is high, the subjects are diverse, and the artists all captured the
essence of watercolor painting. As juror TSAI Hsien-Yu added, the mediums and presentation styles applied in the submitted artworks are well-
rounded.

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