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Juror’s Statement, Watercolor Painting Category

HUNG Tung-Piao

Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition of Taichung City is one of the most all watercolor painting techniques in this composition; yet the result is
important art exhibitions in Taiwan. Since its inception, many of this a perfect combination of conflict and harmony, as the hazy warm tones
event's award-winning artists have gone on to become major figures in inspire the viewers' sensibilities and imagination, while the clean bright
Taiwan's art scene, which now helps it attract many participating artists blocks of color promote a rational interpretation. Obviously, the artist is a
each year. The organizer invests much effort into arranging this event, master of his craft and successfully evokes the viewers' emotions with his
including great care in selecting and inviting judges. This year, exhibition work.
jurors came from northern, central and southern Taiwan and all were In the Award of Merit work “The Fading Fluorescent Rose”, the
painters with over 30 years of art-creation experience. During the judging artist simplified and only used lines to present the objects. A whale,
process, we were able to put aside any preconceived ideas and carefully polar bear, people and airplanes are layered into a semi-abstract and
consider and compare the entries.
imaginative work. Every point, line and plane seems to play a part in
This year we received 150 entries for the watercolor painting conveying the imagery of the entire piece; yet, at the same time, they can
category, including six works from overseas. The preliminary selection also be considered independent objects in the composition, making it an
was intense, yet completed with a calm approach. The jurors voted four intriguing piece of artwork.
times before finally selecting 24 shortlisted entries. For the final selection The Award of Merit piece “Desperate Helplessness” realistically
process, the organizer placed the 24 original pieces in a display room conveys a message about the disadvantaged in society. The situation of
so that jurors could inspect the works close-up or from further away,
however they wished. Eventually, we were able to unanimously choose the the homeless is usually ignored by the public and the artist hopes to raise
public awareness of this issue. The extremely detailed methods that the
winners from among these 24 outstanding paintings.
artist employed to paint the folds on the homeless man's clothing and
The First Prize winner, titled “Dirt”, is inspired by the current hot utilize light and shadow pull this diverse, rich composition into focus.
topic of environmental protection. The melancholic blue-toned city With only a few shades of color, the artist managed to effectively guide
symbolizes the polluted world that we live in. An exaggerated composition the viewers' focus to the correct point.
extends the viewer's perspective to the blurry horizon while showing a
contrast between reality and fantasy. The color blocks are stacked against In another Award of Merit winner, “A National Treasure with Atayal
each other in rhythmic harmony and finally spread out into a layered Facial Tattoo”, the artist boldly chose to tackle the detailed, intricate
wide space. This artwork contains the concepts of modern language for patterns of aboriginal tattoos with watercolors. This artwork is a record
fantasy and imagination. of the disappearing indigenous culture. Lavish garments and colorful
accessories cannot compete with the ancient legends told through the
The Second Prize winner, titled “The Melody of Life”, depicts the tattooed old woman's lively eyes. This moving painting presents an elderly
sense of helplessness and anxiety that a little girl feels against old and woman who knows that the life from her memories no longer exists as she
fading surroundings in a realistic, almost photograph-like, way. This sings a silent lament for the possible extinction of her people's culture.
is a scene about growing up and is captured with mature skills. The
artist has very strong sketching skills and presented a balanced, delicate Jean-François Millet won first prize at the International Exposition
composition. It is an extremely well-done piece that uses a traditional of 1867 in Paris and was named Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
method to interpret the passage of life. the next year. Claude Monet, on the other hand, did not earn a short-
listing with his work, “Impression, Sunrise” at a salon art exhibition in
The Third Prize winner, titled “The Blues on the Way Home”, uses 1872 and was even ridiculed by art critics at the exhibition for works
a photograph-like realistic method to layer scenes from different spaces that did not win awards. Nevertheless, Monet later became a pioneer
into one picture. The presentation, composed of snippets from the worlds for the Impressionist art movement and made his mark on art history.
of reality and dreams, displays a balanced, harmonious scene with many This shows us that while it is naturally an honor and joy to win awards
intricate details. It shows that the artist has every detail completely under at exhibitions because this presents an opportunity for artists to become
control and clearly dedicated much time and effort to this piece.
better known, whether you win or not today does not determine if you
Award of Merit winner “Cretaceous” offers a lot of room for will succeed or not in the future. Thus, I hope you all will continue to
interpretation. The artist aimed to achieve the extreme possibilities of work diligently to create more art.

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