NTMFA stages New Year print exhibition

2015-01-16

An exhibition of prints marking the upcoming Year of the Sheep was recently launched by Taichung City-based National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Comprising 77 works selected from 236 submissions in a contest run by NTMFA, the event is expected to prove popular with the public as sheep and goats, which have the same sounding characters in Chinese, are auspicious animals in the Chinese zodiac. Of the featured pieces, six received grand prizes, 10 awards of excellence, 20 selected awards and 41 recommended for commendation.

Also included in the exhibition are two respective works by master silkscreen artists Lu Yen-ching, a professor with National Hsinchu University of Education, and Shen Chin-yuan, a professor with Taipei City-based National Taiwan Normal University.

NTMFA curator Huang Tsai-lang said that Lu’s spectacular print contains positive symbols like booming peony flowers and jewel-decorated sheep, while Shen’s masterpiece is resplendent with colors of luxurious gold, pine nut green, coral pink and rosy red.

The six grand prize winners, which employ a variety of themes and techniques, comprise Chen Bo-yin’s golden-haired goat; Hsu Yi-hsuan’s sheep at sunrise; Li Chun-hwa’s goat carrying a kid with a jade ornament; Lu Yen-huei’s abstract goats; Su Chih-wei’s indigenous Tao warrior standing next to a goat with a background dominated by flying fish; and Yang Wen-yu’s print of young goats holding lanterns parading on the street.

Launched in 1985 by the Ministry of Culture, the annual exhibition and competition have been run by NTMFA since 2006. The initiative aims to promote the traditional art of New Year print-making, preserve old techniques and encourage the use of modern themes.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=226311&CtNode=413)