Kaohsiung art awards winners named

2015-03-26

The 17 winners of the annual Kaohsiung Awards were recently unveiled in the southern Taiwan port city, highlighting the robust talent of local emerging artists.

Organized by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts under the auspices of the city’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the event attracted 625 entries judged by a multidisciplinary panel of 45 art critics, scholars and specialists.

Five artists claimed top honor Kaohsiung Awards, eight collected Excellent Work Awards, three picked up Observer Awards and one received the inaugural HCS Special Award for Calligraphy and Seal-Engraving Works. The recipients shared prize money of NT$2.5 million (US$78,989).

“Since the establishment of the awards in 1997, they have become highly coveted honors and reflect the general trend of artistic development in Taiwan,” a KMFA official said March 21 at the awards ceremony. “The competition serves as a great starting point for budding artists to gain international exposure.”

Aged between 23 and 41, the winners showcased their creative talents via a wide variety of art forms, including calligraphy, new media, oil painting and sculpture.

“The awards recognize works representative of local culture and international trends of arts,” the official said. “Most of the submissions display a genuine concern for the environment and reflect the artists’ deep bonds with the society.” 

According to a member of the judging panel, Kaohsiung Award winner Liao Chao-hao’s papier-mache sculpture of a wave breaker atop a reinforced wall on a vegetated slope was selected for its effectiveness in highlighting the threat posed by mudslides.

“The fragile nature of the material and the sense of heaviness conveyed by the sculpture creates a sharp contrast and brings attention to an issue impacting many parts of Taiwan,” the judge said.

Fellow KA winner Chang Chan also caught the panel’s eye with an array of photographs featuring decorative pot cultures, pedestrian islands painted in black and yellow strips and streetside electrical transformer boxes plastered with color drawings.

“Such an odd combination creates an eye-catching visual and underscores the lack of environmental aesthetics in Taiwan’s streetscape,” the judge said.

All winning works are on display at a special exhibition running until June 6 at KMFA.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=228669&CtNode=413)