Artist's Choice

Our fifth Art competition “Artist's Choice” started in July 2024 and concluded on August 01, 2024. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Romania, Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, South Korea, Ireland, Taiwan, Italy and Norway . The Artist's Choice theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, digital art, photography, bronze, stainles steel). The following evaluation criteria has been used for judging the artwork: creativity, interpretation of the theme, originality and quality of art, overall design, demonstration of artistic ability, and usage of medium. Jury decided to select 40 artworks for inclusion in the exhibition. Aside from First, Second, and Third place Jury also presented Merit Awards.

Thank you, and enjoy the exhibition!

Statement:

Historian of philosophy and visual artist based in Poland, known for unique contemporary textile art. Her distinctive, original tapestries constitute a combination of traditional weaving techniques with innovative use of electric cables, paper, clothing items, leather and other raw materials. The original technical solutions and manful choice of themes were distinguished within the Competition MUZA 2015 – Magdalena Abakanowicz (2015) , V National Art Competition (2015) and the Tapestry of the Year Competition (2015) . The works found their way to the collection of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński (collections of the Institute of Primate’s Chapel in Choszczówka, near Warsaw, Poland).

Statement:

Jason Shih was born in 1972 in Lukang Town, Changhua County, Taiwan, where traditional craftsmen are active. He has been interested in folk crafts, temple architecture, wood and stone carvings since childhood. From elementary school to high school, he attended a special art education class for 10 years in Taipei City. In 1993, he began to specialize in metal sculpture when he was a sophomore in the Fine Arts Department of Taipei National University of the Arts. In 2001, Jason SHIH graduated from School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, USA, and majored in Metal Sculpture. And then, he served as the famous American metal sculptor Albert Paley's assistant, involved in metal crafts and large-scale public art work practices. Furthermore, he earned his Art Ph. D. from China Academy of Art, China (2015). Jason Shih's abstract sculptures adopt a simplified aesthetic that uses simplicity to control complexity. His creations start from the delicate humanistic thinking of oriental sentiments and invoke the bright expression techniques of contemporary visual art in form and color. The characteristics of the work are simplicity yet grandeur, attention to detail and full of dramatic tension. In a lively and creative modern style, it elaborates on contemporary humanities. As a professional sculptor, Jason likes to experience the taste of life with perceptual observation in the subtle moments, and also likes the ever-changing situation of game shapes in the poetic imaginary space. For Jason, art creation is to share various moods and stories in daily life.

Statement:

I am a survivor/feminist/artist. During the isolation of COVID, painting began again with zealousness, ease, and found a genuine newness and expression to work that began to sing. My work utilizes color, shapes, and lines. The core of my work focuses on color and the use of color theory. Through observation, it was found that if I placed a black box on a page, it became stagnant – a black box. However, when I drew a jagged red line through the box, it became dynamic, a new form of energy. Using circles, swatches of color and lines, gave liveliness to the painting, creating movement. When painting, I find it beneficial to execute a series of work either similar in color, expression or design. During my education at Rochester Institute of Technology – (MFA, BFA), I began to follow T. S. Elliot’s Objective Correlative. This is a means of expressing emotion in art by using either set objects, a situation, or a chain of events. Through this method, the painting becomes that emotion. In my work, I do not dictate the emotion found in the painting; but leave it for the viewer’s own discovery and interpretation. This work subjective in nature, utilizes color to illustrate feelings, dreams, or emotions. This gut feeling leaves the hand and heart of individual and leaps to a medium to portray that fervor and intensity. Tools such as spray paint, Conte crayons, graphite, charcoal and acrylic paint are used. Color draws the eye over the piece to the core. The lines keep the eyes moving, while symbols quietly state, “look at me”. The exchange between colors, lines and shapes tell the story—her story,