THE 2020 TAIWAN EMERGING ART AWARDS｜Taichung City Seaport Art Center

Artistic creation depends on creators’ art skills and concern for the world. Taiwan Emerging Art Awards is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year. However, the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has, to a certain degree, an impact on creators and provokes them to reflect on the current issue and it is what we will see in the selected works.

We received 220 pieces of works this year and 38 works were selected for this year’s exhibition. The ratio of graphic creation to all selected works is increasing, accounting for 50%. Most of the media are acrylic, oil paint, ink and complex medium. Installation artworks are the main genre of three-dimensional works, which employ multi media, including steel, cement, wood, wax, dirt, power and interactive devices, and others. It demonstrates creators dare to take risks and display their superior skills.

As far as the topics of works are concerned, the works express concerns and question for life, death and soul. Some works use family member’s death as the theme to reflect on the contradiction between life and death, which implies that accepting life is the acceptance of death as well. Some use the image of soul to create artistic effects to find peace of mind and inner calm. Or some put emphasis on life after death, an unknown world, to express the impermanence of life. The ritual is also taken as a commodity or apotheosis, the reflection of the social status. Some use works to reveal their status quo in the society. They seem to be lost in this fast-moving world. Or, in the era of self-media, everyone seems to be under close surveillance. Finally, some creators focus on the beauty of pure art by displaying the features of media and try to explore all the possibilities.

Due to the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, the pace of life has become slower. As humans are staying at home, wildlife are reclaiming their natural habitats. With crisis comes opportunity. We expect creators will be able to take all challenges with multi perspectives after undertaking crisis and turning points. They will lead us to cross and transcend the art barrier and give new life to Taiwan Emerging Art Awards