This was Ms. Uchida’s first time to join the A.R.T. Compared to other art expos, she thinks that the A.R.T. is quite massive and there are a lot of visitors. The showpieces have a high standard. They are also creative and unique.
She is very satisfied with the overall arrangement of the organizer. She found the show environment very comfortable. At the show, she met the Chinese artists whom she knew before, so she did not feel lonely. When she toured the show, she was amazed by the giant fossil art pieces at the entrance. She considers the idea very special and creative.
““Trace” is the subject of my creation for my whole life.” ”The pieces I brought this time are exhibited for the first time. I tried a new style so used different tones.” “Eh, the painting does not have a name?” “Yes! I did not give the painting a name on purpose because I want to let the viewers have more room for imagination.” “This painting is about the seed of life. I used the brush to make stripes forming the outline of the entire seed. I want to use the 3-D perspective to consider the structure of the seed and present it.
Mr. Song’s works have got a lot of compliments from collectors. In the past he did not come to the show in person. He could finally come to Taiwan in 2016. He was very excited and said: “Liu Wenzheng, Pan Anbang, Qi Yu, Luo Dayou, these Taiwanese singers’ songs are in my childhood memory. Finally I can come to Taiwan in person to experience the culture and the custom here. I am very happy and honored!” “My comments for the exhibition; the atmosphere is quite active. The staff is quite nice and friendly!”
Mr. Song is very focused when he makes paintings. Every day he paints for 8 hours from day to night. A painting takes him more than 10 days. Other than painting, he likes listening to the rock & roll music, and every year he gives himself a vacation for one to two months. He travels around with his heavy weight motorcycle. He lives in Shanghai. Once he travels, he can go a long way, such as from Shanghai to Yunnan, and as far as to Tibet. When there is no road and he cannot ride the motorcycle, he would take a car instead and have the motorcycle shipped. He said last year he had the most terrible accident. He fell from a cliff and the motorcycle was crushed. After he returned to Shanghai, he bought the parts and spent a lot of time fixing his motorcycle.
When asked how he got the idea to use Western oil paints to present the artistic mood of the Chinese landscape painting? He said: “because Western oil paints can present more gradations.” “When I was a child, I learned calligraphy, Chinese painting and ink sculpture. After I grew up, I learned Western painting and oil painting. My works are the combination of Chinese traditional landscape and modern art and a presentation of the poetic landscapes of China.
“This is the most professional art expo with the the most detail-oriented service!” Mr. Wei has been to different art expos and he said: “Here the organizer cares about the details, including the service, the works and the personal needs of the artists.”
“Embroidery is a custom of Zhuang people in Guangxi. I was born and raised up in the culture. It became part of me.” The patterns of Zhuang embroidery have rich meanings and vibrant colors. The embroidery style became a feature of his paintings. “Like here, I decorate with delicate patterns. The people, the horse or the mountains are all decorated with embroidery-like patterns.”
“My works integrate Chinese traditional culture and symbols of the ethnic group, such as Classic of Mountains and Seas, Buddhist scriptures and statues. I combine traditional images, symbols, moments and daily experiences of modern life all together and think which direction I should follow.” “In our lives, we accumulate and understand many things by segments. I integrate my realizations and feelings about life in my works, just like the “Classic of Mountains and Seas” recording many legends and the Buddhist scripture “Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment”…etc.”
“I am so happy to be here at the show. The organizer is doing better and better every year!“ “I know that these volunteers work hard but every day they still cheer up for me.” The artist Zhang has been to the show for three times already. She is quite happy that she has made good friends with the organizer’s staff. She is impressed by the great service of the organizer and the A.R.T. is listed as her must-go art show. She also mentioned that this time at the show what impressed her the most and benefitted her the most was the art director’s works. “Both the subject and the content are extremely creative. I’ve learned a lot!”
Ms. Zhang often visits other booths and talks to people at the exhibition. This shows that she like crowds. She said: “I just traveled south along the coastline from Changchun. The happy scenes of people playing water on the beach became the subject of the paintings.” “When asked why in the paintings the focus is the sight of people’s backs? She said: “Through the sight of people’s backs, I show their interactions and give the viewers more room for imagination.” She is good at portraying people. She can depict their interactions in a very lively and dynamic way. This year she did not paint the background on purpose so that the focus can be put on people. The images seem to be more dramatic.
Lu Chen-I (right) is an artist in the Art with Entrepreneur area.
Lu is an artist in the Art with Entrepreneur area. Sponsored by enterprises, the Taiwanese artists in this area were picked by the organizer as they are considered to have creativity and potential. This is Lu’s first time to join an international exhibition, so she is quite excited. “I have met a lot of people in a very short period of time. The interactions have given me more inspirations to find out different ideas that I have never thought about.
“My works analyzes the relationship between humans and technology. The lines can be referred to the internet or humans’ meridians and nerves. These complicated lines are like the complicated internet technology, bringing us much convenience and helping us understand the unknown world. However, too much information is also fettering us.” “The spiraling lines from the bottom to the top are like the tornado covering up the person. The eyes in the painting are like the windows to the world. Although they are only a small part of the entire painting, they have the greatest influence on the mind.”
The works she brought this time are filled with the air of the spring. The subject is quite contemporary. If you do not pay attention, you would not notice that she uses color ink. So we can say that they are contemporary water ink paintings with a personal style! We heard that one of the collectors is planning to put a painting in a home with industrial style.
The Taiwanese artist Tu Tzu-hua went home to help the family after she finished her studies. She uses her free time to create art and weave her own dream. “When I received the invitation of the A.R.T., I was super surprised and excited! This is my first to join an exhibition, and to such a massive art expo.” “I’ve gained many valuable experiences at the show and seen different artists doing different interpretations.”
“I want to create Taiwan’s protected species in a cute way!” Belonging to the family of cats, the leopard cat is like a tamed and cute home cat. “I want to show the leopard cat turning its head with the hope to say: “can you give me a home?”” “The Black-faced spoonbill has a milkfish in its mouth, and I am showing its special long beak and furious hair style, very dynamic!” Tu always introduces the paintings to each viewer with enthusiasm and joy. One can see many interesting stories in her works.
Pascal (right) used the auto factory’s unused/waste parts for his art creation
“I feel proud to be able to join the A.R.T.” The French artist Pascal joined the show for the second time and said: “This is my first time in Taiwan. The organization here is good and people are nice. Everyone is friendly and they all smile!”
“I used the unused parts of the auto factory for my art creations. I turned a normal car into a rooster, a scorpion!” Pascal polished and trimmed the auto parts he found and then composed them into something he wanted, such as a rooster, a horse, a scorpion, very cool! “I also want to show the black shine, depth and density.” Under his clever hands, the auto parts become lively animals. At the show, his work “scorpion” attracted many kids. One child wanted to buy but his dad did not support him. So the child took a photo with Pascal so he could feel better. Then another child liked the “scorpion”, and his father said nicely: “if you like it, I will buy it for you!” At the end the father said generously: “okay, we will take it.” The child went home with the scorpion and became the youngest collector!
Peter Richard Winkelaar (right) and Winkelaar Anneke (left)
are the only husband and wife couple at the show
“This is our first time to join the show, and first time to Asia to join an art expo.” Born in India, the artist Peter Richard moved to the Netherlands at the age of 8. This year he came to Taiwan with his wife Winkellar to join the A.R.T. “The works here are great, very diverse. If I really have to say which one is the best, of course I will pick my wife Winkelaar’s work!” Peter said it with fun. Both of them like the painting of Wang Zhaoju -The drama is coming to stage. “Very large paining, very impressive.” They also found the collection of the Chinese artist Qin Zhenghui ”butterfly beauty” and the wood sculpture artist Kanis Alexey’s piece “No war” with unique intensity.
Peter Richard was a teacher of art and music. He retired last year. His work “The geisha’s violin” should have something to do with his background. “This time we saw many works and got many inspirations. I hope next year I can create more and better works!” They feel very honored to be able to join the A.R.T. this time. On their facebook for fans, one can see their excitement at the show. They both enjoy the show experience. Peter is happy to be able to come in person. After the show is over, he and his wife are planning to travel three days in Taiwan.
“I love sculpture! I make different small sculptures for children. I also teach them how to do it.” Winkelaar taught in elementary school. Now she is a stone sculpture artist. “Here we can see diverse cultures and art creations from many countries, many are amazing. This is the largest art expo I’ve ever been to!”
“I like to sculpt people’s facial expressions regardless their gender or age.” She feels that the facial expressions on the stone sculpture always have a thin membrane, misty but at the same time you can see the lines on their faces from the contours. She likes to capture everyone’s expressions this way.
“This is my first time in Taiwan to join a show.” Solveiga said the A.R.T. is a massive exhibition and there are a lot of artists. “The show has a perfect organization. The staff is great, friendly and willing to help. This exhibition is very different!”
The work “Centaur 21” is very special to her: “I have many drafts, on the stairs, on the table…but this was one of the drafts which I really really want to create!” Made of bronze, the centaur originally comes from the Greek legend. With the concept that modern people are controlled by machines and mobile phones, she turned the centaur into a machine with extraordinary significance.
“I am proud to be able to join the A.R.T.!” Thee Zar from Myanmar was the artist who won last year’s International Artist Grand Prize Competition, so he got a booth to exhibit his work this year.
“This time I brought 13 pieces with women as the subject. I don’t just depict the beauty of Myanmar women but also hope to express the beauty of women of the world.” He integrated many elements in his works such as butterfly, lotus and peacock to represent wishes.
When you see the little red donkey, you immediately think of the artist Zhang Yuying. “This is my sixth time to the show! The A.R.T. has become my most expected thing every year!” This time he brought his entire family – wife and kids. “The kids don’t go to school?” “they do! We communicated with the schoolteachers. Originally they said no but the kids want to have the opportunity to see the international exhibition. Finally the teachers agreed.”
“This year a collector came to see me and show me a photo of my booth taken back in 2013. It has been three years but the collector did not want to delete the photo in the mobile phone. I was very very touched when I saw it!” Mr. Chang thinks that the organizer continues pursuing innovation and progress. “Especially this year, from the set up to the booth planning, I feel everything has been enhanced a lot! Many details have been done well, such as the carpet color for the hallways and booths, and the installations and planning for the showpieces. I could see the organizer’s continuous innovation and progress.” “As a participating artist, I am very lucky to be part of it.”
This year he brought two large paintings and overcame the shipping issue, hoping to bring different visual feelings to collectors and viewers. “I added more diversity in terms of animals.” “The famous curator Ms. Lu is someone I met in Suzhou. She knew that I am participating in this show. She came to my booth at VIP night and purchased my work. I was very happy and touched.” “A famous performing artist also purchased my work!” The appreciation of collectors encouraged Mr. Chang greatly. He also hopes that he can keep on improving. “Just like every year I see the art director himself pursuing innovation and progress. This spirit really inspires me!”
Interviews with participating artists(1)
Interviews with participating artists(2)
Interviews with participating artists(3)
Interviews with participating artists(4)
Interviews with artists video I
Interviews with artists video II
Interviews with artists video III
Interviews with artists video IV