The International Artists Grand Prize Competition (IAC),, a world-class art event organized by Taiwan International Contemporary Artist Association (TICAA) in affiliation with Art Revolution Taipei (A.R.T.), has yet again, broken a new record. For the 2018 edition, an astonishing 4,546 artworks by artists from 87 countries were submitted to compete for the Grand Prize. Following a rigorous selection process, the finalists have now been announced, with 317 pieces by 211 artists selected. The chosen artworks will be exhibited during the 2018 Art Revolution Taipei (A.R.T.) from May 18 through May 21, 2018. The coveted Grand Award and Gallery Awards will be determined during the exhibit, and announced on May 31. Sponsored by X-Power Gallery, the winners will also be granted the opportunity to exhibit at A.R.T. 2019.
This year’s finalists come from 87 countries around the globe, covering five continents, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Portugal, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, Malta, Egypt, Algeria, Taiwan and neighboring China. There are Japan, South Korea, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Mongolia. Also from Kazakhstan, Albania, South Ossetia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, Georgia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Seychelles, and more.
The selected artworks demonstrate a wide range of cultural and artistic styles, while also representing the artists’ keen observations on today’s diverse and multifaceted contemporary society. Artists have chosen to use realistic, abstract, surrealistic or expressive styles in combination with oil, silk, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, pastel, pen, oil crayons, spray paint, color ink, leather, acrylic, digital imaging, silver salt images, fabrics, needlework, and 3D printing media, to create various types of high-quality artworks. Other mediums represented will be stone engraving, bronze sculpture, glass sculpture, ceramic sculpture, stone relief, wood carving, photography, thang-ka, collage, cartoon and comics, 3D printing sculpture, and more.
Many recognized and distinguished artists have entered this competition. Spanish artist August Vilella has exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris with his surrealist oil paintings; he has also won the first prize at Tokyo International Art Fair. Bettina Rebecca Westerheide from Germany, a multi-talented artist versed in painting, visual communication, graphic arts, vocal music and dance, has exhibited in Munich Biennale. Australia’s Joey Schmidt-Muller, uses visual arts to contemplate the past and the present, has exhibited at the Florence Biennale 2017. Miran Kim, grew up in South Korea, and is an internationally recognized cover artist for the official X-Files comic series. Mongolian Tsegmed Tserennadmid, winner of Mongolian National Prize and the Best Artist of the Year and honored by Mongolian Ministry of Culture, and uses the theme of animals to create mixed media paintings. Albanian artist Ronald Fourie is committed to speak for the wildlife conservation through his artworks, with many of his creations inspired by the innocence and beauty of the animals. Je An Marquesto from the Philippines is also an environmentalist, using Dadaism, cubism and surrealism to draw on themes surrounding wildlife and the Filipino cultures. Indian artist Santanu Nandan Dinda uses bold lines and vivid colors to portray Indian rural life. Dutch artist Eric van Straaten, specializing in 3D sculpture, is a returning artist as he was also selected last year. The list of the finalists is now available on A.R.T.’s official website (www.arts.org.tw).
A.R.T. is an international art fair that debuted in 2011. Unlike conventional art shows organized around commercial galleries, A.R.T. places the artist front and center, with every booth resembling an artist’s solo exhibition. This pioneering curatorial vision has led A.R.T. to become Asia’s ionic art fair.
Since its premiere in 2011, A.R.T. has consistently had an impressive performance. For the inaugural year, it made a stunning impression with 89.66% of the exhibiting artists making sales, a record comparable to the world’s top art fair; Art Basel. In its second edition, the number reached 91.18%, with several artists having complete sellouts, including French Philippe Pasqua; the overall performance also earned many high remarks from the exhibiting artists, such as Gabriel Picart, Luigi Pellanda, and Dennis Wojtkiewicz. The following year attracted more collectors, with some artists selling out all their exhibiting artworks on the VIP Preview Night. The sales climbed to a record high of 93.21%, in 2014. In 2015, an “iron-price” policy was applied, a policy enthusiastically supported by many art collectors, and drawing many new collectors to join (nearly 80% were first-time buyers), with many artists still posting sales as high as 84.89%. In 2016, despite a sluggish global economy, the transaction rate rebounded to 90%. The number of artworks sold in 2017 climbed to 91.66%, with a total of 330 exhibiting artists confirming sales. An unprecedented event also occurred last year, when many collectors were willing to “pre-order” artworks that were yet to be created! The collectors’ willingness and enthusiasm to place order on A.R.T. curated artworks before they were even created speaks to the established authority and credibility of A.R.T. as an “absolute brand” in the world of art fairs, and aficionados.
2018 International Artists Grand Prize Competition (in alphabetical order):
Abdull Ghiass Khalil、Abdul Haleem、Adam Masava、Afri Ani、Agacharya、Aissa Yahiaoui、Alfiya Mukhamedyanova、Ali Malekpaein、Amani Mousa、Ana Carvalho、Ana Martinez、Anastasiia Aldoshina、Anatoly Khmelevsky、Andrick Egbert Jean、Angeline Valverde Urena、Anneke Winkelaar、Antonius Kho、Asil Olcay Argun、Asra Batool、August Vilella、Aung Min Thet Kyaw、Aye Nyein Myint、Baishakhi Mehatori、Bartosz Fraczek、Bela Aldatova、Beni Gassenbauer、Bettina Rebecca Westerheide、Carlo Alberto Palumbo、Carolina Guarinos、Cesar O. Alvarez、Chang Hao-Ran、Chen Pei-Han、Chen Li-An、Christopher August Tamalar、Clement Laryea、Davi de Melo Santos、David Silva、Davor Zilic、Diana Gorbach、Dusan Silvia Maria、Ekaterina Feoktistova、Elena Ilyankova、Emad Qanbari、Emiliia Lynnyk、Emine Tokmakkaya、Eric van Straaten、Estela Martinez、Flamur Vathi、Gabby Malpas、Genco Gulan、Genti Proko、Gioria Grau、Giuseppe Sticchi、Gude Srinivasa、Gulay Eroglu、Gulmira Abuova、Gunter Hujber、Guo Xiao-Wen、Gustavo Fernandes、Guzman Emilio Huanca Yanarico、Gyembo Wanggchuk、Haim Levy、Hamiyet Koseoglu、Han Ning、Harinderpal Singh、Hasan Mirza、He Qing-Qin、Homa Eshaqi、Hsiao Shao-Fang、Hsieh Ming-Ling、Ida Bagus Komang Sindu Putra、Igor Savaitaly、Irene Raspollini、Ismail Turel、Iuliia Rokina、Ivanova Anna、Jacques Tange、Jan Glozik、Jan Teunissen、Je An Marquesto、Jessica Feldman、Jesus Monge Cebolla、Jia Yuan-Hua、Joaz Silva、Joey Schmidt-Muller、Johan Bloom、Jon B.Paulsen、Jose Enrique Peidro Berenguer、Joseph Barbara、Joshua Hunter、Juan Alvarez Cebrian、Juan Rodrigo Piedrahita E、K.S.Kamesh、Kamruzzaman Sagar、Kaung Kyaw Khine、Koen De Weerdt、kyaw soe、Lan Hsueh Ying、Lapyae、Lin Zhao-Jun、Lu Zong-Xian、M. Thirupathi、Manoj Auckel、Martijn Versteeg、Masanori Koike、Mateo Kos、Maung Myint Aung、Mehmet Emin Ersan、Mehrnoush Esmaeili、Min Mahaw、Min Thar Gyi、Mina Hedayat、Minh Dam、Miran Kim、Mirko Bajsic、Mitya Karastoika、Mohammed Al Haj、Mohammed Almadhoun、Mon Thet、Mukesh Bijole、Mustafa Koseoglu、Myat Kyawt、Myint Oo, U、Nadeesan Prabou、Nasim Seyamak、Natalie Ilnitska、Neeraja Valimindi、Nikolay Darakchiev、Nina Darchia、Nirakar Chuadhary、Noriyuki Muraki、Nwachukwu Onuorah、Olga Glumcher、Ondoua Cyrille Gullit、P. Harischandra Naidu、Pascal Bejeannin、Patricia Van Lubeck、Patrick J. Moran、Patti Vaz Dias、Pavlo Baltaziuk、Peter Richard Winkelaar、Prathyusha Naralasetti、Promiyi Hossain、Purnendu Mandal、Ramesh Tata、Reba Mandal、Reem Hassan、Robert Andler-Lipski、Robert Andler-Lipski、Rogger Oncoy、Roja Sanchana、Romeo Kallco、Ronald Fourie、Roza Savinova、Ruhiye Yalgın、Rukiye Garip、Sadik Kasa、Sai Priya Mahajan、SAIMA JAMEEL、Salah Ghith、Samar Singh Thakur、Samuel Njuguna Njoroge、San Naing、Sandra De Jaume、Santanu Nandan Dinda、Sanya Arif、Satyabrata karmakar、Saw Lin Aung、Sergey Shapochkin、Sergiy Roy、Sertap Yegin、Seyed Saeid Haji Mirzaei、Shih Ciao-YI、Shinod Akkaraparambil、Shiraz Aziz、Shveta Saxena、Sridhar Poluru、Stanislav Belovski、Su kuresi、Suleyman Ozderin、Sunita Dinda、Tatiana Alexandrova、Tatyana Markovtsev、Thomas Lindberg、Thrigulla Murali、Tirupathi Rao Addepalli、Tomas Castano、Tomas Guzman、Tomasz Koclega、Tsai Hui-Ying、Tsegmed Tserennadmid、U Vijay Kumar、Victoria Grigorieva、Viktoria Fomina、Vladimir Baxx、Vladimir Tuporshin、W KYAW KYAW、Wang Xin-Ru、Win Kyi、Win Thaw、Win Zaw、Wong Jhe-Ren、Wu Shu-Lang、Yanal Desmon Zendrato、Ye Aung Myat、Yee Nan Thike、Youssra Kamel、Yuki Hayashi、Yury Salko、Zaw Khin Maung、Zbigniew Kopania
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