GEISAI Taiwan Report 5/ Award Recipients

GEISAI TAIWAN saw participation from over 276 artists and of that number, as many as 15 received awards!! Consider this ample evidence of the high level of Taiwan’s art scene.

In this report, we will introduce a portion of the award winners.


●Gold Prize Ms. Tien Hsiu-chu

A native of Xinzhu Xian, 72 year old Ms. Tien traces her roots to the indigenous Taiwanese Tayal tribe. Her career as a painter began only two years ago when she began painting together with her grandchild. At first, it was just a way to pass the time but soon her daughter Cheng Shu-Wen , an art professor, noticed the raw talent hidden in her simple drawings and began encouraging her to paint more. No one was more surprised than Ms. Tien herself that her first ever exhibition resulted in a grand prize winner. “The prize should really go to my daughter. She’s the one who applied to have me exhibit here,” she commented. Either way, the fact that someone who has only begun walking the path of creativity could receive such an award should please us all and we can’t wait to see what she has in store next.
As a winner, Ms. Tien has been invited to exhibit at Tokyo’s GEISAI #14 on March 14, 2010. “I’ll put more work into my pieces than I ever have before” she said, showing a newly born passion.


●Silver Prize – Mr. Lee Chen-Tao

Influenced by his father, who was also an artist, 27 year old Mr. Lee was surrounded by the arts from an early age. Even as a first grader, he was already modeling for paintings. After earning his master’s degree from National Taiwan Normal University, he has since been working to build a career as a pro artist. The GEISAI silver prize comes on the heels of a special jury award at Kao-Shiong last July in Taiwan, and the artist expressed his surprise at being named a winner. Having his work accepted by our three jurors is sure to help his confidence.
Mr. Lee has reportedly been in contact with several galleries and had these excited comments with regard to the upcoming GEISAI#14: “I’d like to produce works which are more sophisticated, more complete. I also hope to meet many interesting people in Tokyo and gain new sources of inspiration.”

A sample of Mr. Lee’s artworks：
http://www.wretch.cc/album/dale1211


●Bronze Prize – Ms. Kao Chien-Yi

Having just turned 30 this year, Ms. Kao is a graduate of Shih Chien University and has been working as an artist and cameraman since 2002. She can often be seen at rock clubs, energetically photographing the performances her favorite bands, and remarked that winning a prize at GEISAI was “a dream come true.” “I hope to use GEISAI#14 as a turning point in my career and do things a little differently than I have so far. I’d like to try out some new ideas,” she commented with absolute sincerity. She went on to say that her new works would be less based on her daily life and that she would try to capture her unique energy in more abstract ways. “Even if my exhibit consists only of two new paintings and 10 photos, I want to distinguish myself, show people who I am.

A sample of Ms. Kao’s artworks：
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jojokao/

Finally, we asked her for some comments on GEISAI#14. “I’m sure it will be a wholly different world from GEISAI Taiwan,” she responded, her words dripping with anticipation.
The addition of our Taiwanese prize winners is yet another reason to be excited about GEISAI#14. Congratulations to Ms. Tien Hsiu-chu, Mr. Lee Chen-Tao, and Ms. Kao Chien-Yi!!

Further details on the award winning works can be seen here.
http://tw.geisai.net/g12/feature/winner1.php