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SHELL ART AWARD 2009
Editor's Note
Written by Satoshi KOGANEZAWA   
Published: November 13 2009

This exhibition which is organized by Showa Shell Sekiyu K. K. presents prize-winning planar works made by artists who are forty years old or younger. According to the catalogue of the exhibition, Shell Art Award is said to have been established in 1956. It would be admirable that this exhibition started soon after the end of World War II and it is continuously held now through the break period. We live in difficult times to have opportunities to present artworks continuously. That is why I look forward to the continuation of the exhibition for many more years. It is said that this year 37 works won prizes out of 1,666 entries (1,093 applicants). An interesting aspect of this kind of award would be that we can enjoy looking at prize-winning creations which have been selected by judges while thinking about the works which we would choose if we were a judge. There is a defining difference in position between us and judges in that we cannot select winners from all of the 1,666 entries but from 37 creations which have been already chosen by judges. Even though it is intriguing for us to view a certain number of creations based on our sense of beauty. Personally, the most attractive exhibit was the “Untitled” (ink/water-based woodblock/Japanese paper, 132cm×144.5cm, 2009), in which Mika Endo (1984- ) depicted (probably) a girl who is straddling on a tatami. This would be due to the fact that this black-and-white creation was outstanding among the exhibits, most of which were created using vivid colors, as well as that the strange scenery - straddling on a tatami - depicted in the picture stood out curiously in my memory. Indeed, this work did not make a showy impression on me, but Endo was the only exhibitor whom I expect to present her expression in the future. (Translated by Nozomi Nakayama)

Last Updated on May 31 2010
 

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