The biennial “CTBC Painting Prize” is dedicated to uplifting innovative young and mid-career artists, encouraging the creation of contemporary paintings. Embracing an open approach with no restrictions on themes, mediums, and sizes, the Prize encourages artists to boldly explore and challenge, thereby presenting the possibilities of painting creation. In this edition, 17 outstanding works were selected from 802 submissions by the jury through a two-stage selection process, exhibiting at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts. Among them, 5 merited works have been acquired as part of the CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture collection, the Prize hence shows its continual drive to the development of contemporary painting through corporate support.

The artworks selected in this edition, open up dialectics and discussions within contemporary painting. Through their “paintings”, the artists interpret the issues or phenomena that happened in the “contemporary” time and consciously engage in a dialectical discourse with past and present painting systems that embody the unique spirit of the prize. By juxtaposing these 17 works, we can observe three phenomena. Firstly, there is an exploration of the formal aspects of the painting medium—whether in the study and exploration of the medium itself or the extended meaning of the materials. Secondly, it involves the relationship between traditional painting media and contemporary image media, encompassing contextual connections among various media such as mass media, the internet, personal media, Artificial Intelligence, meme or social media channels. Lastly, there is a reflection on the ways of seeing paintings, challenging the boundaries of imagination and interpretation within “contemporary painting.” The exhibited works in this edition cover diverse topics, ranging from everyday life to social reflection, from historical phantoms to contemporary technology, and from scenic landscapes to cross-strait issues. Through the artists’ reflections and reconstructions, a rich and diverse conversation is presented, establishing the value of painting in today’s era.