Calligrapher
Shoko Kanazawa

There were so many wonderful artworks, it was truly difficult to rank each and every one of them. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

Painter
Daniel Kelly

I’m honored to be one of the judges of the Paralym Art World Cup 2018, and saw world wide artworks. It was great fun to see them. Among the variety of artworks, I chose No.157 which made me smile. The bird is charming with its red nose. It has originality, simplicity and depth of color. I hope all of them keep creating art.

Painter
Akiko Endo

With a significant number of artworks coming together from across the world, the deliberation process became a very intriguing one where I was able to get a glimpse of the taste and the image of what a festival is in each country and region would be like.
Each and every artwork was not simply lively but also full of life, where the splendor and the excitement, and occasionally the heart rendering sadness of each festival themed artwork, seemed to reach out from across the screen and made me feel warm inside. Moreover, there were also ideas and points of view that made me rethink my values and my common sense, which made me very impressed with the flexibility of the artist’s imagination.
I look forward to the various number of people that will be participating in the next contest.

Artistic Director Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris Exhibition Department
Aomi Okabe

This was my first opportunity to join the selection process for the Paralym Art World Cup. Since the selection was done through the image data of the artworks, it was difficult to fully grasp the details in the artist’s touch and the nuance of the colors, but on the other hand the beauty of the structure of the art made quite an impression. Moreover, since we were only informed of the artist’s name and not their age, I felt that if we knew the artist’s age the result would have turned out differently especially for artworks that appeared rather immature.
With the contest theme being “Festival”, it was very intriguing to see that there were a number of artworks that were more abstract in taste with the festivities expressed through the celebration of colors on one hand, and artworks that were more in line with the theme which expressed the ideal of a fun festival where people from across the world come together regardless of boarders on the other.
Where a number of applicants made use of warm colors such as red, yellow and green to express the happy and lively atmosphere of a “festival”, there were also artworks that emanated an oppressive feeling due to the fact that the overuse of warm colors in the painting formed under a condensed Ukiyo-e like structure. While some artworks made me question how they relate to the theme “Festival”, artworks that showed an attractive originality at first glance made me like them regardless. Questions such as whether an artwork should deserve a low score if it doesn’t fit the theme, or if it is fine as long as it shows originality, made the deliberation into a challenging one.

Bijutsu Techo Magazine
Keiichiro Tao

In the final selection, where the artworks to be judged have been reduced to 232 from 1,288, many of them showed a high degree of expressive technique and/or radiated a strong desire to express themselves. Considering that a select few of the artworks in this pool will win an award and be seen by many, I have faced the artwork again with an objective point of view to determine if the artwork “can move someone’s heart”, instead of simply focusing on the artist’s subjective appeal.
The process wasn’t simply one to see which artwork gives you a sense of awe, but a stoic effort to see the artwork as reflection of the artist to determine why this artwork was painted, what they are trying to express, what it is about this artwork that moves me, and to put these emotional factors into words.
Being surrounded by many judges with wonderful carriers, I believe that as someone who is involved in the proving information on the forefront of modern art, my role is to discover such exceptional artwork and present it to the wider world.
With such thoughts in mind during the final selection, I have chosen artworks that have especially made me look deep into myself as the “Bijyutsu Techo” Award. Nothing would make me happier than making people who have seen these artworks at the award ceremony or in the various records, to stand still or stop turning the pages for a moment and reflect upon themselves.

Outsider Art Curator
Nobumasa Kushino

“Wow” “That’s Amazing”
Such voices of awe came out of me without thinking when judging each of the artworks.
The “art of disabled people” until now was mainly about expressions by people with intellectual disabilities, as represented by artists such as Kiyoshi Yamashita. Such expressions often fit under a certain pattern where they painted their favorite thing or a certain symbol repeatedly.
However, the artworks I have judged for the contest rarely followed this pattern of expression, where there was a wide range of materials and techniques that lead to a truly wide variety of artworks. As for the applications from overseas, there were a significant number of artworks that wonderfully captured the home culture of each applicant, which made me truly happy to be a part of a contest that offered such a wide range of diverse talent.

Art Fair Tokyo Art Tokyo Association Marketing and Communications Managing Director
Hiroaki Sumiya

The 5 artworks that I have chosen include a wide variety from representational, abstract, to portraits, I felt that each artwork expressed what lies within the artists themselves. While numerous artworks express the “Festival” theme in a direct fashion, the 5 that I have chosen were artworks where something inside the artist’s memory and/or feeling had revealed itself to me, and resonated greatly with my heartbeat and my mind.

Artist
Mackenzie Thorpe

GALLERY SIDE 2 Director・Owner
Junko Shimada

I have judged the artworks while feeling the beauty of the shape and the colors, the truly nonconventional ideas, and the power of the artworks that brought me joy.
While the abstract artworks were hard to judge since I only saw their digital copies, I have felt the appeal of the solid image presented by each artwork.
Moreover, while there were many artworks that used splendid technique, the expressions that felt fresh yet boundless, including their bold structure and their amateurish technique that even seemed intentional, have been awarded a higher score.
Looking at these artworks in between my everyday life, where I think of where modern art stands in the history of art, and coming face to face with the artist’s working to expand the boundary and the criteria of its pre-existing definition, I have felt that I have touched on the everlasting quality of visual art that connects you with or gives something to another person.
I believe that this is where the social aspect of art establishes itself, and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.

Tatto Artist
Tomomi Mahari

Quality beyond imagination.

As a fellow artist I was amazed to the point of being envious at how daring the sensitivities of the artists were.

Why is it that such artworks emerge from the “Carnival” theme…

There were many pieces that deeply shook my senses that provided me with high quality inspiration.

They do what we can’t do.
They see what we can’t see.
They express what we can’t express.

As a fellow artist I have nothing but respect for the artists.

Whenever I create art that gives you “goosebumps” or “the shivers”, I begin the production process by intentionally channeling myself to match the art’s world view. However, I believe that the artists of the contest are doing this naturally and daily, which makes the colors and the patters of their art possible.

Being an artist myself, this is a talent makes me very jealous.

I would like to thank all the applying artists for taking me on a journey to many kinds of worlds.

Artist
Mimi Yokoo

I am very grateful for the opportunity to review the various number of artworks that have come together for the Paralym Art World Cup.
With the contest theme being “Festival”, the beat from the artist’s soul seemed to emanate from each and every artwork, where each color seemed to wiggle and crawl and where you can almost hear all manner of sounds from the artworks.
I feel truly grateful and blessed to be able to come across such wonderful artworks.