The 14th International Biennial Print Exhibition, R. O. C. is sponsored by the Council of Cultural Affairs and organized by the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. This year, the exhibition invited artists from 69 countries to participate in the competition with their original works and received 1423 art works in total. The preliminary of the competition was held in March to select the nominated works, and the final was held in April to choose the winners.

In order to attract the top print artists around the world to show their works at this competition, thus stimulating the development of print art in Taiwan, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts hosted an exhibition for all the winning and nominated works from May to July 2010. At the same time, the Japanese Themed Print Exhibition was held in an adjacent gallery. In order to allow more people in Taiwan to view these artworks, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts plans to hold a touring exhibition at three living art centers in Taiwan from October 2010 to April 2011. This will allow people who love art in northern, southern and eastern Taiwan to enjoy the prints.

The works that will be exhibited in this tour were created via various methods, and they have diverse styles and forms. Each has its unique textures and minute, exquisite variations. Many of the nominated works are woodcut prints of very high quality, and even though some of the woodcut prints were made using the mixed techniques, they still have rustic lines, a strong black and white contrast, interesting carving techniques and intriguing wood grains and patterns. Not many traditional European copper prints were nominated for this tour, thus the applied techniques and the mixed techniques shown in many of these works are incredibly valuable. With the increase in Eastern-Western interaction, the works of print artists from Eastern Europe have shown more influence from abstract techniques and ideas than in the past. Thus, there were many abstract works in this year’s competition, and this tour will be a good opportunity to observe the influence of Eastern and Western art on each other.

The touring exhibition locations and dates for 14th International Biennial Print Exhibition, R. O. C. are as below:

National Hsinchu Living Art Center: October 26, 2010 to November 28, 2010

National Tainan Living Art Center: January 15, 2011 to February 27, 2011

National Taitung Living Art Center: March 5, 2011 to April 15, 2011

In addition to showcasing the winning and nominated works from the International Biennial Print Exhibition competition, this touring exhibition also aims to stimulate the public’s interest in prints and help everyone understand the creative processes of print art. In order to allow the public to better understand print art, this exhibition is divided into five areas: the exhibition area, the exploration and learning area, the video corner, the published information area and the holiday activities area. The goal of this touring exhibition is to increase people’s understanding of international trends in prints and the aesthetics of prints, cultivate the public’s interest and knowledge of prints and encourage people to incorporate art into their lives, become more cultural and develop their aesthetic tastes.