Samuel Hsuan Yu Shih
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Samuel Hsuan Yu Shih is an international artist, ceramicist, sculptor, and curator. He currently serves as an artist member of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC) under UNESCO, a master craftsman at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI), and the Artistic Director of UNIT9 Ceramics & Visual Arts Office. His works are known for their refined and elegant craftsmanship, seamlessly blending intellectual and contemporary austerity with grand, graceful expressions of a new Eastern aesthetic. His materials span a wide range, including ceramics, metal, glass, and mixed media.
- Location USA / Colorado
- Year of the Grant 2001
- Residency Anderson Ranch Arts Center
- Personal Website Samuel Hsuan Yu Shih's Personal Website
Founded in 1966, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center (ARAC) has for decades brought together a diverse group of aspiring and renowned artists in a wide range of workshops in 7 disciplines including photography, new media, ceramics, painting and drawing, furniture design and woodworking, sculpture, printmaking and digital fabrication. A year-round artist-in-residence program fosters the growth of emerging and established visual artists.
As a bustling city of more than 8.5 million people and a global icon of contemporary art, New York's art scene is ever-changing, from world-renowned cultural institutions and museums to commercial galleries, outdoor public installations, thousands of performance spaces, and a myriad of creators, curators, and collectors of all forms of artistic expression.
Artist-in-Residence is often a move from location A to location B, which is similar except for the change of workplace. The Anderson Ranch Arts Center Residency and the New York Residency, which I applied for at the Council for Cultural Affairs (The Ministry of Culture's predecessor), offer two distinctly different modes of “closed” and “open” residencies.
A closed residency, such as the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, is one of the most ideal residencies because it offers a wide range of classes and opportunities, efficient programs, exhibition space and hours, and comfortable food and lodging so that artists can pursue their creative endeavors in comfort. However, this comfort also prevents artists from practicing and exploring in the unknown.
The open residency program, which exiles artists to one of the world's largest and most ethnically diverse cities and art capitals, is a test of the creator's mindset and ability to "go free. One can choose to spend time in New York's Chelsea and Lower East Side neighborhoods, where there are more than 1,000 galleries, or to practice ascetically in the city, meeting artists from all over the world and making daily practice and exploration a must.
I'm honored to be recommended by the Council for Cultural Affairs Commission to represent Anderson Ranch Arts Center Residency and the New York Residency, which is an important, meaningful, life-changing opportunity for artists.
Author: Samuel Hsuan Yu Shih
Edited: Brix