X YPP Book

Painting
Today:
More
Visible
than
Ever
18
‘Is painting dead?’ We have been hearing this question for so long now that any
attempts to bring it up might already come across as a bit tedious. The medium
of painting has been declared obsolete at least twice: the first assault came in
the mid-19th century with the emergence of the medium of photography, and
the second one came at the turn of the 20th century with the rise of
contemporary and conceptual art.betweena However, such a standoff between
the media is absolutely meaningless. Painting was and still is one of the main
and leading forms of art. The world’s largest museums are constantly enriching
their collections with the impressive paintings of both famous up-and-coming
artists, and painting exhibitions keep generating a lot of extremely positive
feedback in the professional press that gives a lot of attention to the return of
painting and its longevity.
Today painting is more visible than ever. Without trying to diminish the role of
of other forms of art, I believe that, compared to painting, conceptual art seems
elitist, incomprehensible and invisible. In any case, both traditional painting and
conceptual art are levelling up. As a result, we are increasingly seeing paintings
in the exhibitions of contemporary conceptual art, and the artists who are using
the traditional painting techniques are now adopting the ideas of conceptual art
and interpreting the medium of painting more freely. Paradoxically, a tendency
to return to this so-called traditional technique is becoming increasingly
pronounced among the artists who have built their careers in the field of
contemporary art.
In any case, the Young Painter Prize is not aiming to convince the younger
generation of the superiority of painting. Our goal is to create an opportunity for
all young artists engaged in painting to get noticed, encouraged and appreciated
disregarding of their artistic areaget. After having been actively observing the
field for more than a decade, I can now clearly see the difference. Many things
have saw a lot of changes, starting with the changing attitudes of institutions,
buyers and collectors of art, and also the attitudes of the older generations of
artists, and ending with to the most important things — the courage and
confidence of the young, curious and creative people themselves.
Thanks to our project, young artists get the opportunity to represent their art to
the most influential people in the world of art. The YPP offers various forms of
support: a monetary prize, an artist residence and an opportunity to organize a
personal exhibition. In fact, it is a package of opportunities that any artist
concerned with their career development can be entitled to comes down to.
I am glad that the majority of the nominees who did not win the main prizes in
the YPP project have also made great use of our platform: they received
attention from professional art galleries, they were invited to take part in
important group exhibitions, and their works have been added to the museums
and private collections. The YPP benefits young creatives by providing them
with a moral incentive to continue their work, creating a great record in their
biographies, and shaping their careers.
Julija Dailidėnaitė
Art Critic
Young Painter Prize Organizer