Its been a long road, but at last we come to the final of this years Competitions. Welcome to the Salmagundi Art Club. For over one hundred and thirty years from its walls have hung some of the finest paintings the art community has to offer. And for the second year in a row, it will be hosting NTDs International Figure Painting Competition. Lets go have a look. Once again, NTD has brought together some of the finest Chinese artists from around the globe. [Kathy Gillis, Artist]: Everything is just exquisite! And those who stopped by expressed their admiration. [Kathy Gillis, Artist]: It lives and breathes. If youve ever had a good painting in your home you know that you get up each day and you see it differently. You learn from paintings. Paintings dont stop the day theyre painted. They last and theyre always teaching you. For one week, the Salmagundi Art Club opened its doors free of charge to the general public, to revel in the presence of these magnificent artworks. These paintings portray everything from the thoughtful to the fantastic, from the heart wrenching to the sublime. [Harry Warren, Medical Doctor]: Absolutely marvelous. Its spectacular. So much talent. Each painting reflects some aspect of the life and culture of China. A model in a painting depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China, describes the artists intent. [Vivian Song, Model/Artist]: And he wanted to portray practitioners in China who were tortured in the most sever way and one of them is the way females especially in labor camps are treated and this particular female is being dragged out into the snow. Her body just left there. And what its trying to portray is the compassionate people who come by and really show their sympathy for this person and what they had to go through." For the artists, it has been a truly rewarding experience. [Michelle Chen, Contestant]: Not just only we come here to compete, also we come here to make friends and also we learn from each other and improve ourselves. And this week did prove to be a learning experience. For many of the contestants, this is was their first time in the city. So NTD arranged a tour of the some of New Yorks food and culture. Contestants were treated to a tour of the Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In their downtime, the artists worked on improving their skills, taking time to draw sketches of each other, and sharing their knowledge about art, and the challenges theyve overcome. [Joe Hing Lowe, Contestant]: Well, my wife posed for this you know. See when I do this, the studio, very short ceiling. I had to paint this sitting down this low and shes standing there so you can see the two different perspectives. One like looking down and then looking up. It looked different. At last it came time for the winners to be announced. This year, the gold prize went to Michelle Chen, for her piece, Shock. But this award ceremony has a touch of sadness to it. Due to safety concerns, the name and face of one of the competition's honorable mention winners, who is living in Mainland China, is not being shown in this report. Because this television station frequently broadcasts independent reporting on the Chinese Communist regime's human rights abuses, those connected with it may be targeted by secret police and state security personnel. To protect this contestant and his family from arrest and interrogation, his identity is not being disclosed. However, he was able to express his gratitude through Ms. Song. [Vivian Song]: Im here today and I dont regret it a single bit because Im able to be with so many talented artists and he says hes seen a lot of different exhibits in China, but very few are even up to this caliber in its artistry. So its a pleasure just being here and meeting artists like him who have traveled all the way from China and have risked a lot of things being here. Well, that wraps up this years figure painting exhibit and at the same time, this years series of nine competitions. Its been a real pleasure and an honor being here with you to report on all these great stories and get a little taste of the culture. I hope to see you again next year for the next in NTDs series of nine competitions. This is Chris Chappell NTD, New York

• published: 07 Dec 2009
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