Grey Cube Gallery proudly presents the fifth Monochrome online art show for the month of August 2025. The show encompassed a range of artistic styles and mediums (acrylic, pastel, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, scratchboard, digital art, steel, collage, photography). Each submission has been judged based on the following elements of artistic expression: orginality and quality of art, overall design, creativity, interpretation of the theme, demonstration of artistic ability and usage of medium. Out of all entries, 61 artworks were shortlisted for inclusion in the show. The competition attracted entries from many countries across the world: Canada, Ukraine, Australia, Taiwan, Ireland, USA, UK, Belgium and Switzerland. Enjoy the show and thank you for expressing an interest in our competition.

My art explores identity, emotion, and legacy. Through portraits, I capture not just likeness but essence, using bold palettes and textures to evoke nostalgia, intrigue, and reflection inviting viewers to connect with deeper stories. Legacy, history & experience that’s what makes the story telling, by way of oil & acrylic mediums, by Jay Johnsen approachable, relevant & enduring.

Jason Shih was born in 1972 in Taiwan. In 1991, he began to specialize in metal sculpture when he was a sophomore in the Fine Arts Dept. of Taipei National University of the Arts. In 2001, he graduated from School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA, and majored in Metal Sculpture. And then, he served as the metal sculptor Albert Paley's assistant, involved in crafts and public art work practices. Furthermore, he earned his Art Ph. D. from China Academy of Art, China (2015). Now, he lives in Taiwan, and consistently engages in the both areas of sculpture and public art. Jason Shih’s artistic vision is shaped by a diverse array of influences, from contemporary dance to avant-garde fashion. He cites German choreographer Pina Bausch and British designer Alexander McQueen as significant inspirations. Bausch’s explorations of time and space resonate with Shih’s interest in sculpture’s capacity to embody kinetic energy and spatial imagination. McQueen’s innovative approach to contemporary imagery and themes provides Shih with a broad canvas for creative expression. Shih’s work is also influenced by the aesthetic principles of Futurism and Constructivism, movements that emphasize dynamic energy and continuous motion. These influences are evident in his pursuit of capturing the beauty of movement and the elegant restraint of natural forces. Shih’s sculptures often depict moments of defying gravity, capturing the fleeting beauty of motion in a static form. As a professional sculptor, Jason likes to experience the taste of life with perceptual observation in the subtle moments, and also likes the ever-changing situation of game shapes in the poetic imaginary space. For Jason, art creation is to share various moods and stories in daily life.

My work is often an exploration of techniques, materials, textures, and contrasting elements. The push and pull of light and dark, subtle and bold, organic and geometric, provide visual interest while combining with geometric and linear elements to control the composition. Balance and harmony are often achieved through intuitive mark making, the choice and placement of colour, and through the repeated motif of the circle, which holds an important place in each painting. Throughout history the circle has symbolized unity and wholeness and has permeated every aspect of our lives. From the planets, to nature, to the repetitive cycles of time, the circle is universal and pervasive. In my paintings, whether whole or broken, the circle represents our attempt to reach society’s perceived idea of completeness. The imposed order often found in my work, is symbolic of the way we try to control every aspect of our lives in a continual search for that wholeness and fulfilment.

I work in a sort of literary/philosophical framework so within that context my reference points are the parables of Kafka and the aphorisms of Kierkegaard. Because elements determine content, the process of creation is both constrained and liberated by the available elements at any given time and it is the improvised procedure of choice, assembly and judgment that settles the argument.