Chairman’s Message
Dear artists who entered this year’s ARC Salon as well as all of ARC’s members, friends and associates from around the globe:
2020 was perhaps the worst year of my 75 years of life. The pandemic which has altered and impacted all of our lives, in too many cases, has destroyed lives everywhere. When we decided to run the next ARC Salon anyway, we did so with the belief that despite what horrors may occur, life must still go on. For the thousands of artists who participate in the ARC Salon or benefit from it in other ways, the ARC Salon plays a critical role in helping our current lives feel more normal. The ARC Salon is not only a competition, but a symbol of hope, a source of inspiration, and a powerful platform that presents to artists a large number of unique opportunities to have their works seen and their voices heard. We didn’t know what to expect and even whether there would be a drop off in entries, but to all our amazement and delight the ARC Salon enjoyed another year of growth similar to recent years at 14%. Even more important, the beauty and power of the best works submitted in every category were equal or better than ever and the quantity of top-quality works has increased dramatically.
Artists who paint representationally have a common belief in the poetic power of communicating our shared humanity. Nothing demonstrates better than these fine works of art, the basic tenets of the ARC Philosophy, perhaps the most important being that Realism in the fine arts is a universal visual language. That alone makes Representational Art one of humanities greatest accomplishments. The purpose of all language is communication and alone, among all living things, people have the capacity to communicate with each other in near limitless complexity and sophistication. Whether with those whose lives we share, or those with whom we work, or whether it is to create records about life and history, Realism serves this vital purpose of communication.
Please enjoy this year’s ARC Salon and we hope to see you at the live exhibition.