「冬雨．遠山．近海―宜蘭當代女性藝術家」，以宜蘭的人文特色，好山好水，加上各個女性藝術家都對宜蘭有許多的淵源記憶和故事描述，將對故鄉的情懷轉化成對當代藝術的觸角，延伸更深廣的美學內涵，注入更多元的創新面貌，繼而眺望這片土地的過去、現在和未來。藝術家以她們敏銳的內心思索方式，運用各種不同媒材詮釋故鄉的人文記憶和感情對話，喚起對地方的濃厚情感。
本展覽聚焦於「當代女性藝術家」，邀請12位宜蘭在地女性藝術家，以2022年當作時間節點，透過宜蘭美術館的地域性特色，以藝術展覽與教育活動，回應臺灣女性藝術家在歷史上的表現，同時進行宜蘭女性藝術家相關資料整理與出版。
性別與身份（gender and identity）的議題，在當代藝術領域中一直佔據著很大篇幅，尤其是1980年代之後，因為全球化的擴展與衝擊，越來越多的藝術家關注身體與性別的駁雜性（hybridity）與流動性（fluidity），鬆動原始的性別男女二元論的認知，解構對於性別的刻板印象，呼應著當下「後性別主義/postgenderism」的探論與梳理。而女權運動在當代藝術的創作主題，也從20世紀中期的女性主義（feminism）所指涉的女人（women），透過許多藝術家的創作積累，伴隨著社會運動與性別平權，推演至當下泛指具有「陰柔特質」（femininity）的對象與角色，著重於自我覺察與認同，而不僅僅只是先天的生理構造，或是社會性別的框架產物。
展覽標題「冬雨．遠山．近海」是透過策展人與藝術家問卷訪談，記錄藝術家個人生活與宜蘭記憶相關的文字組合。以藝術家自身的感知經驗，取代社會群體對於「女性」既有的觀看與閱讀方式。因此，本次的展覽重點，除了建構宜蘭當代女性藝術家的展覽平臺之外，也同時透過策展機制，嘗試將「女性」在藝術史上的角色重新定位，呼應當代藝術在21世紀初期對應性別與身份等議題的多元觀點。
展出藝術家：李雅雯、李瑋、李翡文、林思瑩、郭慧禪、梁曉勤、游幸姍、黃湘智、楊林、蔡旻芸、盧嬿宇、簡吟如（按姓名筆劃排序），有些在宜蘭出生長大，有些在宜蘭居住生活並從事創作。創作形式媒材多元，包括平面繪畫、水墨、雕塑、陶瓷、影像、綜合媒材、裝置等等，創作的主題也相當廣泛，從自身創作實踐到當代議題面向。宜蘭美術館冀望透過本次展覽，在後疫情時代，重新定義地方美術館對應當代藝術議題的重要性與歷史意涵。
“Winter Mountain, Rain and Sea: Contemporary Female Artists of Yilan” is a deep look into Yilan’s past, present, and future, with Yilan’s cultural features and landscapes as well as the memories and narratives of Yilan’s female artists, who have turned their affection for their hometown into exploration into contemporary art, enriching it with aesthetic depths and diverse innovations. With their keen sensitivities, the artists interpret their cultural memories of and emotional conversations with their hometown through varying media to evoke a strong bond with the land.
Featuring twelve female artists based in Yilan, this exhibition focuses on contemporary female artists. With the year 2022 as an entry point, based on the unique locale of the Yilan Museum of Art, through art exhibitions and educational events, we reflect the achievements of Taiwanese female artists in history while organizing and publishing information on female artists of Yilan.
Gender and identity have always been prominent issues in contemporary art. Since the 1980s, in particular, with the expansion and impact of globalization, more and more artists have turned their attention to the hybridity and fluidity of body and gender, undermining the old binary perception of gender and deconstructing gender stereotypes, responding to the ongoing exploration and analysis of postgenderism. Subject matters in contemporary art that are related to the feminist movement have evolved from the women referred to in the feminism of the mid-20th century to figures and characters with femininity in general, thanks to the bodies of work of many artists, along with social and gender equality movements. The focus has shifted to self-awareness and identity, instead of merely the anatomy that one is born with or products of social constructs.
The title of the exhibition, “Winter Mountain, Rain and Sea,” comprise elements taken from the questionnaire survey conducted by the curator on the artists, who reveal their personal lives and their memories of Yilan. The artists’ subjective experiences have replaced the society’s existing ways of viewing and reading women. Thus, besides establishing a platform for contemporary female artists of Yilan to showcase their work, a goal of this exhibition is, by way of curation, attempt to redefine the roles of women in art history and reflect the diverse perspectives on gender and identity in contemporary art in the 21st century.
The featured artists are Li Ia-Wen, Lee Wei, Li Fei-Wen, Lin Szu-Ying, Kuo Hui-Chan, Liang Hsiao-Chin, Yu Hsing-Shan, Huang Hsiang-Chih, Yang Lin, Tsai Min-Yun, Lu Yen-Yu, Chien Yin-Ru. Some of them were born and raised in Yilan; the others live and create art in Yilan. The media they use range widely, from painting, ink wash, sculpture, ceramics, imagery, composite materials, to installations. Their subject matters are also diverse, taken from their own creative experiences as well as contemporary issues. Through this exhibition, the Yilan Museum of Art hopes to redefine the historical significance of local art museums in relation to issues of contemporary art in this post-pandemic era.