"Old Shore Sunset" by Chun-Yan Hilyard. This oil painting won 2nd place in this year's Juried Art Show.
Dear Friends of OCAC,
Our emotions have been forefront, our general routine "back staged" as we--the Art Community of South Jersey--faced a tragic loss last week. One of our most active and enthusiastic visual artists passed away, Chun-Yan "Kim" Hilyard. To say that she has already brought this art community together does not passify our emptiness, nor our saddened hearts. However, in this short time, she has already done that. We would rather have her smile, her charismatic social magic bringing us together, as she had begun to do already.
We proceeded Friday evening with our Juried Art Show Awards Ceremony and Exhibit opening. And, yes, the three judges who did not know her on October 23rd when they chose the 50 pieces accepted into the show, as well as the winners of the awards, chose Chun-Yan as the recipient of the 2nd Place Award. Therefore, with the need for gathering to console, as well as the promise to attending artists to announce our winners, we decided to leave the 2nd Place Winner to be announced last, by President of the Board of Trustees, Jack Devine. He allowed a minute's time of silence, then I spoke briefly and invited others to share if they wished. And they did. The gallery became our gathering place to honor and share our time and our impressions that Kim left with us. One even came prepared with enlarged photos she took of Kim on one of the many excursions painting with the high tide rising.
I would like to share with the blogging community the words I spoke on Friday night (Nov. 6, 2009 8pm):
IT HAS BEEN OUR PRIVILEGE TO HAVE THE WORK OF CHUN-YAN HILYARD ON THESE VERY WALLS, JUST 2 SHORT MONTHS AGO. IT WILL NOT COME AS A SURPRISE TO ANY OF YOU WHO KNEW HER THAT HER SINGLE ARTIST SHOW’S OPENING HOSTED ONE OF THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ATTENDEES IN THE ARTS CENTER’S HISTORY OF SINGLE SHOWS. CLEARLY, THE DEPTH OF HER PASSIONS INCLUDED NOT JUST THE NEED FOR VISUAL CREATIVITY, BUT THE JOY OF SHARING AND INTERACTING WITH OTHERS WHO ARE DRIVEN BY THE ARTS. AND SO, MANY OF HER ARTIST FRIENDS WHO MET HER IN THE OUTDOORS AND ENJOYED PAINTING PLEIN AIR STYLE WERE AT HER EXHIBIT OPENING, AND MANY OF YOU ARE HERE THIS EVENING.
LIKE YOU, WE HAVE NOT HAD AMPLE TIME TO ALLOW THIS LOSS TO SINK IN. BUT BECAUSE WE ARE GATHERED HERE THIS EVENING, PERHAPS IT IS OF SOME CONSOLATION THAT WE CELEBRATE THE ART OF ONE OF US WHO IS GONE. WE WILL NEVER SEE HER WORK THE SAME WAY AGAIN. IN VIEWING HER BRUSH STROKES, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO RELIVE AND TO ENJOY HER UNIQUE PASSION, AND THE BEAUTIFUL QUALITIES OF THIS GRACIOUS, ENTHUSIASTIC, WOMAN WE CALLED OUR FRIEND “KIM”—CHUN-YAN HILYARD.
IN SPECIAL TRIBUTE AND REMEMBRANCE OF CHUN-YAN, THE ARTS CENTER WILL PURCHASE HER PAINTING “LIGHT AND SHADOW” AS THE NEWEST ADDITION TO OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE FEEL FREE AT THIS TIME TO SPEAK TO US.
Sincerely,
Lorraine Hansen
Executive Director, Ocean City Arts Center
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