Sumi-e Society of America, Inc.
62nd Annual Juried Exhibition
Ninth Worldwide Internet Exhibition
August 2025 – April 2026
http://sumieshow.org
The National Board of Directors of the Sumi-e Society of America, Inc. invite you to enter the 62nd Annual Juried Exhibition - the Ninth Worldwide Internet Exhibition. An Internet Exhibition is a virtual exhibition in which paintings and calligraphy are not hung in a physical gallery but rather viewed on an Internet website. The Internet site will be online for nine months enabling us to reach a much wider audience. The purpose of the exhibition is to publicly show the best current East Asian brush painting and calligraphy and to further the Society’s mission. A combination of cash and other awards, approximating $7,400.00 in value, will be awarded.
PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY SO AS NOT TO RISK DISQUALIFICATION.
Please submit early so we can assist you with any technical issues in the entry process.
ELIGIBILITY: This competition is open to all artists.
MATERIALS - Brush painting or calligraphy must be in Asian ink, or Asian ink and watercolor on Asian rice* paper, shikishi boards or silk. The predominant element must be ink and direct brushwork on the base, however, techniques such as monoprinting, suminagashi, spraying, or non-relief collage may be incorporated. Note that collage from printed materials, newspaper, magazines, photographs, etc. is not allowed. Your work must be an original painting, no digital, copies, giclee or prints. If you used a non-traditional technique, note it under Description.
*Generic term for those papers traditionally used for East Asian brush painting, but not limited to those containing rice fiber.
ORIGINALITY - Artwork must be ORIGINAL and created without instruction. No works will be accepted that were created in a class or by other media instruction (book, DVD, YouTube, etc.) or in collaboration with other artists or Artificial Intelligence (AI). No touch-ups, changes, or additions by another artist or teacher are allowed.
CALLIGRAPHY other than signature or date must be accompanied by a typed English translation of the calligraphy on both painting and calligraphy artwork.
CREATION DATE - Only artwork completed within the past 2 years and which has not previously been exhibited in a Sumi-e Society annual exhibition is allowed. (Previous entry elsewhere is permitted)
IMPORTANT DATES IN 2025
May 26 ……………………...DEADLINE for entering on OnlineJuriedShows
July 14 . …………………….NOTIFICATION of Acceptance - email reminder. Artist must open their Artist Profile at onlinejuriedshows.com. Check each artwork to see which artworks were accepted and which were declined.
August 8, 9, 10 …………….PAINTING WORKSHOP with Fumiyo Yoshikawa on Zoom
August 10, Sunday ……….AWARDS CEREMONY - 6:00 - 7:00 pm EDT on Zoom
with Remarks about the exhibition by Fumiyo Yoshikawa
August 2025- April 2026 --- EXHIBITION on the Internet www.sumieshow.org
JUROR, JUDGE and WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
Fumiyo Yoshikawa was born in Kyoto and studied Japanese painting at the Kyoto University of Education. While still a student, she was selected for the Kyoto Art Exhibition, and since then, she has been selected for numerous prestigious public exhibitions. Right after graduating, she was accepted into Seitosha, a school rooted in the Shijo Maruyama School and was also accepted to join the Kyoto Nihonga (Japanese painting) professional artists association.
Her career blossomed as she continued to receive awards and was selected for various notable exhibitions, particularly the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition (Nitten). She held her first solo exhibitions in Ginza, Tokyo, and Teramachi Sanjo in Kyoto in 2001.
In 2003, Fumiyo held solo exhibitions in Antigua, Guatemala, and in 2004, she moved to the United States. There, she developed a distinctive style of painting that fuses traditional Japanese techniques, including ink wash and Japanese painting, with her personal philosophy. Throughout her career, she has exhibited extensively across the United States and served as a board member of the Sumi-e Society of America, where she also contributed articles on Japanese and ink wash painting.
Her artistic excellence has earned her several prestigious awards, including the Grand Prizes in Painting and Calligraphy. Fumiyo has led numerous workshops and exhibitions, introducing Japanese painting and ink wash techniques at renowned institutions such as the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Sacramento Museum of Art, and Kala Art Institute, to name just a few.
In 2024, Fumiyo held a solo exhibition in Japan, showcasing her latest works, and also had an art residency in Guatemala, culminating in another solo exhibition there. These experiences have further enriched her artistic journey and deepened her connection with diverse cultural contexts.
Currently, Fumiyo resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, continuing her work as both an artist and educator.
Being an Artist
To be an artist is to be honest with oneself.
To be sincere.
To observe the world with an open mind, free of prejudice—to learn from it, to feel it deeply.
To seek truth within it.
To discover beauty within it.
Even in the harshest and most difficult circumstances, there is beauty to be found.
To recognize it. To feel it.
To cultivate the ability to transform what is seen and felt into art.
To connect with the world through one’s work.
And through that work, to give something back to the world.
Fumiyo Yoshikawa
Fumiyo Yoshikawa’s Comments on What I Feel Makes an Excellent Work of Art
Kano Motonobu, the founder of the Kano school, which holds a significant place in Japanese art history, once said:
"A truly excellent painting emits a cool sound. Listen carefully to that sound—it is the sound of silence."
What kind of painting carries this cool, silent sound?
Is it one rendered with photographic precision?
Is it a meticulous imitation of a master artist’s work?
Is it a piece created with painstaking effort over time?
Is it a work filled with technical prowess?
To me, a truly excellent work of art is one that resonates with the heart. If an artist can capture and express the energy flow of nature or the cosmos through a subject that moves them, and their work, in turn, touches the hearts of those who see it, then that is a truly remarkable painting.
What, then, defines an excellent painting that emits this "cool sound," this "sound of silence"?
Perhaps the answer differs for each person.
So how can we discover such a painting?
And how can we create one ourselves?
These are questions each of us must seek and find our own answers to.
Cultivating sensitivity, seeing the world without prejudice, focusing the mind with deep concentration—
Training the brush until it becomes an extension of one’s own heart—
Perhaps these are the doorways to discovering that answer.
The wandering haiku poet Santoka, who traveled across Japan composing poetry while living a life of mendicant pilgrimage, once wrote:
**"The Way is not in seeking the extraordinary, but in carrying out the ordinary.
Through gradual practice, one reaches sudden realization.
The foundation of a leap is deep immersion.
The Way lies ahead—walk straight, walk straight."**
Perhaps, like him, we too may find our answer—not in chasing the extraordinary, but by quietly and steadily walking the path before us.
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JURYING: Digital images will be juried for inclusion in the exhibition, using accepted standards of East Asian brush painting. Calligraphy entries will be considered for their artistic merit and not necessarily as a form of communication. This does not exclude classic calligraphy. No withdrawals, substitutions or price changes (except to NFS) will be accepted after a work is juried into the exhibition.
This competition will be conducted in THREE STAGES, based on accepted standards of photographic quality and East Asian brush painting.
1. The digital images will be screened for photographic quality suitable for a virtual exhibition. Images that do not meet the quality standard required for a virtual exhibition will be disqualified from further consideration.
2. Only images of artwork that meet the quality standard described above will be sent to the juror for consideration for inclusion in the exhibition, using accepted standards of East Asian brush painting.
3. Digital images of works will then be considered by the juror for inclusion in the exhibition and for awards. No withdrawals or substitutions are allowed once a work has been accepted.
ENTER THE EXHIBITION -There are two Categories - PAINTING and CALLIGRAPHY.
Artists may enter one or both categories.
MEMBER ENTRY FEES for Members of Sumi-e Society of America, Inc.
Paintings - 1 or 2 paintings for $40
Calligraphy - 1 or 2 calligraphy for $40
Painting and Calligraphy - $60 (1 or 2 paintings and 1 or 2 calligraphy)
NON-MEMBER ENTRY FEES
Paintings - 1 or 2 paintings for $95
Calligraphy - 1 or 2 calligraphy for $95
Painting and Calligraphy - $115 (1 or 2 paintings and 1 or 2 calligraphy)
(The Non-Member price includes SSA dues of $50 for 2025)
Fees cover all entries, up to two (2) per category, four (4) per entrant.
Pay through OnlineJuriedShows.com using PayPal or Credit Card.
DIGITAL ENTRY PREPARATION:
1. Works must be MOUNTED, SIGNED AND/OR SEALED before photographing. Show only the image, no frame or mat in the photo. The digital image should accurately portray the original art. Be sure your images are rotated with the correct side up.
2. IMAGE SIZE must be listed to the nearest inch.
3. DIGITAL IMAGE SIZE must be at least 1920 pixels on the longest side at 72 dpi, but smaller than 4MB. Images must be in JPEG format, sRGB color space. If you need help photographing your work or sizing your images click on https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/HowtoEnter.aspx.
4. SUBMISSION -
Fill out an Artist Profile to register with Online Juried Shows
or Log In if you registered before.
Click Enter This Show
Upload your artwork images one at a time.
Pay entry fee through Onlinejuriedshows.com
by PayPal or Credit Card.
5. HELP is available from the videos on the website and from (onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com 888-666-1351) or Sumi-e Society Board members.
6. EMAIL - Please add Services@OnlineJuriedShows.com and Manager@OnlineJuriedShows.com to your email contact list to ensure notifications are received.
ONLINE ENTRY DEADLINE: MAY 26, 2025 All digital entries must be submitted online not later than midnight Pacific Time.
SIZE REQUIREMENT:
MAXIMUM UNFRAMED IMAGE SIZE: Unlimited
MINIMUM UNFRAMED IMAGE SIZE : 8” x 8”
Since paintings will be displayed on a computer screen, tall narrow or wide thin paintings will not present themselves well. Thus the maximum ratio for acceptance will be 1 to 3. To calculate the ratio of the work, divide the largest dimension by the narrowest dimension. A painting that is 8 inches tall and 24 inches wide is 1 to 3. Since a computer monitor screen is a horizontal rectangle the ideal shape painting would have a ratio of 1 to 1.5. An artwork that is 20 inches by 30 inches is 1 to 1.5. This is the same proportion as a television screen. Works that exceed a ratio of 1 to 3 will be disqualified prior to viewing by the juror.
NOTIFICATION / ACCEPTANCE: JULY 14, 2025 - Notifications are sent through Constant Contact from onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com To ensure receipt of this notification, please add onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com to your contact list, or safe senders’ list. Artists are responsible for checking their Artist Profile at Onlinejuriedshows.com.
CATALOG: The Exhibition Catalog of Award winners will be sent to all Society members. Additional copies will be available from the Sumi-e Society for $8.00 in the US, $10.00 to Canada and Mexico, and $15.00 outside North America by airmail.
PUBLICATION: Artists give the Sumi-e Society the rights to use the images of all submitted works in the print and digital publications of the Society.
SALES: All works on exhibit will be offered for sale, unless marked NFS. A donation of 15% should be made to Sumi-e Society of America, Inc for any work sold during and through the virtual exhibition.
WORKSHOP: There will be one three-day workshop online on Zoom.
August 8, 9, 10 --- Painting with Fumiyo Yoshikawa
More information will be emailed to SSA members. Information will also be posted on the Society website http://sumiesociety.org.
2025 PROSPECTUS CHECKLIST:
We want your application to be successful. Please carefully check this list before submitting your artwork.
( ) Artwork has been created within 2 years of entry date.
( ) Artwork was not accepted into a previous SSA National Juried Exhibition.
( ) Artwork has been mounted, signed and/or seal applied before photographing.
( ) Photographed artwork has been properly cropped so that no mat or background shows and it was not photographed in a frame.
( ) This is not a copy of someone else's art or someone else’s art with small changes.
( ) This was not created under instruction as a class demo or by using media instruction.
( ) This was not done using Artificial Intelligence.
( ) The photograph is an image of the original painting and not a photograph of a digital image, print, or giclee.
( ) Collage did not use printed materials and only pieces painted yourself.
( ) The predominant element is ink, watercolor and direct brushwork on rice paper, gold and silver papers, shikishi boards or silk.
QUESTIONS: If you have any questions about the exhibition, please contact:
Carol Wiggins, National Co-Chair
Mobile, AL
251-751-5111 (c)
carolw2651@comcast.net
Carla Jaranson, National Co-Chair
Burke, VA
703-585-4750 (c)
carlajsumie@gmail.com