The Artist Space Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the first Portrait Art Exhibition. Along with the selected artists, the jury selected award winners in the following art categories: painting, photography, and sculpture. The show displayed a variety of artistic styles and mediums: oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, gouache, charcoal, graphite, ink tint, photography, digital, bronze. Out of all submissions received 109 artworks were selected to be included in the exhibition.
Best of Show
Derek Wilkinson
Short Biography and Statement
Derek Wilkinson grew up in the Pacific Northwest and received a BFA in painting from Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington. He continued his studies in painting and drawing at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, where he received an MFA in 2006. Derek currently resides in Emporia, Kansas with his wife and daughter, and has been teaching painting and drawing at Emporia State University since 2009. Wilkinson’s figurative paintings and drawings have been included in over one hundred group exhibitions across the United States. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, Emporia Arts Center in Emporia, Kansas, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. These two paintings are part of an ongoing series of self-portraits completed from a mirror. Each work serves as a physical record of Wilkinson’s performance in the studio. His process begins with raw gestural marks and is gradually refined through many subsequent layers Completing numerous self-portraits in the past two decades, has allowed Wilkinson to explore the depths of his emotional and mental states. In addition, the identity of the subject becomes less important, allowing the viewer to become more receptive to the changing content that is being expressed from one artwork to another. For that reason, self-portraits function as universally expressive vehicles, allowing the viewer to place them self in the mind of the artist.
Painting Prize
Eric Li
Short Biography and Statement
Xiaodong "Eric" Li was born and raised in Shanghai, China. Drawing and painting are his favorite pastime and continued throughout high school where he held a dual position as art director and illustrator for the school newspaper. Mr. Li, earned a bachelor's degree in International Politics and a minor in Fine Art at Fudan University in China, then continued to further his education by obtaining a master's degree in Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After graduating, Eric started a career in IT, as a web designer and developer, incorporating his artistic and design talents. Traveling is another passion of Mr. Li, to-date he has visited over 30 countries, which has inspired his most memorable paintings and encouraged new forms of self-expression. Other influences included Edvard Munch, Paul Cezanne, known for their strong color and composition, and later inspirations for the neoclassical style and realistic genre paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau and John William Godward. Houston Texas is currently where Eric Li resides, where he is a multi-award-winning artist, and presently holds membership in the following organizations: The Portrait Society of America (PSA) Oil Painters of America (OPA) The National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society (NOAPS) Xiaodong "Eric" Li 's artistic works have been exhibited in the U.S., overseas, and for private collectors.
Sculpture Prize
Barry Johnston
Short Biography and Statement
Barry Johnston dedicated himself to sculpture after earning a B.S. in architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1969. He then studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design and the Enzo Cardini and Romanelli Studios in Florence. He began his career in Washington, D.C., where he created the acclaimed "Wedlock," a 19½' bronze for Lafayette Centre. In 1989, Mr. Johnston established a studio in Baltimore equipped for commissions several times life-size, with live-in space for students. In 1997, Mr. Johnston opened a New York City studio.
Recently completed sculptural commissions include “Faith, Hope and Love” in 2007, 8.25' high in Washington State, two life-size bronze figures "The Healer" for the Govan's Church park in Baltimore and a bronze relief for Notre Dame College of Baltimore both completed in 2004, and a bronze mother and child called "Joy" for White River Medical Center in Arkansas completed this year. Other commissions include "First from the Sea and First to the Stars" for Hampton, Virginia’s City Hall, and "Mother and Child," a fountain centerpiece for the Evanston Woman’s Hospital in Illinois. In 1996, the Washington National Cathedral commissioned a figure of El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero and the People’s Republic of China invited Mr. Johnston to create "Yin/Yang" for Weihai, Shandong Province.
Mr. Johnston has received numerous prizes, most recently “Honorable Mention,” Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD, in 2011 and “Best in the Show,” Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD, in 2010. Other award include the National Arts Club President’s Award, the Allied Artists of America Leonard J. Meiselman Award, and the Audubon Artists Gold Medal of Honor. Mr. Johnston brings to his work a daring imagination. Subjects are derived from religion, literature, and contemporary dilemmas. Mr. Johnston is known for capturing energized form and anatomy in motion with robust, gravity-defying figures. He brings a keen eye for realism to his numerous portrait commissions.
Photography Prize
Mickael Chavet
Short Biography and Statement
Mickael Chavet is a portrait photographer. He is an authoritative creator of impactful imagery that celebrates Cinema at an international level. Through his work, he draws attention to the Movie industry and raises the profile of films. Mickael creates portraits and behind the scenes reportage for major Film Festivals and Movie Premieres. He has had the privilege to portrait more than a hundred of Academy Award winning artists such as Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Cruise and Jessica Chastain to name a few.
Winners