The Artist Space Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the fifth Colors online Art Exhibition. Along with the selected artists, the jury selected award winners in the following art categories: painting, photography and mixed media prize. The show displayed a variety of artistic styles and mediums: acrylic, watercolor, oil on canvas, colored pencil, paper collage, photography, digital art, painted ABS. Out of all submissions received 44 artworks were selected to be included in the exhibition.
Best of Show
Michael Wagner
Short Biography and Statement
wagnerpost@online.de
Born in Heidelberg in 1953, I used every free minute for artistic studies during my studies of social work at the University of Mannheim, and then concentrated entirely on the fine arts after completing my degree. Since 1981 I live and work as a freelance painter, graphic artist and photo artist (self-taught) in Heidelberg. While at the beginning I worked in the representational field, depicting landscapes and people, I gradually developed an artistic conception that focuses on color and its many possibilities. On this way the world of the constructive concrete opened up to me. Geometry joined color, became an equal partner and provided stability and continuity. Thus color was not given an expressive quality, but a purely visual meaning. It does not "jump" into the space, but it has a high presence, a great impact potential. On this basis I design my works, trusting in the power of color and geometry. STATEMENT Works of art reflect the world. My works are also mirror images of today. However, it is not a reflection of the external appearance, not an abstraction of the mimetic world, but a reflection of the inner constitution. My works arise from sensations. They reflect the sense of time, so to speak, and represent ciphers for today. Thinking and feeling, geometry and color - between these poles I explore my artistic possibilities, although with all seriousness playful and poetic components are always involved. In this way I develop a visual world that has its roots in the strictness of the constructive and concrete, but at the same time is also based on individuality and spontaneous intuition.
Painting Prize
cher Pruys
Short Biography and Statement
My paintings begin with careful observation. When I study a flower, I am drawn to its structure, color, and how it interacts with light. I also seek to feel the quiet sense of presence and grace that it carries. The inspiration for each painting grows from that first moment of encounter. I spend time looking and contemplating the flower, drawing it and creating a tonal study. This process feels deliberate and respectful, almost like a conversation between painter and plant. I work in a variety of mediums including oil on linen or canvas, watercolor, and colored pencil. Each medium offers a different way of exploring light and form. Oil allows me to build depth and luminosity through layers of color, while watercolor and pencil, through their precision, bring a sense of immediacy and intimacy to the process. My goal is not only to record what I see, but to convey what I feel, a sense of stillness, beauty, spiritual serenity, and vitality that invites the viewer to look closely and share in the experience of the flower that inspired me. Botanical art connects art and nature in a way that reminds us how interdependent we are with the fragile living world. Through my work, I hope to honor that relationship, encourage a deeper sense of responsibility toward nature, and continue the long tradition of artists who found meaning in the study of plants. Each piece becomes a reflection on presence, care, and the spirit within nature itself.
Sculpture Prize
Jason Shih
Short Biography and Statement
Jason Shih was born in 1972 in Taiwan. In 1991, he began to specialize in metal sculpture when he was a sophomore in the Fine Arts Dept. of Taipei National University of the Arts. In 2001, he graduated from School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA, and majored in Metal Sculpture. And then, he served as the metal sculptor Albert Paley's assistant, involved in crafts and public art work practices. Furthermore, he earned his Art Ph. D. from China Academy of Art, China (2015). Now, he lives in Taiwan, and consistently engages in the both areas of sculpture and public art. Jason Shih’s artistic vision is shaped by a diverse array of influences, from contemporary dance to avant-garde fashion. He cites German choreographer Pina Bausch and British designer Alexander McQueen as significant inspirations. Bausch’s explorations of time and space resonate with Shih’s interest in sculpture’s capacity to embody kinetic energy and spatial imagination. McQueen’s innovative approach to contemporary imagery and themes provides Shih with a broad canvas for creative expression. Shih’s work is also influenced by the aesthetic principles of Futurism and Constructivism, movements that emphasize dynamic energy and continuous motion. These influences are evident in his pursuit of capturing the beauty of movement and the elegant restraint of natural forces. Shih’s sculptures often depict moments of defying gravity, capturing the fleeting beauty of motion in a static form.
Mixed Media Prize
Thomas Nawrocki
Short Biography and Statement
The “ZIG ZAG ZIG” prints are a continuing series of mixed-medium impressions produced in editions of three each. The images were conceived as bas-relief sculptural, studio- based collages. Every composition reveals, by its unique strength, how it would resolve itself as it follows the tendencies of its internal forces. I continue to add and subtract material to the still life in exploring preliminary proofs. I am interpreting nature in its purest, abstract state - constructing a rhythm of pictorial lyricism using objects impregnated with fluorescent pigments. I place great emphasis on edge and the interrelationship of form and color in maintaining a harmony of visual balance. Objects never end - forms intersect with infinite combinations of sympathetic attunements and clashing aversions. No object may be viewed in isolation, but absorbs its surroundings, just as it contributes to the total composition. The multi-shaped image is placed between two sheets of clear Plexiglas and framed in zinc utilizing both angular and curvilinear silhouettes. Hinges are added to create the partially or fully animated effect and connect the various units together which form the completed print. Seven units make-up my prints. In eastern cultures odd numbers are masculine and even numbers are feminine. I utilize a single main shape with six leaves attached to the central structure, thus incorporating both male and female elements to my compositions. It is believed that we travel from this world to the next on the seventh ray of the sun. My recent prints possess the entrapment of rest area within the positive structure suggesting the trinity. The process is carefully repeated to ensure the integrity of an edition of three. Even with the constant threat of chaos with the extensive use of diagonals, sharp angles, informal balance and bold color, I have sought an intuitive sense of ideal order.
Winners