The Artist Space Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the third Grey online Art Exhibition. Along with the selected artists, the jury selected award winners in the following art categories: painting, drawing and photography. The show displayed a variety of artistic styles and mediums: acrylic, oil, charcoal, scratchboard, photography, digital art, steel, pencil. Out of all submissions received 55 artworks were selected to be included in the exhibition.
Best of Show
Jay Johansen
Short Biography and Statement
My art explores identity, emotion, and legacy. Through portraits, I capture not just likeness but essence, using bold palettes and textures to evoke nostalgia, intrigue, and reflection inviting viewers to connect with deeper stories. Legacy, history & experience that’s what makes the story telling, by way of oil & acrylic mediums, by Jay Johnsen approachable, relevant & enduring.
Painting Prize
Dan Simoneau
Short Biography and Statement
I'm a contemporary realist male figurative and portrait painter specializing in watercolor and acrylic. My work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 150 solo and group exhibitions and my work has won over 70 awards, including several best of show awards. My work has been published in many publications including several AcrylicWorks (Best of Acrylic) issues and Splash (Best of Watercolor) issues. My work is in many private collections and in several museum collections. Regarding my art, while I paint figurative work, abstract work, and non-figurative work, the main subject in all my work is light and shadow and how it sculpts form. My newer figurative work focus on introspection and exploring of oneself, with the model working his way through life's challenges and opportunities.
Drawing Prize
Emily Copeland
Short Biography and Statement
Emily Copeland is a Canadian artist, specializing in realism. Working with charcoal, she focuses on recreating objects on a larger scale. Realism, and the act of mimesis are two artistic forms Copeland finds fascinating. She uses digital photography and Photoshop to first generate her images, as photos are always her preliminary approach when it comes to creating something original. After photographing, she then draws these items on a larger scale. To iterate, her goal is to mimic the exact version of the photograph with her chosen medium; which is charcoal. She enjoys focusing on detailed vintage or retro objects as her subject matter. The elements within her drawings are blown up much larger than life size to give it a surreal effect. This gives the audience a unique viewpoint that exposes detail they wouldn’t normally see. She also brings vintage objects into a modern context by conveying them on plain, clean backgrounds. Copeland chooses to let the meaning behind each piece remain anonymous, as this gives each audience members the ability to find their own unique meaning throughout each piece. Her intentions behind this is because she thinks everyone can find their own personal interpretation to each work of art, and it should never be restricted to only one viewpoint. With each different series, she hopes to please a wide range of audiences with the objects she’s chosen.
Photography Prize
Susanne Middelberg
Short Biography and Statement
Susanne Middelberg is a German photographer known for her powerful and emotionally rich portraits, which explore themes of vulnerability and human complexity. After initially studying modern dance at the Higher School for Arts in Arnhem, she transitioned into photography, graduating in 1998 from the Academy for Visual Arts. Middelberg has since established a career as a freelance photographer, specializing in portrait and theater-dance photography. Her work often captures the dualities within people—strength and fragility—and she believes that showing vulnerability in her subjects fosters connection and understanding. Middelberg's photographic style is described as "intense, honest, and picturesque," and she is particularly inspired by the human condition. Her approach focuses on revealing the layers of personality in her subjects, aiming to touch viewers through this emotional depth. She has received numerous awards for her work, including prizes from The Canon Master, the Monochrome Awards and the Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris. In addition to her portraits, Middelberg has been commissioned for various projects, including work for theater posters. She has exhibited her work in galleries across the Netherlands and internationally, including in New York and Boston. Her projects have earned her a solid reputation in the photography world, winning accolades like the MUSE Photography Awards for her "Daylight" series, where she emphasized natural light and raw emotion to portray her subjects.
Winners