The Artist Space Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the third Animals online 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: acrylic, pastel, graphite, sratchboard, photography, colored pencil, oil on panel, watercolor, collage. Out of all submissions received 75 artworks were selected to be included in the exhibition.
Best of Show
Cher Pruys
Short Biography and Statement
"To take my inner visions with my hands and create a work of art for you the viewer .... That is the ultimate in self expression." Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years she lived in many places including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Fort Frances, settling into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River with her husband Mark, and pets. By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool in hand. She worked in pencil, charcoal and ink over the years, picking up a paintbrush at the age of 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, watercolor and gouache, and her passion for hyperrealism. Although self-taught, her dedication and talent has seen her work juried into 736 International exhibits. She has won 1126 awards for her work in the International Juried Exhibits. Her work has graced the covers of 3 books, 42 magazines, including The Best Of Acrylic Fall 2021, cover of the May 2022 Arabella Magazine, #20 Hyperrealism Magazine with “Girls Girls Girls”, & #21 with “The Young Cowboy”, Artists & Illustrators March 2024 Artistonish 2024 July edition, Observica Elite 2024 & the latest Art Closeup Magazine#26 Jan. 2025. She has been featured in over 600 International publications. Cher's works have found a permanent home in private and public collections worldwide.
Painting Prize
Sylvie Bujold
Short Biography and Statement
I am an animal artist whose medium is acrylic painting on canvas. I produce works in a realistic style, mainly equestrian, drawing inspiration from my photo references and the observation of live models The equine is the recurring theme in my artistic approach. Having been active in the equestrian world since 1993 (trainer, rider and stable owner), horses naturally became my main source of inspiration. The union of these two passions allows me to find the angle of pictorial expression that I am looking for. My work establishes a moment of complicity and respect between humans and animals. It highlights the horse in a proposition where the subject is in the foreground in an environment often deliberately omitted. The strength, complicity, collaboration, sensitivity and fragility of the animal take all the place. It is in this spirit that I approach this complex being, as well as its way of sacrificing its own essence to exist through the will of its owner. I express through my works the emotion felt when in contact with horses. The emotion that vibrates, that moves and moves the soul. I am inspired by the ethological movement which studies the behavior of horses. My production make feel the unique and singular essence of the personality of the equine subject that I highlight. These behavioral relationships are reflected in my works and express restricted freedom in a context of domestication of the equine being. We see a reflection of the constraints imposed by current society on animals, but also on humans. My artistic production is intended to express the complexity of the relationship between humans and animals in a bond where one sees its original freedom compromised for the desires and needs of the other.
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.
Photography Prize
Porter Gifford
Short Biography and Statement
Porter Gifford is a photographer with a background in photojournalism. After graduating from college, he spent 15 years with the Gamma Photo Agency documenting U.S. and world events for publications such as Time, The New York Times Magazine, and The Boston Globe. He has more recently worked as an independent photographer with companies, schools, and universities throughout New England. In addition to this ongoing commercial work, Porter uses personal projects to further investigate elements of the human experience by deconstructing and reordering its various and compelling components. The two submitted are from an ongoing project called "Confirmation". When dog owners, breeders, and handlers arrive with their canine companions at the various show grounds for the purpose of selecting the dogs that most conform to breed standards, a small, micro-community of transient dog people is formed. These communities, like many that are established when people come together to share a mutual interest, display their own sets of standards of form and behavior. This project explores the confluence and various meanings of conformity at competitive dog shows.
Winners