The Artist Space Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the second Open 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: oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, graphite, collage, alabaster, bronze, photography. Out of all submissions received 72 artworks were selcted to be included in the exhibition.
Best of Show
Robert Obier
Short Biography and Statement
Robert Obier is an award winning artist. His work as an architect/designer/illustrator has been featured in numerous exhibitions, magazines and web articles. His high tech sculptural designs have appeared on network television and were selected for a “location shoot” in a major motion picture. His range of eclectic influences include the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, the explorations of geometry in nature by Andy Goldsworthy and the theatrical creations of Industrial Light and Magic for a time long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Robert Obier was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he now resides. He received a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from LSU in 1981 and a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Design from Art Center College of Design in 2007. My exploration of form is rooted in my passion for design, invention and technology. From the artful drawings of Leonardo Di Vinci to the computer generated creations of Industrial Light and Magic, I am inspired by the human imagination and I strive to understand the hidden principals that shape our understanding of the world and are the genesis of our best creations. My work explores the fusion of the disciplines of architecture, industrial design and fine art. Each piece is as much a realization of an abstract design concept as it is a unique work of three-dimensional art.
Painting Prize
Maja Wolf
Short Biography and Statement
Maja Wolf was born in Grudziadz, Poland, on February 13, 1981. She is an artist, owner of the Maya art gallery in Torun, a painter and drawing instructor, an art dealer, and an organizer of art exhibitions and auctions. She completed studies in advertising, interior design, and pedagogy. She is a winner of many international painting competitions and has participated in several international exhibitions. Since 2013, she has been a member of the Association of Polish Painters and Graphic Artists in Warsaw. In the early years, she painted for institutions, companies, and private persons. However, she has painted surreal paintings all her life. She loves to use her imagination in art and create her own world. For many years, she has been known for drawing realistic portraits and caricatures using pastels, charcoal, and pencils. Artist Statement: I have been running an art gallery in Torun, Poland, for 15 years. I sell paintings, graphics, and prints. I have organized a hundred monographic and collective exhibitions of Polish artists. I have also conducted educational and painting classes. However, of all these activities, drawing and painting give me the greatest joy. Thanks to my achievements in the field of art, I feel satisfied and happy.
Sculpture Prize
Robert Irwin Wolf
Short Biography and Statement
robertirwinwolf.com/fine-art-sculpture
Wolf believes forces that heal and promote emotional growth in people are related to those that influence our sense of aesthetic expression through the creation of artwork and that the act of 'creating art' provides a personal space within which one may more easily access non-verbal, implicit thought/feeling processes, and safely explore unconscious material.Wolf’s sculptures are a blend of figurative and abstract elements expressed through various types of stone and wood. Each piece suggests a unique gestural communication that is intrinsic to human experience and is often perceived on an unconscious, visceral level, and is reflected within what is now referred to as 'implicit' thought processes.His sculptures, which have been influenced by Arp, Moore, and Brancusi, have been exhibited over the past 40 years in a variety of galleries and museums and private collections in the northeastern United States and Seoul, South Korea.
Photography Prize
Shawna Hinkel
Short Biography and Statement
Shawna Hinkel is a Master Photographer and Certified Professional Photographer from Dallas, Texas. She has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Texas A&M University, and has been a professional photographer since 2004. She earned her PPA Certification in 2014 and PPA Master of Photography degree in 2019. She was awarded Life Membership in Dallas PPA in 2020, and earned her Accredited Professional of Animal Imagery degree in 2021. In 2023, she became the second Master of WPE from the United States, and also became a Master Photographer in Fine Art from MPI. Her work has been accepted in the PPA International Photographic Competition Annual Exhibition every year since 2016, with images published in the annual Showcase Collection and Loan Collection books as well. She was the Dallas Professional Photographers Association Photographer of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and was named as one of the Top 10 photographers in Texas in 2020. She also received the American Society of Photographers’ State Elite Award in 2020. She has won a variety of other awards, and has been featured in multiple art gallery exhibitions. She currently serves as 2025 President of Texas Professional Photographers Association and Co-Editor-in-Chief/Copy Editor of ASP Magazine. I love to travel and find the beauty of each place, whether it is the natural world God created, cityscapes people created, or a magnificent place that was contributed to by both.
Winners