Open Theme
Art Exhibition Winners
Below are the biographies and/or artist's statements along with the artist's websites or emails.
Please visit the Open and contact the artists directly for purchase inquiries or to see more of their work.
Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you for sharing your talent with us.
Fissure III
Mixed Media
36 X 48
Carol Flaitz
First Place Winner
Carol Flaitz uses a variety of textured media to develop abstract paintings inspired by geological landscapes. The natural formations that inspire her work can be one millionth of a meter wide, visible only with the aid of a microscope, or the most iconic geological landmarks , stretching a thousand meters tall each of which provide mesmerizing illusions of a questionable scale. Carol imitates the organic feel of glazing and clay sculpture, but on two dimensional surfaces, using acrylics, crystalline salts, ground glass, various resins, encaustic, and burnt wood. She has shown her work in the Hudson region, in New York City, and internationally in Germany, Sweden and Malta among others including images that have been sent to the moon on NASA's Moon Arc Project.
Tibetan Woman
Acrylic
36 x 24
Jay Johansen
Second Place
Raised by my artist-father in Oakland, California, portrait artist I began my journey into the art world at a very young age. Painting ballerinas, matadors, and Hawaiian dancers, I established an international collector base, ultimately leading to commissioned paintings of music icons, world dignitaries, as well as a long list of celebrity collectors. Using broad strokes, as distinct from my previous style, I enjoy a freedom I never felt as a professional artist. Imbued with an energy of renewal, I am creating art with the verve I had as a child in my father's studio. I refer to my work as Pop Fusion Art.
Wildflowers Of The Endless Mountains
Digital
10 x 12
Bob McCormac
Third Place
I spent forty years as IT professional before retiring to pursue my passion for photography. I first started shooting film over fifty years ago but stopped for many years. During the last seven years, digital photography has rekindled my excitement with photography and continuing the journey I started with film. I am primarily a travel and landscape photographer but enjoy all genres of photography. My style and approach is simple and direct; I’m remembering in my mind’s eye the scene I captured and trying to bring that same emotion I felt to the finalized image.
Lawrence Bridges
Honorable Mention
Lawrence Bridges is best known for work in the film and literary world. His poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, and The Tampa Review. He has published three volumes of poetry: Horses on Drums, Flip Days, and Brownwood. As a filmmaker, he created a series of literary documentaries for the NEA’s “Big Read” initiative, which include profiles of Ray Bradbury, Amy Tan, Tobias. Wolff, and Cynthia Ozick. His photographs have appeared in the Las Laguna Art Gallery 2020, Humana Obscura, Wanderlust a Travel Journal, the London Photo Festival, and displayed in the ENSO Art Gallery, Malibu, California.
Valeriia Demidova
Honorable Mention
I was born in Russia and studied art at V.A Serov Children School of Art in Russia. I have been working on a number of watercolor paintings since my early childhood. I also studied interior design architecture at Hanyang University in Korea. The reason why I use watercolor in my artworks is that I try to express my feelings through my art, and watercolor is perfectly suitable to clarify my inner voice. It can be abstract, aerial, and unpredictable. From realistic nature, it can suddenly become something abstract and ethereal. It represents a fine line between real nature and inner nature. I add ink/pen liner to finish and emphasize some accents which express important components in my art. Landscapes that I drew don't exist in the real world. I can sometimes be inspired by some details and real places, but the nature on my painting is created in my imagination. My focus is not just about landscapes, but emotions which it causes. Just some certain feelings come to my mind, and then landscape just appears in my head. Nature in my artworks is the representation of my inner feelings or tells a story. In my art, I try to show inner nature, and real nature is the metaphoric portrayal of the inner side.
Daniel Kabakoff
Honorable Mention
I have studied art at Westchester Community College Center for the Arts in Ceramics. I have worked on illustrative drawing and watercolor painting from 2013 to 2019. I have exhibited my art on social media sites Facebook, and Instagram as well as online gallery exhibits with J Mane Galleries and inside Small Art Exhibits .
My favorite media is watercolor .
I have Illustrated books with author Alizah Teitelbaum . Our latest book is called “This Way to the Great Inventor.”
Cherie Lee
Honorable Mention
Cherie Lee is a self-taught Philadelphia-born artist who utilizes high speed rotary equipment to reduce genuine ostrich eggshells to small-scale sculptures appreciating, and testing, the limits of faculty and frailty. Whether her subject matter be ecological, sociological or anthropological, she is uniting substance and subject to gingerly evoke one basic concept: what you have is fragile, no matter it's strength.
Shortly after recognizing the humble chicken egg as the ideal 4-dimensional 'canvas', one of her first pieces was admitted to the United States White House Permanent Collection. By October of 2018, she obtained the necessary tools that would allow her begin exploring her medium in earnest. She's only now recognizing her prior under-estimation of the medium, as well as her own skills, and is looking forward to seeing just how far she can push them.
Guy Munsch
Honorable Mention
My artwork is thoughtful and at times thought provoking. My subject matter spans broader universal themes to more personal, intimate reflections. Recently, it has turned more towards figurative representation in ways that are expressive and have blends of refined technique and intentional marks left raw and ragged.
Regina Roland
Honorable Mention
After a career spent in the art of teaching, I decided to dabble in the art of watercolor. That dabble became a passion. A lover of nature, I draw peace and inspiration from all it has to offer. Many of my pieces transport me to sunny meadows or wooded realms where my spirit soars. Whether my work is realistic or abstract my wish is that this spirit has wended its way to my paintings. My work has been juried into “ Juxtapositon Exhibition”, March /April 2020, Ice House Gallery, Evanston Illinois, Chicago’s Gold Coast Art Fair, summer 2020 , 2020 International exhibit at Oakton Community College, “Where Are We Now?: Activism of the Every Day,” ArtFluent/Boundless 2020, JMane Gallery Seasons 2020, Llittle by Little 2020, Art Intersection. JMane Gallery , Abstracts 2020, Honorable Mention. Watercolor 2021 Norris Art Center, St Charles, Illinois. Oakton Community College, International Women's Exhibit 2021.
Vasu Tolia
Honorable Mention
Vasu Tolia delights in painting the nature and humanity around her in a bold, confident style with vibrant colors and energetic strokes. Her work includes a delicate balance between abstraction and realism. This explains the extraordinary variety in her gallery. She handles the subject with sensitivity and integrity and her depictions personify the beauty in whatever she chooses to focus on. This way even mundane subjects like windows or their inside views become worthy of becoming subjects for sore eyes. Her goal is to give the vision of artistic beauty from her perspective in all works, and send her message on women’s rights, ecosystem, soothing works for healthcare and awareness for current events to invoke the inspiration in the viewers to help with her causes.
She is particularly intrigued with enigmatic subjects and her curiosity is not limited to visual arts. She also writes poetry. These passions and travels fulfill her after retirement from medical field.
Deborah Zavon
Honorable Mention
I live and work in New York. I have studied with various prominent artists at NYU, The New School, Visual Arts, The New York Academy of Art, and the Arts Students League, where I am a life member. My work has been shown in print, in virtual and physical venues. As a child I found joy in rendering the world around me. It is that feeling of exhilaration that has grown through the years. I find expressing an emotional response to a living subject, be it animal or vegetable, to be fulfilling and rewarding. In that way I learn about myself and lose myself at the same time.