Entries to the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize have officially closed and the judging process is underway. Our sincere thanks to all of the artists and photographers that entered. We are very excited with the wide variety and quality of the entries, and have already discovered a host of new creatives!
We’re thrilled not only by the discovery of new artists but also by the return of those who have participated in previous years. Once again, witnessing the evolution of their work is a true delight.
This year’s entries have showcased a stunning variety of styles and themes – from enchanting fantasy and intriguing contemporary surrealism, to captivating dark art and unconventional figurative portraits. Your creativity continues to impress us!
~ Danijela Krha Purssey
We are always excited to see artists who entered in previous years entering again this year. We love seeing the evolution of artists’ works year on year!
A truly international Art Prize
Artists from 106 different countries entered the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize!
We have received entries from an incredible 106 different countries this year – wow!! Entries have been received from: Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Việt Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Entries were received in various Traditional mediums including drawing, collage, painting, printing making, etching, and mixed media. We have received sculptures in many mediums including polymer clays, resins, stone and semi-precious stones, metal, glass, paper, organic materials such as wool, wood and bamboo; textiles, leather and latex, ceramics, found and second hand objects. The Photography category provided the opportunity for fine art photographers from around the world to enter both their digital and analogue photography, utilising various equipment to bring their ideas to life. Last but not least, the Digital Art category has seen an array of digital painters, digital sculptors, digital 3D artists and photomanipulation artists enter, and in-line with our business ethos, AI-generated art was not eligible to enter.
Judging Underway
Thanks to this process, our Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey and her team have once again discovered a remarkable amount of incredible new talent which will inform the curation of the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and our international group exhibitions going forward. We look forward to sharing more of these wonderful entries over the coming weeks! The December issue will also feature a 10 page in-depth interview with the Grand Prize Winner of the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, and another special editorial showcasing the Winners in each Award category, along with the Honourable Mentions. Purchase a print subscription now to make sure you don’t miss out on this and many other inspiring stories.
Judging has now commenced. The 2026 Jury Panel is made up of: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Co-Founders Danijela Krha Purssey & Richard Purssey, Owners & Directors of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson and Bradley Platz; representatives from our major sponsors, and five esteemed contemporary artists: Brad Kunkle (Painting juror), Ed Binkley (Drawing juror), Bastien Lecouffe Deharme (Digital Art juror), Matthias Verginer (Sculpture juror), Franz Szony (Photography juror), along with Co-Founder of IX Arts Patrick Wilshire and Gallery Owner & Curator of Quirky Fox Vicki Fox.
As you can imagine, this is NOT an easy job with so many exceptional entries in all categories! Stay tuned for the big reveal soon.
2026 Award Categories
- Grand Prize Award
- RAYMAR Painting Award
- 33PA Drawing Award
- MPB Photography Award
- INPRNT Digital Art Award
- Sculpture Award
- BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award
- Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award
- Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award: $1,000 USD + prizes [public voting opens on 2 September 2026]
Timeframes & Deadlines
8 – 25 August 2026: Judging
26 August 2026 onward: Shortlist of 200 Finalists [25 per Drawing, Digital Art, Photography, Sculpture, Imaginative Realism and Emerging Artist Award, and 50 per Painting Award] announced
2 September 2026 [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]: People’s Choice Award voting opens
14 September 2026 [Midnight Sydney, Australia time]: People’s Choice Award voting closes
Week of the 14th of September: Winners announced
15 September 2026: BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award winners announced
16 September 2026: Sculpture Award winners announced
17 September 2026: MPB Photography Award winners announced
18 September 2026: INPRNT Digital Art Award winners announced
19 September 2026: 33PA Drawing Award winners announced
20 September 2025: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award winners announced
21 September 2026: RAYMAR Painting Award winners announced
22 September 2026: Grand Prize Award, Honourable Mentions & People’s Choice Award winners announced
7 November 2026: Beautiful Bizarre curated exhibition ‘Glimmer’ opens at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, CA, United States, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists! (Note: Winners of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize will be invited to exhibit a work in the ‘Glimmer’ exhibition in November 2026 at Modern Eden Gallery. Winners may exhibit their prize winning entry if it was created within 12 months of the entry date, and not hung in any other exhibition or prize previously. Work already exhibited or hung in a prize will not be accepted to the ‘Glimmer’ exhibition. If the prize winning work is not eligible to be exhibited in the exhibition, or if the artist chooses, they may create a new work for the exhibition.
Until then, enjoy some of the wonderful entries below in the MPB Photography Award, Sculpture Award & Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award. See more of the INPRNT Digital Art Award and BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award entries here
We will be publishing sharing more of the 33PA Drawing Award and RAYMAR Painting Award entries very soon – stay tuned!
“Totentanz”, Oil on canvas
“Vitae”, Oil and acrylic on panel
“You mess with the Bull”, Bass wood, wood burning, acrylic paint, polyurethane
Emmi-Riikka Vartiainen
“I See You Through Tiger´s Whiskers”, Acrylic on canvas, Gold Mica pigment
“Kleinod”, Watercolor, Colored Pencil, Gouache, Pastel Chalk, watercolorpaper
“Reborn”, Digital Photography, Models Branidi Pham, Mei Riddle and Kitty
Shari Bryant
“Reclaiming: My Time”, Pastel, Acrylic
“The Rest”, Acrylic on canvas
“The Broken Triaina”, Cardboard
“Unknown Vessel”, Resin, Brass, Stainless Steel, Acrylic, Enamel, and Lacquer Paint
“Fairytales of City E”, Oil on canvas
Nicolas Ipiña
“Beneath Perception”, Digital Photography, Models: Þorbjörg Jónasdóttir, Rebekka Gud
“Lucid”, Digital Photography, Model: Dewi Verf
Meg Allan
“Merri the Maskmaker”, Oil on Canvas
Daniel Bitton
“Regrowth”, Acrylic & colored pencil on watercolor on paper
Tejaswini Kumar
“The Flowers I cannot silence”, Stoneware clay Sculpture
Dan dos Santos
“The Royal Locks”, Mixed media
Lex Klamer
“One Snip Won’t Hurt”, Gouache
“Lumière (1)”, Digital Photography
“Huginn and Muninn”, Digital Photography Models: Cassie Burdette and Sara Fantl. Masks by Curious Fair.
“Transverberation”, 10K gold, 2 x 2mm round orange-red sapphires, 5mm heart garnet, 1 x 2mm round garnet
Iuliia Lermak
“Tell Me What’s on Your Heart Honey”, Digital Photography
“Held”, Digital Photography, Models: Lariel Chatrine Mortensdatter and Nina Ouassou
Mario Balsamo
“Conquest of the Spire and the Descent to the Land of Nobody”, Oil on Linen Canvas
“Perfume”, Laminated wood
“LILITH”, Fired-earth/hand-painted
Cara Guri
“Outside In”, Oil on Panel
Laila Egbers
“Deliquescence”, Mixed media with wood, oil paint, styrofoam, sand, ink and beads
“Marie Antoinette Memorial Cake”, Ceramic and mixed media
“A Little Life”, Oil on Canvas
“She has hidden depths”, Watercolour, ink and coloured pencil.
Trudie Wilson
“If only for a moment”, Digital Photography
Tyrel Johnson
“Rainbow Punk”, Apoxy Sculpt, Maple, Walnut, Acrylic, Acrylic Pour, and colored pencil
“Autumn Hare”, Bonded bronze
Lucia Scola
“Yama-uba”, Watercolor and colored pencils
“Veyna”, Graphite, carbon, acrylics, coloured pencils, 23 carat gold on vellum
Lídia Vives
“Rapunzel”, Digital Photography
Eiman Adeil
“Nostalgia Blues”, Oil paints on gallery wrapped stretched canvas
“Ancestor”, Oil on canvas
“Chimera”, Plaster
Shinsaku Hozumi
“Unforgettable”, Digital Photography, model: SATSUKI
“Environmental Sampling – Tiger Stripes Concept”, Camphor wood
“Breathe”, Resin & Glass
“In the Evening”, Acrylic, oil on canvas, varnish
Brad Gray
“From the Meadows”, Oil on canvas
“The Light That Remains”, Stoneware, caseian, gold leaf.
“Prismatic Petals: The Rainbow Rosette Nebula”, Digital Photography
“Dreams Bloom On The Bones Of Silence“, Digital Photography, Model:Shii(Self-portrait)
Rebecca Uriarte
“Please remain seated”, Foam, spackling, paint, plastic, clay, glue, paper, crystals
“Pollination”, Oil, Gold Leaf and Raised Leafing on Birch
“Behind The Mask”, Washi paper, bamboo, nori paste, wire, thread, ink
“Love of a Mother”, Latex, cotton, metal, vegan hair
“Medusa”, Digital Photography, Model: Fidélia
“BackUp”, Porcelain figures painted with layers of Golden Fluid acrylic seated in a fabric environment.
Mija Szura
“Self”
Wire, cardboard, paper mâché, air dry clay, acrylic paint, thread, plastic hair, mirror, epoxsy resin
“Crow Gossip”, Oil and genuine silver leaf
“The Artist“. Resin, acrylic
“Star Watcher”, Resin, Epoxy putty, Acrylic, Fiber , Wood
“NewBorn”, Ink, Watercolor, procreate
“Centauree”, Aluminium, Fibreglass, Hand Painted
Patrizia Cozzo
“Chandelier”, Polymer Clay, Swarovski and Czech Crystals, metal, wool for the hairs
“Art Mage”, Watercolor, gouache, hot press watercolor paper.