2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award Winners Announced!

“In an era when Ai art is robbing us of our humanity, establishing the new Imaginative Realism Award and working with Beautiful Bizarre to honor this art in its traditional forms is now more crucial than ever.  The scope and talent of this year’s candidates demonstrates the vitality and resilience of human creativity.  Congratulations to the winners, and I can’t wait to see how this award grows in the future!” ~ Catherine K. Gyllerstrom,Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books

Thank you & Acknowledgements

What a year it has been for our inaugural Imaginative Realism Award! With sincere hearts, we would like to thank all of the artists that entered and shared their work and their artistic passion with us. It was such a pleasure to immerse ourselves in the work of so many creatives, working across varied mediums and styles, and reading their stories.

Imaginative Realism combines classical techniques with fantastical, mythological, and postmodern narrative subjects, focusing on unreal creations from our deepest desires or fears, the unseen, and the impossible. It offers visions of worlds that we wish were real, or delves into humanity’s mythic past, its unexplored future, and in some cases, deeper insights into our present.

Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey has the pleasure of curating each issue of the magazine and our exhibitions. The Art Prize entries will continue to give her a plethora of new ideas and choices to pursue in future. So thank you again for your interest in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, we very much hope to see how your work has grown and developed in next year’s Prize.

We would also like to sincerely thank the 2026 Jury Panel, particularly the Imaginative Realism category Judges Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director BearWolf Books, and Patrick Wilshire, Co-Founder of IX Arts and IX Gallery, for giving their time and expertise to the panel. Additionally, we warmly thank the artist judges: Brad Kunkle (Painting juror), Ed Binkley (Drawing juror), Bastien Lecouffe Deharme (Digital Art juror), Matthias Verginer (Sculpture juror), and Franz Szony (Photography juror), along with Vicki Fox, Owner of Quirky Fox Gallery (Emerging Artist Category Juror), April Carter, Curator at PoetsArtists and 33 Contemporary Gallery (Drawing Category Juror); and Co-owner & Director of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson.

To our major sponsors: Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom; Didi Menendez, Founder of 33PA and Gallery Director of 33 Contemporary Gallery, Joshua Zika, founder of INPRNT, Emilie Dietrich, President & Creative Director of RAYMAR and the team at MPB – our deepest gratitude for supporting this year’s Prize. It is through your support and generosity that the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is able to acknowledge and uplift so many incredible artists and photographers from around the world.

As always, a huge thank you also to the Beautiful Bizarre team for their dedication and hard work on behalf of the prize and winners all-year round.

Our sincere thanks to this year’s Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award sponsors. It is through their support and generosity that the Imaginative Realism Award Winners will be able to advance their creative practice, and receive the recognition they deserve.

Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award

The Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash, generously donated by Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, an independent publishing house that specialises in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 2 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2026 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites+ shared on social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

2nd prize winner will receive:

• $1,500 USD cash, generously donated by Black Dragon Press. Black Dragon Press is an independent print publisher based in London, UK.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

3rd prize winner will receive:

• $500 USD cash, generously donated by Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, an independent publishing house that specialises in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

The Winners in each Award category and the Grand Prize Award Winner will be invited to participate in the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine curated exhibition ‘Glimmer’ at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, CA, United States later this year, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists!

A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are small, everyday moments that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude – which can help cue your nervous system to feel safe or calm. [The term was coined by Deb Dana.]

From the 200 Finalists across all Award categories, the Jury Panel will select the Grand Prize Award Winner.

Congratulations to the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award Winners: Dorian Vallejo, Gigi Chen, and Allen Douglas!

3rd Prize Winner

Dorian Vallejo

Currently resides: United States

“Labyrinth Of The Soul” (Painting: oil on wooden panel, 34 x 48″)

Dorian Vallejo engages ideas that converge philosophically and aesthetically. He is fascinated by the process of individuation and its potential for archetypal expression. To that end, his paintings and drawings often suggest a symbolic narrative. This narrative is meant to represent our mediation between the limits of perceived reality and the quest for authenticity. He is also interested in beauty as a metaphor and the transient poetry of life. Born into an artistic family, Dorian Vallejo’s career began when he started illustrating book covers as a student at the School of Visual Arts, in New York. As the field increasingly began to incorporate the use of computer-generated images, Vallejo felt the need to pursue other avenues with his art. His love of traditional media and the figure, drew him to fine art and portraiture

“Labyrinth Of The Soul”: The labyrinth of the mind is a complication, a mystery of our own creation. It is the mythological dream that arises from the depths of the collective unconscious in response to the breath of life that is the whisper of thousands of voices on the wind; the whisper of millennia, the breath of life; our call to adventure and centering belief.

2nd Prize Winner

Gigi Chen

Currently resides: United States

“The Purest Light” (Painting: Acrylic on Wood Panel, 24 x 30″)

Born in Guangdong, China, and raised in New York City, Gigi Chen crafts a unique aesthetic that blends her background as a traditional animator and painter. Deeply rooted in the art of storytelling, her work explores themes of family and relationships and the ongoing pursuit of the “Ideal of Home”. Her vibrant compositions use wildlife and light as powerful metaphors for love, tragedy and the hope for redemption. In addition to her fine art, Gigi is a dedicated birder and burgeoning nature photographer with a growing passion for animal rights. Her artwork has been featured in solo gallery exhibitions at Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, Australia, and Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon. She has also participated as an Artist in Residence with the 4Heads Organization on Governors Island, New York City.

“The Purest Light”: This is a particularly personal piece. The Barn Owl is walking amongst the magical glowing mushrooms in the lush forest. Sadly, he can only focus on the weight of the chains on his ankle. The Tufted Titmice flies down, bearing the key to secure his release. We each contain complex inner lives. The good, the bad, the complicated. “The Purest Light” is about how those big feelings can hinder us from seeing the beauty that is always surrounding us. Bark flaking from a Sycamore Tree. The changing of the seasons. The gentle glide of a sparrow. Life is so complex. If we are lucky, we have our communities and our friends who call us on a Monday afternoon asking how we are doing.

1st Prize Winner

Allen Douglas

Currently resides: United States

“Lifting the Veil” (Painting: oil on aluminum panel, 60 x 42″)

Educated at Syracuse University, Allen Douglas has created paintings for many notable book publishing, editorial, and gaming clients, including Wizards of the Coast, Audible, Penguin Putnam, St. Martin’s Press, Tor, Berkley, Random House, Scholastic, HarperCollins, Harcourt, Little Brown, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, Disney-Hyperion, Bookspan, High 5 Games, Hasbro, Upper Deck, the United States Mint, Weekly Reader, the Village Voice, and Realms of Fantasy. Additionally, his paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums both in the United States and internationally, including Abend Gallery, Gallery Nucleus, the Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books, Rehs Contemporary Gallery, the Society of Illustrators in New York and Los Angeles, and the Strong National Museum of Play. His artwork has been recognized by many prominent juried illustration competitions, including Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, the Society of Illustrators of New York and Los Angeles, Art Renewal Center, Infected By Art, Ballistic Publishing, and Step-By-Step Graphics. Allen has also been teaching at the Rochester Institute of Technology since 2003. His studio is located in Rochester, NY, on the southern shores of Lake Ontario.

“Lifting the Veil”: This painting is an example of my independent body of work that I have titled “Cryptid Visions.” CRYPTID is a term used to describe creatures whose existence has been suggested but not scientifically documented. It is a fitting lens through which to view this body of work, since the paintings depict animals in both familiar and unexpected ways. Drawing frequently from folklore, I will distort scale relationships, environments, or the animals themselves to create images that feel both otherworldly and grounded, honoring the inherent physical traits and behaviors of my subjects even as I reimagine them.