2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Emerging Artist Award Winners Announced!

One of my favourite things about the art world is watching the growth and development of new artists; therefore, it is my honour to work with Beautiful Bizarre and sponsor this award! This year’s candidates were incredibly inspiring, and I can’t wait to see what everyone does in the future! A very big congratulations to all the winners!

Catherine K. Gyllerstrom,Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books

Thank you & Acknowledgements

Once again, 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.

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 2025 Jury Panel, particularly the Emerging Artist category Judge Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director BearWolf Books for giving her time and expertise to the panel. Additionally, We warmly thank the artist Judges: Jana Brike (Painting Category Juror), Annie Murphy Robinson (Drawing Category Juror), Nicolas Bruno (Photography Category Juror), Amber Kowan (Sculpture Category Juror), Matthew Stone (Digital Art Category Juror), Vicki Fox, Owner of Quirky Fox Gallery (Emerging Artist Category Juror), as well as the Owners & Directors of Haven Gallery Erica Berkowitz and Joseph Weinreb.

To our major sponsors: RAYMAR President & Creative Director, Emilie Dietrich; the team at MPB; Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sebert, Art Collector, Law Professor & Philanthropist, Seibert Collection; Yasha Young Projects Founder Yasha Young; Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom; and Victoria Olt, Artist & Gallerist of Victoria Olt Gallery – 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 thanks 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 Emerging Artist Award Sponsors. It is through their generosity that the Emerging Artist Award Winners will be able to enrich their practice.

Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Emerging Artist Award

The Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Emerging Artist 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 specializes in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• A fully sponsored retreat experience with Art Escape Italy. This prize provides artists with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a creative workshop, led by a renowned contemporary artist. The prize includes 6 nights of accommodation, all meals & beverages (including wine), 5 days of tuition, as well as open studio access, transfers to a from the retreat, use of easels & solvents, plus evening events. Please note that travel expenses and art supplies are not included. The winner of this prize can choose between any of Art Escape Italy’s 2026 Autumn retreats, all set at a secluded villa in the Italian countryside, designed to inspire and enhance your artistic practice.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) MW generously donated by XPPen. Founded in 2005, XPPen is a leading global brand in digital art innovation under Hanvon UGEE. XPPen focuses on the needs of consumers by integrating digital art products, content, and services, specifically targeting Gen-Z digital artists. XPPen currently operates in 163 countries and regions worldwide, boasting a fan base of over 1.5 million and serving more than ten million digital art creators.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Haven Gallery in Northport, NY, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 2 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2025 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:

• $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Nanny Goat Gallery, a gallery celebrating new and contemporary representational art predominantly in the pop surreal, narrative, and fantasy genres.
• 6 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• 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 Nanny Goat Gallery, a gallery celebrating new and contemporary representational art predominantly in the pop surreal, narrative, and fantasy genres.
• 4 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• 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 of the 2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize (1st, 2nd & 3rd Prize Winners of the Painting, Drawing, Digital, Sculpture and Photography Awards; and the 1st Prize Winner of the Emerging Artist Award, along with the Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize) will be invited to participate in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition ‘Reverie’ at Haven Gallery in Northport, New York, United States, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists!

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 ‘Reverie’ 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.

Congratulations to the 2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Emerging Artist Award Winners Lara Hochreiter, Camille Kathryn Wiseman & David Derflinger!

3rd Prize Winner

David Derflinger

Currently resides: Austria

“Future Prospects”, Acrylic and gouache on Fabriano paper mounted on wood panel

David Derflinger is an engineer and artist based in Graz, Austria. Active since 2018, his work is rooted in realism with a tendency towards melancholic themes and surreal elements. Although predominantly traditional, some of his paintings incorporate a mixed media approach utilizing digital tools. Kept mostly monochromatic, the images often depict a subject-centered composition with an emphasis on emotions and body language. The paintings are done by layering hundreds of translucent acrylic washes atop each other to build contrast. David has grown very fond of this time intensive process and values it for its meditative qualities. 

“Future Prospects”: The artwork deals with how a pessimistic outlook on the future can shape the way one is seen by others. How the darkness obscures the vision and lies heavy in the stomach, like stones, or skulls if you will. While painting a very bleak picture, it should hopefully be seen as only one side of a medallion, that shines very bright on the opposite side.

2nd Prize Winner

Camille Kathryn Wiseman

Currently reside: Australia

“The Fish and the Caretaker”, Oil on canvas

Camille Kathryn Wiseman is an emerging Australian artist whose practice explores the spiritual and ecological power of water. Drawing from the blue humanities – a field that centres the ocean in cultural and environmental discourse – Camille uses allegory and symbolism to examine modernity’s fraught relationship with the natural world. The fish is a recurring motif in her work, representing our shared lifeblood and the delicate thread between human and nonhuman life. For Camille, water is not just a subject but a sacred force – one that shapes, heals, and binds all living beings. Influenced by time spent in Italy’s cathedrals and museums, her work draws from storytelling and sacred art traditions. Though not raised in a religious household, she finds deep resonance in allegory, using it to tell urgent, contemporary myths. Inspired by William Blake’s visionary world-building, Camille creates symbolic narratives to make sense of our changing planet. Primarily self-taught, Camille spent the past decade immersed in the world of biomedical engineering and clinical prosthetics before turning her full attention to art. In 2024, she curated We Devour the Ocean, a group exhibition that marked a turning point in her artistic practice. She has since exhibited in several group shows and relocated to Europe to pursue formal training and deepen her engagement with painting as a transformative practice.

“The Fish and the Caretaker”: In this work, I depict the Caretaker – guardian of life’s balance – cradling the great fish from the pond of creation. Inspired by myth, the piece explores themes of stewardship, desire, and disruption. The glowing red eggs, taken by a bowerbird enchanted by their beauty, symbolise the fragile balance between wonder and harm. As the Caretaker restores what was lost, a new harmony emerges. This painting reflects on the tension between human longing and ecological responsibility, asking: what happens when beauty is consumed rather than nurtured?

1st Prize Winner

Lara Hochreiter

Currently resides: Austria

“He grew what couldn’t be spoken”, spray paint, oil pastels, gold leaf & oil on wood panel

Lara Hochreiter was born in 1992 in Innsbruck, Austria. After pursuing a career as a graphic designer she listened to her heart and followed her passion for figurative drawing. That led her to move to Barcelona in 2019, where Lara enrolled first in digital painting, then sculpture and finally graduated in the traditional oil painting program at the Barcelona Academy of Arts in 2021. Having the technique and the eye of an academic painter, she started to create her own language – predominantly using oil paints interpreting the beauty of the human figure in a realistic representational style, but letting space for imagination and painterly expression. Her paintings are very strong in light and colour and are an expression of the emotions of the person who is behind the image. Lara’s paintings speak about introspection, connection to nature and intimacy, expressed with intense colours and texture.

“He grew what couldn’t be spoken”: I create from the space where vulnerability and resilience coexist. In the work ‘He grew what couldn’t be spoken’, I explore the heart not just as a biological organ, but as a fertile vessel – a place where pain, memory, identity, and beauty all take root. The flowers sprouting from it are not ornamental, but evidence of emotional labor: growth through struggle. Centering the male body in stillness and tenderness, I aim to challenge narrow archetypes and offer new mythologies – ones that embrace sensitivity, introspection, and sacred inner worlds. Through realism fused with surreal symbolism, I invite the viewer into a space of emotional witnessing – a meditation on what it means to hold life inside.