1st Prize 33PA Drawing Award

Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2026

Marcus Venegas

Title:

“where tf am I” 

Medium & Dimensions:

Pastel on paper, 60 x 100″

About the Artist

Marcus Venegas (b. 2001, Laredo, TX) earned a BFA in Studio Art from The University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. His work has been featured in publications including Friend of the Artist, Curatory Magazine, Modern Renaissance Magazine, Visual Art Journal, Artistcloseup Contemporary Art Magazine, and International Art Market Magazine, as well as on a Times Square digital billboard. Venegas has exhibited in New York and Austin, including the 39th Annual Chelsea International Fine Arts Competition Exhibition at Agora Gallery (2025), the Tribeca Ball Hallway Exhibition (2025–2026), Plato Gallery’s Pastime (2026), and numerous group exhibitions since 2022. His honors include the President’s Scholar Award (2024–2026), the Martha & Walter Erlebacher Award (2026), the Summer Undergraduate Residency Program Faculty Award (2026), and the Roy Crane Award (2022). He also attended the New York Academy of Art’s Summer Undergraduate Residency Program (2023–2024) and previously received a Gold Key from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and a Gold Seal Medal in the VASE competition (2019).

“where tf am I?”: A queer club scene depicted with pastel, creating an emotional motif with the delicate and smoky manipulation of my material that further references the impetuous actions that come with youth while also highlighting its impermanence. The lyrical composition allows the viewer to immerse themselves in a universe of pictorial poetry and the overall theatrical nature of romance.