2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: BearWolf Books 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 2026 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: 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, Vicki Fox, Owner of Quirky Fox Gallery (Emerging Artist Category Juror), April Carter, Curator at PoetsArtists and 33 Contemporary Gallery; and Co-owner & Director of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson.

To our major sponsors: RAYMAR President & Creative Director, Emilie Dietrich; the team at MPB; Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom; Didi Menendez, Founder of 33PA and Gallery Director of 33 Contemporary Gallery, and Joshua Zika, founder of INPRNT – 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 BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award sponsors. It is through their support and generosity that the Emerging Artist Award Winners will be able to advance their creative practice, and receive the recognition they deserve.

BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award

The BearWolf Books 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 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.
• 12 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:

• $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Poetic Tiger Gallery. Poetic Tiger Gallery is a progressive online gallery and curatorial platform featuring national and international contemporary, representational, and narrative art from both established and emerging artists. with an artist-first approach, including pop-up exhibitions and collaborative projects.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, 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.
• 6 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 2 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 Poetic Tiger Gallery. Poetic Tiger Gallery is a progressive online gallery and curatorial platform featuring national and international contemporary, representational, and narrative art from both established and emerging artists. with an artist-first approach, including pop-up exhibitions and collaborative projects.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, 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.
• 4 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 2 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 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, BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award Winners: Gina Barnes, Shelby Clark-Glass, and Julia Bartolini!

3rd Prize Winner

Julia Bartolini

Currently resides: France

“Samputa mudra” (Drawing, Coloured pencil on 200g white Canson paper, 59.4 x 84.1cm)

Julia Bartolini was born in France in 1985 into a family of artists. She followed a school and university career focused on art, punctuated by exhibitions and cultural events within associations and collectives of artists. In addition, she is a special education teacher, two worlds which, although different, complement each other harmoniously. Julia completed her studies and part of her professional career in Bordeaux. For a few years now, she has been living in the Landes region, in the heart of the forest and devoting herself to her artistic practice. She has long created textile sculptures, today focusing more on drawing. She uses coloured pencils, a dry, smooth and pleasant medium to handle, which allows her to create many details. What she appreciates is the freedom that her artistic expression and the fantasy that results from it offer her, allowing Julia to exist fully.

“Samputa mudra”: The gesture formed by the hands represents a mudra (yoga of the hands) called Samputa mudra (the bucket of the little treasure). This mudra symbolizes the spiral of life that sometimes comes to shake us up and requires permanent adaptation. The hands form a small chest to hold a priceless treasure: experiences, knowledge, hope…

2nd Prize Winner

Shelby Clark-Glass

Currently resides: United States

“Persecution Through Anthropomorphism” (Sculpture, Polymer clay, acrylics, wood, 12 x 12 x 8″)

Shelby Clark-Glass is a sculptor based in the Southeastern United States. Her work is derived from a love of nature and literature, as well as a deep respect of wildlife. She currently lives in Jacksonville with her husband and their group of rescue pets.

“Persecution Through Anthropomorphism”: Anthropomorphism—the attribution of human traits to animals—has shaped human culture for centuries. From Aesop’s fables to medieval bestiaries and modern media, animals have been assigned moral roles that often masquerade as natural truth. Sheep and goats illustrate this clearly: despite their close biological relationship, sheep symbolize righteousness while goats are linked to sin, the devil, and the scapegoat through religious and cultural narratives. In reality, they simply reflect different survival strategies, not moral character. As Richard Adams wrote in Watership Down, animals exist outside human ethics. By projecting our values onto them, we reveal more about ourselves than the natural world.

1st Prize Winner

Gina Barnes

Currently resides: England

“Serval Cat” (Painting, Oil on panel, 119 x 99cm)

Gina Barnes is a painter based in the East Midlands, currently pursuing an MA in Fine Art: Painting at Camberwell College of Arts, London. She previously earned a BA in Illustration from the University of Northampton, where she was awarded the PDRA Residency at NN Contemporary during her final year. This residency marked a pivotal shift in her practice, as she transitioned from acrylics to exploring the potential of oil paint. The experience provided a period of reflection and experimentation, enabling Gina to refine and expand her visual language. At Camberwell, she continues to challenge and develop the boundaries of her painting practice.

“Serval Cat”: I’m an artist whose practice investigates the strangeness of our relationship with nature through surreal depictions of animals. By employing symbolism and unexpected assemblages, I aim to challenge familiar narratives and question how animals are perceived. My work reflects a lifelong fascination with both wildlife and domesticated creatures, alongside a growing awareness of the risks of misrepresentation in animal imagery. This fascination began in childhood, when I grew up surrounded by cats, dogs, rats, fish, and snails. I often felt a stronger connection with them than with people, and wondered why many others did not share the same perspective. That curiosity continues to shape my practice today, as I continue to reflect on our relationship with animals and nature.