3rd Prize Winner: Kai Carpenter
3rd Prize Winner
Kai Carpenter
“The Selkie”, Oil on board, 20 x 45″
Kai Carpenter’s oil paintings use archetypal imagery to explore psychological themes. Drawing on a variety of influences both ancient and contemporary, his work invokes the storytelling ethos of myths, legends and fairy tales to express emotional realities native to dreams and memory. Kai was born in Washington and educated in Rhode Island.
2nd Prize Winner: Susan McDonnell
2nd Prize Winner
Susan McDonnell
“Desert Guardians”, Oil on panel, 16 x 20″
Susan McDonnell is a realist painter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her paintings are narratives inspired by her observations of wild animals in their natural habitats. McDonnell received her B.A and M.F.A from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She is represented by Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara, California.
“Desert Guardians”: This artwork was inspired by a walk in Yucca Valley, California and locking eyes with this cottontail rabbit. The early morning sun caught the rabbit’s magnificent ears and this small animal became larger than life. It seemed to be standing guard so I added the two lizards as additional sentries.
1st Prize Winner: Heidi Taillefer
1st Prize Winner
Heidi Taillefer
“Silkworm”, Oil on canvas, 44 x 60″
Born in 1970 in Montreal, Quebec, Heidi Taillefer has worked since 1993 as an illustrator and fine artist, exhibiting internationally throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Her work reflects the ubiquity of technology throughout the world, with it’s promises and threats, which permeate our being while we remain trapped within a universal and eternal human condition from which there is no escape, no matter what our enhancements.
“Silkworm”: “Silkworm” is a depiction of the afterlife, as it portrays a pure white horse disintegrating into sparrows. The black backdrop is in the style of an Indonesian shadow puppet and represents our shadow side, which is meant to be purified through endless cycles of existence.
Thank you & Acknowledgements
Congratulations to the 2020 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize INPRNT Traditional Art Award Winners, Heidi Taillefer, Susan McDonnell, and Kai Carpenter!
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the artists that entered, sharing their work and their artistic passion with us. It was such a pleasure to immerse myself in the work of so many creatives from all corners of the globe and read their inspirational stories. Thank you also to all the artists that entered in previous years, and again this year!
As Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief I have the pleasure and honour of curating each issue of the magazine and curating our yearly exhibitions! The many wonderful and talented Art Prize entries we received have given me a plethora of new ideas and choices to pursue in future. I will also be taking the opportunity to share many of the amazing entries submitted over the coming months on our social media platforms, as I truly believe that all of these artists deserve more recognition and promotion of their work. So thank you again for your interest in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, I very much hope to see how your work has grown and developed in next year’s Prize.
I would also like to sincerely thank the 2020 Jury Panel, particularly the Traditional Art Category Judge Hannah Yata, who gave her time and expertise to the panel, the other Category Judges: Kate MacDowell [Sculpture], Ellen Rogers [Photography], Rafael Grassetti [Digital Art]; Museum Gallery Director Rachael Parsons of New England Regional Art Museum; representatives from our amazing sponsors INPRNT, ZBrush, iCanvas and Yasha Young Projects, Directors of Modern Eden Gallery Kim Larson and Bradley Platz, the Beautiful Bizarre team for their dedication and hard work on behalf of the prize and winners, and of course to my partner, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine‘s Co-Founder Richard Purssey. The judging process was extremely difficult with so many exceptional entries, so thank you again!
Finally I would like to once again extend my thanks to this year’s Traditional Art Award sponsors listed below. It is through your generosity that the Traditional Art Award Winners will be able to enrich their practice.
Danijela Krha Purssey, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
INPRNT Traditional Art Award
The INPRNT Traditional Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:
- US$3,000 cash, generously donated by sponsor INPRNT, printers of high quality art prints. INPRNT is run by artists, for artists.
- A beautiful specially commissioned art glass trophy.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery [San Francisco] alongside 80+ 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: 1 Million + followers across all social platforms)
- $100 gift voucher from Poposition Press, publishers of amazing limited edition pop up books created with contemporary artists
- Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared on social media
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine
2nd and 3rd prize winners will receive:
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery [San Francisco] alongside 80+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists
- Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine
- An exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites.
Timeline
- 1st week of September: Winners announced
- 1 Sept: Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award Winners announced
- 2 Sept: iCanvas Photography Award Winners announced
- 3 Sept: ZBrush Digital Art Award Winners announced
- 4 Sept: INPRNT Traditional Art Award Winners announced
- 5 Sept: Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 1st Prize Winner, Honourable Mentions & People’s Choice Winner announced
- 24 October – 13 November 2020: Beautiful Bizarre curated exhibition ‘Midnight Garden’ at Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco.
