ArtPrize 2012, Top 25 Short List

ArtPrize 2012 is in full swing, and Round 1 Voting closes this Saturday, September 29th at 11:59pm. The Top 10 finalists will be announced Sunday, 1:00pm, at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids. Round 2 Voting will then commence, and close on Thursday, October 4th.



I'm very excited to be counted among the public vote's Top 25 at this stage of the competition. My own experience of ArtPrize 2012 has been wonderful so far, and the opportunity to exhibit at the GRAM alongside so many great works has been a true honor. Seeing so many viewers visit and interact with my work up close these last few weeks has touched me on so many levels. There's no greater feeling than seeing others connect with work that you've created from your soul; not to mention, how great it is seeing people and their city, as a whole, immersing and engaging in art and culture on such a grand scale. It's an amazing thing to be part of.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out GRAM's website specifically created for our ArtPrize exhibition Transformation. There, you'll find a great series of one-minute artist movies GRAM has produced, documenting it's exhibiting ArtPrize artists.

View the list of GRAM ArtPrize artists here, click on a name, and hit the "Video" button: http://www.artmuseumgr.org/uploads/assets/artprize/index.html

Also be sure to check out Sojourn included in some recent noteworthy press:

MLive // Joseph Becherer: GRAM's ArtPrize exhibition is 'transformational'

MLive // ArtPrize 2012 public Top 25 short list

Hyperallergic // Slimming Down the Short Lists: A Look at 10 ArtPrize Finalists

ArtPrize 2012

ArtPrize 2012 opens TODAY, September 19th! I am participating in it again for the first time since 2009, and am very happy to announce that  Sojourn has been selected to be displayed at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), as part of it's ArtPrize exhibition, Transformation.  

VOTE for Sojourn -- Code: 52168
Text 52168 to 808080 or
Visit artprize.org/andrea-kowch/2012/sojourn

For those not familiar with the competition, it is the world's largest art prize, held in Grand Rapids, Michigan USA, and is open to artists worldwide. The top award, $200,000 is decided by public vote.

Here are the official Rules via ArtPrize.org:

  

The Public Vote

Anyone over the age of 16 can register to vote. Votes are cast on artprize.org, via text message and mobile application.

• Round 1 (Sept. 19 – Sept. 29): 11 days to explore ArtPrize and vote for the entries you think should win.

• Round 2 (Sept. 30 – Oct. 4): 5 days to cast one vote for your favorite of the Top 10 entries.

The Juried Awards

New for ArtPrize 2012, is a $100,000 Juried Grand Prize, on par with the world’s major juried art competitions. ArtPrize also awards five additional $20,000 Juried Awards in the following categories: 2-D, 3-D, Urban Space, Time/Performance and Venue.

The Result

ArtPrize 2012: 162 venues will host 1517 artist entries.
Combining $360,000 awarded by Public Vote and a total of $200,000 in Juried Awards brings a new tension to ArtPrize. Will the juried awards stand apart from the public vote, or will the two cross paths to award a single artist an unprecedented $320,000?

If you plan on attending the event, please view Transformation at the GRAM, located at 101 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Sojourn is located on the 2nd Floor Balcony. 

It's a wonderful exhibition, and I had the pleasure of attending the Opening Preview Party on September 13th:

Looking forward to seeing all the other great stuff ArtPrize 2012 has to offer! Be sure to check it out if you are in Michigan!

Visit GRAM's official ArtPrize Profile to see all the other great entries that are showing there as well: artprize.org/grand-rapids-art-museum

"Metamorphosis of Mood" Solo Exhibition

 

Another show, another year; my third solo exhibition, Metamorphosis of Mood, which opened on August 25th, 2012, just wrapped. As always, I had the most fabulous time, and am grateful to everyone involved who helped make it the highlight of my year once again. My heartfelt thanks goes out to my gallery, collectors, and fans. None of it would be possible without you.

 

 

The road leading up to this year's show had its challenges, and through it I feel I have grown even more as an artist. Constantly seeking to push new boundaries with each new painting, a block I experienced earlier in the year nearly cost me my show deadline, and the weeks and final days leading up to the opening became one huge frenzied, sleepless blur. The last painting I completed was The Cape, a complex 5' x 7' ft. piece that had me painting up to the last minute--literally--I had to fly to New York the next morning. 

 

The Cape. 60" x 84". Acrylic on canvas. 2012.

 

It was crated and shipped overnight, arriving in New York within minutes of my own arrival. Once there, I completed final touches, varnished it, and up it went on the wall the morning of the opening. The pressure and adrenaline surge that carried me for so many days throughout it all is something I won't forget anytime soon. But I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Everything turned out perfect in the end, and I owe it all to the incredible teamwork involved--my gallery for always being so supportive and doing their part, and my brother, Roman, who saved the day by constructing the crate and helping me get the work shipped on time:

 

 

 

It was a great show, my brief vacation is over, and I'm gearing up for the fall season, ArtPrize 2012, and new ideas for my next paintings. Be sure to check out photos from the show on RJD Gallery's website, and on Flickr. All new 2012 work can also be viewed here and on my website. More in-depth posts about the paintings and detail shots to follow shortly. 

ArtHamptons 2012

It's that summer time of year again! My newest work will be present at the 2012 ArtHamptons International Fine Art Fair this weekend in Bridgehampton, NY. Please be sure to visit RJD Fine Arts Gallery in Booth #16!

Once again, the big 3-day event will house art from over 70 US and international galleries, and this year's key events will include the honoring of Cheech Marin, and Ed Moses with the 2012 Arts Patron of the Year Award and 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award, respectively.

if you' re in the area, don't miss it! Please visit the ArtHamptons official site for a list of exhibiting galleries, special events, show and ticket information, and more:

http://www.arthamptons.com/

ArtHamptons
July 12-15, 2012
July 12, Opening Preview
Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark, 60 Millstone Road
Bridgehampton, NY 11932

"Crow's Song" wins People's Choice Award at MMA 84th Regional Exhibition!

 

I am pleased and honored to announce that Crow's Song was selected to be part of the 84th Regional Exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art where it took home the People's Choice Award! Open to the entire state of Michigan for the first time, 217 out of 633 submitted works were selected for the show, which opened May 31st, and will run until August 8th.

Thank You to everyone who visited the exhibition and gave me their vote! Please visit the link below for more information, including special dates and the official list of exhibiting artists, and be sure to visit the MMA to see the show!

Muskegon Museum of Art 84th Regional Exhibition, May 31-August 8, 2012

VOTE! "Year in Review" People's Choice

My work is currently in the running for Year in Review People's Choice! Artists Wanted: A Year In Review is an "international, all-medium-encompassing open call for art with the mission of presenting a range of technique, style and narrative that captures the best emerging artists of the year". I would appreciate your votes! To participate, just follow the link, and get your vote in by Noon EST this Tuesday, February 7th. Thank you all in advance!

VOTE: http://akowch.artistswanted.org/yr2011

New work featured in "American Art Collector" Issue #75 - Out Now!

I am delighted to be featured in the January 2012 issue of American Art Collector. The issue is out now wherever books and magazines are sold, so be sure to grab a copy and check out the ad and article discussing my latest happenings and work, including my recently released set of Limited Edition prints and information regarding my upcoming solo exhibition!

Please visit American Art Collector online, http://www.americanartcollector.com/
to browse and order the current issue, and visit RJD Fine Arts Gallery to view available prints.

"Crow's Song"

48" x 36"
acrylic on canvas



Hello dear blogging world, it’s been a while, but I felt it’s time to take a quick break to revisit and reflect on where things have been and where things are now as the year winds down and we prepare to ring in the new. It’s always an exciting time, though it’s hard to believe we are already here again!

Amidst the shuffle, I’ve been longing to post more personal tidbits about all my recent work from this year. While being “too busy” would indeed be a valid excuse, excuses don’t exist in my world, so I’ll admit that it has been the result of putting off discussing myself – the mood has to strike, and even then, I still like to have the work speak for itself.

Many of you have checked out the current 2011 volume of Direct Art 18 of which I was the cover feature, and where many of the latest works from this year’s show are published along with my own personal writings behind each piece. For those of you who have yet to see it, you may still order a copy online, http://slowart.com/subscribe.htm, and stay tuned as I re-post most of it here on the blog.

One work that I have not yet touched on anywhere, and one that has gotten several mixed and interesting reactions is Crow’s Song, so I figured it would be a good place to start. Another more personal statement about my own life and the “journey” I feel that I’m on, this painting serves, in some ways, as a sequel to No Turning Back, once again reflecting the whole “triumph of courage over fear” dynamic, but executed in lieu of a MUCH different, happier, more enlightened and fulfilled "me" than at the time its predecessor was created. All my paintings are essentially “portraits” of my inner self, expressed through my characters, landscapes, and use of color. As someone who feels I’m always in a strange state of inner transformation, Crow’s Song is a tribute to recognizing and embracing that very aspect of the self, and celebrates one of the most beautiful and misunderstood of creatures that is of deep significance to me: the crow.

Inspired by a deep-rooted fascination with Native American culture, legends, and spirituality, and memories of the bird’s odd and steady presence in my life during a time when I searched desperately to “find myself”, crows have revealed themselves to accompany nothing but positive forces from beneath their dark disguise. Over the years, this astonishing bird has come to symbolize, for me, everything BUT the “darkness” they are typically associated with – the complete opposite, in fact. For me, they symbolize the beauty of new beginnings after the end of a dark struggle; spiritual awakening after a period of soul-searching, and having the courage to face the unknown and to recognize it’s all up to us to make what we want of life. As a result, I always feel a sense of comfort when I hear their distant call, as it causes me to take a moment to reflect on my life, the lessons I’ve learned, and the path I’m on. That’s the beauty of nature to me; by just taking the time to listen and observe, one can learn many things. It reminds me that everything works in its own way in its own time.

A crow’s intriguing presence and shape against the starkness of a rural landscape, for me, personifies all the transformative power, mystery, and beauty of the unknown, intuitive side of nature; a supernatural phenomena all its own that parallels the feeling of being in tune and at one with your soul and all that is around you. Crow’s Song speaks to that moment of clarity, when that inner power we all possess enables us to transform and emerge anew. Symbolized here through the figure enveloped in the protection of the flock’s embrace (the shape and color of her robe evoking that of a crow itself), it’s about moving forward with bravery, determination, and faith in one’s self and one’s own life purpose, and pays homage to that internal power that a crow’s presence always reminds me exists deep within. Crow’s Song is about hearing the wake-up call to come back to life and embrace and cultivate your own true spirit. Here’s to always looking and moving onward and upward.

"The Feast" Wins 2011 Art Kudos International!

I'm extremely excited and pleased to announce that The Feast was selected as this year's top winner, Best of Show, in the 2011 Art Kudos International Juried Exhibition!

The online exhibition, unveiled on August 15th, will be on view at the Art Kudos website year-long. Please visit http://www.artkudos.com/ to take a look at this year's stunning array of works, juried by Holly Koons McCullough, former Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, GA. The show presents 157 artists from 23 countries. I am humbled and beyond honored!

Two additional works, Sojourn and Whirlwind, have also been selected for inclusion. Be sure to check out the whole show!

Punk Soul Poet

Big thanks to the editors behind Punk Soul Poet for inviting me to be a part of their launch issue. A new, LA-based virtual art and literary mag, Punk Soul Poet is devoted to art, the written word, and the punk soul, with the mission of "strengthen[ing] the bond between the arts" in true "punk" spirit, naming "Patti Smith, Oscar Wilde, Spalding Gray, Frida Kahlo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Jim Carroll, among others" as role models.

I was honored and happy to have my work serve as the subject for poetry featured in this issue, and fell in love with the poets' various interpretations of the paintings. Congrats to the poets whose submissions were selected for the article: Ariel Jastromb, Jenna Schlosbon, Katie G, Laurie Foster Palmer, and Cassie Ann Ross. They were a joy to read!

Check it all out here -- Punk Soul Poet: Inspired by artist Andrea Kowch

Official Site -- http://www.punksoulpoet.com/

"Sojourn"

72" x 60"
acrylic on canvas



Things are cooking in the studio, hence my lack of posts as of late, and Sojourn is another large-scale, all-consuming work I recently wrapped up. After taking a quick few days to come down from the mega adrenaline high, a new painting is already up on the easel, and others are still thoughts yet to be officially pinned down on paper, all of which I'll be looking forward to sharing with all of you in the coming weeks.



For now, a few of my thoughts behind this one. The concept for it ultimately came about by way of taking the leap to do something with butterflies, a thought I'd faintly entertained in the past, but pushed to the back of my mind because I wasn't quite sure in what way I would initially handle the subject matter. Then one day it completely hit me, the whole image; one of those rare instances that foregoes all the extensive planning and playing via roughs and sketches to get it right. Amazingly, a lot of my ideas have been free-flowing lately, and there's no better feeling than that light bulb going off and getting so excited you're literally scrambling to write it all down. Here, I wanted the structure of an old farmhouse to figure prominently in the scene, a large looming shape where I could indulge my craving to explore the details of all those old farmhouses I so loved discovering on backroad haunts, that are now leveled and no more.




In a way, it's an homage to a past where things were so much purer, simpler. But like butterflies, who are in a constant state of transformation and migration, such is life, where things come and go and it's up to us to choose what's worth keeping and preserving. Butterflies have always served as symbols of hope and beauty throughout the ages, creatures that, despite their delicate fragility, still must brave long and brutal migrations. Even so, their short rests along the way are one of nature's most beautiful and fascinating events to behold. The contrast between them, the women, and the house was something that struck and appealed to me in my mind's eye; almost like a fusion of past, present, and future.




To reflect the depth and complexity of the scene, I also wanted to explore textures more deeply than ever, and when I settled on the outfits, I made sure they carried an airiness that would translate and mesh with the delicacy of the nets and butterflies themselves.



I created the outfits out of several pieces of clothing, combinations of vintage pieces, regular pieces, and curtains [yes, curtains :)]. My models (dear friends) are always amazing to work with, especially in instances like this, where they're pinned up all sorts of ways in these strange get-ups. Makes for lots of laughs and keeps me going while running back and forth manning lights, camera, action, outfits falling apart, etc. It being a large painting, I really wanted to take advantage of the fact that I could get into all the details, and boy did I with this one. It just felt right, and to really experience everything it has to be viewed in real life. I must have re-shot the work a million times to try to capture all the subtleties here, but, a bit of the true colors and details still got lost nonetheless. Hopefully most of you will be able to come see it face-to-face at my show this July! It's hard to believe Spring is already upon us despite the relentless snowfall and cold winds still going strong here in Michigan! :)

"The Feast"

60" x 84"
acrylic on canvas



The largest one I have done to date, it was quite a ride from start to finish, in a good way, for it allowed me to really put myself to the test and push my boundaries. It took nearly three months of intense painting, everyday, and had me either lying or sitting on the floor, getting on and off a stool, and running to one end of the studio and back to gauge it from a distance countless times a day, literally causing me to emerge from the experience 10 lbs. lighter (not complaining!). If you've been following this blog, you're probably familiar with my desire to do large-scale works more often, so, naturally, when I got this opportunity I was totally psyched.



The figures in this piece are 100% life-size. If you sit in front of it, you'll look like you're part of the scene. Place a hand over one in the painting and they'll match. Everything in it is scaled accordingly; that's what's made it so consuming and exciting for me, so much so that by the tenth week when it neared completion, I almost forgot I even existed.




The initial idea was to create a sort of table scene, and I wanted to create a narrative with mood where various windows and doors behind each figure contain something unique, symbolizing different thoughts and states of mind, themes and motifs commonly present in my work. I also wanted to further explore and indulge in my love for painting textures and patterns, something that, albeit time-consuming, is actually a very meditative process.





Expect to see more large-scale paintings from me in the future, and new paintings are currently in progress, so stay tuned! Huge thanks to my clients and gallery for giving me the chance to take on something like this. In addition, commissions are being accepted, so if interested, please contact RJD Fine Arts Gallery with any inquiries, and check out The Feast on Flickr for a larger view.