BEST IN SHOW EVENT
JANUARY 2019

WELCOME!!
Please join us as we honour and celebrate the "Best In Show" winners
from our previous shows with this exclusive exhibition and contest.
The winning art works are featured alongside two new works from each respective
artist that are eligible to win one of three "Diamond Awards Of Excellence".
The artists below are listed chronologically by show.
Thank you to these thirteen exceptional artists for sharing their talent and artistic vision!!
Enjoy the show!!
(to enlarge images visit the gallery section at the end of the show)

see the THREE WINNERS here

LYNN CHEN

BEST IN SHOW -- INAUGURAL SHOW -- DECEMBER 2017
"CLEAR IN BLOOM"
Oil on canvas -- 46 X 32 inches -- $12,500.00
q22052q@yahoo.com.tw
https://www.celesteprize.com/member/idu:96810/

BIOGRAPHY
Chen was educated at National Taiwan University of Arts from 1987 to 1991.  She graduated with a Bachelor Degree from the Design Department and involved herself in a variety of Fine Arts learning that nurtured her growth and development in painting.  To meet the challenge of being superior to her previous self in creation, she entered the juried exhibitions hosted by Taiwan Arts Associations in 1999 to 2013 and won many awards including 12 gold medals.  This qualified her to be invited to join the membership of the Tai-Yang Art Society.  Since then she has continued to participate annually in their Art Exhibitions and has been invited to hold solo exhibitions for the public.  Her art philosophy is to create a new style of painting with Oriental language and artwork of goodness, beauty, and truth for sharing with this Universe and expressing the positive power of “Love”.  Starting from June 2016, she has actively participated in international juried art competitions and exhibitions.  She currently lives and works in Chia-yi, Taiwan.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"Beauty is an attitude toward life.  Always painting with a free mind I love to depict the light and soft character of Oriental women in literature and art.  My work expresses the safety and freedom of the character at rising in a unique style that represents the prospect of Chinese calligraphy, experimental techniques and the ambiance of a living Zen." -- LYNN CHEN

CINDY ROESINGER

BEST IN SHOW -- FLOWER -- JANUARY 2018
"CADENCE #4"
Oil -- 8 X 10 inches
cindyroesinger@yahoo.com
www.cindyroesingerfineart.com

BIOGRAPHY
Awarded the distinction of being one of the world's best minimalist painters in 2016 by the American Art Award association, Cindy works in oils and mostly alla prima.  Cindy's professional career began in 1984 in New York City at the International Center for Photography and Magnum Photos, leading to a career as a director, photo editor, researcher and photographer at Photo Researchers, and Gamma/Liaison Intl.  A self-taught painter, Cindy transitioned from photography into oil painting in 2005 after moving to Bucks County, PA.  Her internationally acclaimed work has been the recipient of several awards, displayed, collected, published, and featured in numerous books, magazines, electronic media, galleries, and private collections. She currently resides and works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I often align my work closely to what feels like musical composition to me.  When I approach the creation of a new work of art, I am seeking a visceral response to the lyrical quality unfolding within the work.  Sometimes that is represented in a harmonious, quiet painting with soft tones, represented in kind by the palette and treatment of the shapes and edges within, perhaps punctuated by a moment of discord for emphasis, and other times it is like a symphony with layers of color and movement.  My intention is to create a sonata of interlocking monologues that engage the viewer. Working in oils, I emphasize a more organic aesthetic.  By expressing spontaneous, direct feeling, there is an energy and vibration created in my current work that emphasizes essential movement, form and color, while eliminating extraneous detail, leaving the viewer with the origin of the image, and the moment that inspired it's creation." -- CINDY ROESINGER

GERALD CHODAK

BEST IN SHOW -- ABSTRACT -- FEBRUARY 2018
"BRIGHTEN MY DAY"
Acrylic -- 36 X 48 inches -- $700.00
gerald.chodak@gmail.com
 www.artbygerrychodak.com

BIOGRAPHY
Gerald Chodak was born in New York on March 13, 1947.  During his first career as a surgeon he was introduced to glass blowing, which he performed for 13 years before taking up acrylic painting.  This transition occurred in part because he found painting more suitable to his personality; he could be more spontaneous without the need for pre-planning.  Painting did not require immediate completion of a work and it could constantly be modified until he thought it was completed.  Finally, unlike glass, painting had no restrictions on the colors being mixed together.  His painting began with classes at the Boca Raton Museum School of Art in Boca Raton, Florida and the Old School Square in Delray Beach, Fl. Thus far, Gerald has focused on non-objective abstract works, combining bright colors with organic shapes. During the past year he began entering on-line art exhibitions and has found some early successes.  Some of his results include best in show three times (Gallery Ring, Camelback Gallery International Art Competition, Gateway International Painting Exhibition), third place (Bauhaus Prairie Exhibition: Abstraction), and fourth Place (Light, Space and Time Abstract Art Exhibition).   Light, Space and Time also selected him as an artist showcase winner in January 2018 and one of 10 abstract artists to watch in 2018.   He recently had work shown at the Red Dot Exhibition at Art Basel in Miami and was selected for the upcoming Continuum 2019 exhibition in West Palm Beach.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"Color fills our world, enriching it greatly.  It has always evoked a special reaction in me.  I don’t simply see it but rather I react to it emotionally, whether it is the changing colors in the ocean or sky, the flowers in my garden or the birds flying by. My goal as an artist has been to evoke a similar reaction for myself as I watch the colors of the paints merge together and explode off the canvas, creating combinations that are often unexpected.   If I don’t have that reaction, then I know a painting is not good enough and I will either put it away or simply start over.  Thus far I have chosen to paint organic, non-objective shapes rather than real images because I want each viewer to react by finding his/her own message.  My paintings have been greatly influenced by the colorist artists of the 19th and 20th century." -- GERALD CHODAK

ELIZABETH BURIN

BEST IN SHOW -- STILL LIFE -- MARCH 2018
"FALL STILL LIFE ON GLASS TABLE"
Watercolour -- 13 X 17.5 inches -- $550.00
eburin4@gmail.com
  www.elizabethburin.com

BIOGRAPHY
Elizabeth Burin is an independent artist working in Baltimore.  Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Switzerland, she holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Cambridge.  She worked as a museum curator and taught ancient and medieval art history before turning to studio art, earning a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art.  Elizabeth Burin is a Signature Artist member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society, exhibits frequently in the mid-Atlantic area and online, and has received many awards for her work.  She lives in Baltimore with her husband.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"My artistic inspiration derives from my travels and above all from nature’s infinite variety of forms.  Starting from precise observation, I endeavor to give voice to these unique forms, especially in the fluid and luminous medium of watercolor.  I value the expressive power of color and often revisit a subject to capture the atmosphere of a moment or to enhance a coloristic effect.  Layers of transparent pigment provide the key to the brilliance I seek." -- ELIZABETH BURIN

MOON KIM

BEST IN SHOW -- LANDSCAPE -- APRIL 2018
"SO-MAE-MUL ISLAND"
Acrylic on Japanese paper -- 61 X 51 inches -- $1200.00
seven6021@gmail.com
   www.moonkyungkim.com

BIOGRAPHY
Moonkyung Kim was born on August 1st, 1989 in the city of Seoul, South Korea.  Her paintings are based on the concept of liminal spaces, which are represented by cityscapes and landscapes.  Liminal spaces are expressed by transmitting past experience and the present moment in a way that provides for negotiation and contemplation of the idea of places.  Her artwork, in general, is based on aspects of oriental and traditional landscape by using oriental brushstrokes on canvas and Japanese paper.  Moonkyung participated in several group exhibitions and received the Juror Selection Award from the M.F.A Exhibition.  She earned her B.F.A. from Duksung Women’s University in South Korea, another B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her M.F.A. from Washington University in Saint Louis.  Moon Kyung Kim worked as an independent artist in Chicago, Illinois and Saint Louis, Missouri.  She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"My paintings represent the liminal space between two places where past and new experiences meet and desire to constitute a sense of place.  As an artist, since the foundation of liminal space rises from the physical environment, this sense of place is expressed as a fictional metropolitan and new traditional landscape.  I use an integration of oriental painting, map making and expressionism as a method/ideology.  I focus solely on visual aesthetics without allowing any boundaries of cultural and historical differences to interfere.  For this reason, I consider the space with culture and the world and I build them into my abstract landscape.  As such, I am interested in dealing with the whole space where it shows vertiginous and empty space.  Due to this composition, a specific part of my artworks among the whole canvas is shown more intensively.  My paintings, usually composed of multiple layers, often seem overwhelming, overcrowded and complicated.  For me, the image of a scene consists of multiple components and characteristics.  My artworks are composed of graffiti and pen drawings and filled with overlapping, water-based gestures.  I use oriental materials like black ink, rice papers, and an oriental painting brush.  My artworks come from my stories, namely, the moment of past is expressed on my canvas." -- MOON KIM

SEEMA BHATTACHARJEE

BEST IN SHOW -- COLOUR -- MAY 2018
"CHANGING SPRING 3"
Acrylic -- 18 X 24 inches -- $400.00
seema.bhatta@gmail.com

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I am a New Jersey based painter and my style is mostly post-impressionistic and/or abstract expressionist. I mainly use acrylic or watercolor as the medium. My work involves my direct life experience which may be any particular incidents or interaction with people or experiencing some beautiful natural scenery and my feelings attached to it. I am an avid reader who loves to read a variety of poetry, which is a source of inspiration to my paintings too. I relate all my life experiences with some colors, movements and shapes and I try to capture my emotions on canvas with the brushstrokes and colors." -- SEEMA BHATTACHARJEE

KAY DEARDORFF

BEST IN SHOW -- PEOPLE -- JUNE 2018
"TRIO IN RIO"
Oil -- 12 X 16 inches
kaydeardorff@cox.net
www.kaydeardorff.com

BIOGRAPHY
Kay is a versatile painter with the ability to paint any subject but is particularly drawn to the figure.  This love has led her to portray on canvas people doing ordinary things.  She is intrigued with light and how it reflects on people and objects.  “As a painter, one sees the world differently than most.  I see light and shadow and the colour in them.  In restaurants I am constantly squinting to see light on objects.  This has inspired many a painting”.  Kay’s early training was with Pat McGuffin at the Art Students Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She has furthered her studies with well-known artists Herb Robb, Virginia Rodecker Jarboe, Claudia Doyle, Neil Boyle, David Leffle, Kim English, Diane Ainsworth, J. Chris Morel and Ken Auster.  Kay’s work is included in many private and corporate collections nationally and internationally and features many commissioned paintings, particularly of children.  

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I view my painting as a gift from God to express my creativity.  There is nothing that makes me happier than to see someone enjoy my work.  I’ve had people cry when presented a piece.  The thrill of putting a lasting impression of a child on canvas and seeing how it makes a grandmother smile is priceless.  I love painting light and how it reflects on objects and people.  My passion is the figure and “capturing the moment”.  I have my camera with me at all times and try to catch people doing what they love.  I will continue to paint until that exuberance is gone." -- KAY DEARDORFF