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Emerging Artists to Watch Recognized by the 2019 ARTDEX Art Competition

23 Sep 2019

Acrylic painting Abraço Solitário (illustrated in part above) by Brazilian emerging artist Airton Bruno was chosen as the winner from nearly 1,800 artworks submitted to the 2019 ARTDEX Art Competition. Awarded artists also include Svetlana Bogatcheva (Finland), Zakir Husain Shaikh (India), Kazuhiro Higashi (Japan), Ayokunmi Shoga (Nigeria), Ismundvision (Sweden), Francene Levinson (USA), Vidur Sethi (India), Rachel Ferriman (South Africa) and Nicholas Lokasasmita (Indonesia).

The second annual art competition for emerging artists was hosted by ARTDEX, a digital and social destination devoted to breaking down the walls that exist between global artists and art consumers. “Most existing online and offline art competitions are regionally or nationally based, whereas ARTDEX Art Competition offers a global platform with no fees required to enter the competition. Our mission is to empower the 99% of artists around the world that are currently unknown residing in the margin,” said Jenny Park Adam, Founder and CEO of ARTDEX and Christie’s Education alumna.

Participating artists submitted their applications online by uploading their artworks to their profile. A distinguished panel of six art industry experts then reviewed all 138 applications from 90 countries, of which they selected and ranked their top 20. The jury included Anita Cooney, Dean of the School of Design at Pratt Institute; Anthony Titus, Artist, Architect and Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Ian Berry, Director of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College; Michelle Tillou, Director and Owner of Tillou Fine Art in Brooklyn; Shawn Lawson, Artist and Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Dr. Véronique Chagnon-Burke, Academic Director at Christie's Education, New York.  

“We looked at works across a range of media such as photographs, paintings, prints, works on paper and digital art. Judging such a diverse body of work can be very challenging. You may be attracted to a work at first glance, but in order to make a fair decision you have to challenge that first impression. For me, the medium needs to support the artist’s vision and to allow the ideas to come through. I also look for what makes that specific work unique, what’s the addition to the artistic dialogue that has gone on for centuries,” commented Véronique.  

Airton Bruno Abraço Solitário (2018-2019)
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