PNAN-CA- It was in 1994 when Larisa Pilinsky aka Lark, who is an artist, art curator, and poet set out to leave her imprint on the art community by creating an awareness of both young and well-known artists. “We work to increase the visibility of talented artists from around the world and foster appreciation of art by teaching people of all ages a 21st century art language,” wrote Pilinsky. “We use the conversations of color, shape, texture and line to demonstrate that communication can be free of prejudice toward any language, religion and philosophy.”
The competitions are staged digitally at LarkGallery Online, as well as on location shows at various West Coast locations, including a long term partnership with Phantom Galleries in Long Beach, where a “brick and mortar exhibit will be held on Saturday, November 13,” said Lark. In addition, the juried visual art shows have been expanded in another series competition called, “Colors of Life Music” with the merge of original classical scores and the visual art. Internationally, Pilinsky and her team have taken another giant leap – “Our next competition winners will exhibit in Saint Petersburg in June 2011.”
Currently the winners in the visual category of “Colors of Art” are: First Place went to Art Venti for his “Heart of Humanity”; Second Place was shared by: Michael Chearney, “Symphony 1: First Movement”; and Kaleeka Bond, “By the Hour”; Third Place: Marylyn English, “Degraded Resource”; and Honorable Mentions went to: Cynthia Rogers, Tatjana Raichineca, Juan Rosenfeldt, Marlene Struss, Vered Galor, Elisse Pogofsky-Harris, and Teresa Lakier.
Jurors were: Peter Frank, Senior Curator at the Riverside Art Museum and editor of Fabrik Magazine; Edward Goldman, KCRW Art Talk’s resident art critic; Liz Gordon, The Loft at Liz’s Gallery, Owner and Director; Dawne Camera, Founder of Dreaming Zebra Foundation; Airom Bleicher, Director, Bleicher/Golightly Gallery; Tony Clark, Art Curator, Board Member of American Association of Museum Directors; and Gabor Ujvari, Mimo Gallery and Auctions, Owner and Director.
According to Pilinsky, “Five percent of the funds raised were donated to “Dreaming Zebra Foundation,” which is a not-for-profit organization that provides young, low-income artists with tools and resources to explore and develop their creativity.”
For more information, including how to enter these competitions, see www.LarkGalleryOnline.com or email Lark at larkgallery@yahoo.com.
About
In the late 1960s, Art Venti began exploring every kind of media from traditional classical oil painting to carving wood, to digital photography. Currently, his work has found its source from recycled materials, resurrected into fragile, complex sculptures, and currently translated into drawings. For more information, see www.artventi.com.
Taught to paint at the age of two by his immigrant grandparents, Michael Chearney was encouraged to work outside the lines from the start: People could be blue, the sky green, and a brush could be anything within reach. See www.michaelchearney.com to discover how he has expanded.
Virginia born Kaleeka Bond was raised and educated Southern California, “I was influenced by behaviors in society and the impingement of mass media.” Her work depicts the effects of these disconnections with social awareness. “Art has a way of opening our eyes to things we refuse to see. I want to compel people to see beyond what they think of as the obvious and understand that individualism and the ability to communicate shape the uniqueness of the world.” See www.kaleekabond.com and discover why.
LA artist Marilyn English works with acrylic paints or natural materials on canvas. In her most current “River View” series, the divisions within the canvases flow together with a sequence of cause and effect. They include observations of urban sprawl consuming the last vestiges of what once were rushing mountain streams. Graffiti echoes the primal desire of leaving evidence of our brief existence on earth. I challenge myself to express concern by depicting the beauty of the earth with gestures of its degradation. More at www.marylynenglish.com.