ARC is pleased to present the winners of the 2013/2014 International Salon Competition. With an approximate 2200 entries this year by over 1,000 artists, the 2013/2014 ARC Salon competition was more competitive then ever. This year we have accepted 685 finalist, which are the top 31% of works submitted. This year we have given out 14 purchase awards, the value of the paintings totaling over $140,000. This is in addition to the $40,000+ in cash prizes and the production of the DVD, valued at $25,000.
This year it should be noted that the William Bouguereau Award Winner, Bacchanal, by Nick Alm, was also runner up for Best in Show placing just behind Jeremy Lipking who took the grand prize with his painting of Adrift, a sizable canvas of 40 x 40 inches. This work is a continuing exploration by Lipking into works inspired by the story of Ophelia. In Adrift, the artist depicts his daughter floating in a transcendent state of bliss. In addition to a $8,000 cash award, the Best in Show winner of the 2013/2014 ARC Salon competition will be awarded a fully produced and released video DVD showing a demonstration of their technique, an interview with the artist, and a profile of the artist’s work. The Best in Show winner will be a key feature in this exciting new full-length DVD about the ARC Salon and will also include the works of all the winners and finalists. This is a $25,000 value and will be produced by Streamline Art Video, an ARC Allied Organization.
We introduced a new award last minute into the 2013/2014 ARC Salon called the Dual Category Award, that we will keep for future ARC Salons as well when applicable. This award goes to a painting or sculpture that has ranked as an honorable mention in more then one category. This year the award has been given to Michael Dumas for his painting of Influx: Sparrows in the Louvre, which ranked as an honorable mention in both the Still Life Category and the Animal Category.
When I Was Young, by Stephen Bauman won both The Fine Art Connoisseur Award as well as First Place in the Imaginative Realist Category. Since the Judges for these two awards were completely separate, it says a lot about the strength of this particular image which is both symbolic and profound.
This year the Plein Air Magazine Award went to John Pototschnik for his landscape, Brisk Evening. This work won him a featured article done on his work in an upcoming issue of Plein Air Magazine. This award was chosen by the magazine’s publisher B. Eric Rhoads as was The Fine Art Connoisseur Award, which will also be a feature article but in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.
For the first year we had an additional four magazines participating in the ARC Salon. American Art Collector Magazine, Western Art Collector Magazine, American Fine Art Magazine, and International Artist Magazine. All these awards were picked by the magazines’ editor Joshua Rose. The American Art Collector Magazine Award of Excellence went to Peter Fiore for his landscape titled Tangle 1, the Western Art Collector Magazine Award of Excellence went to Mary Ross Buchholz for her animal drawing, Break Time, and theInternational Artist Magazine Award of Excellencewent to a figurative entry, Maiden in White, by Jonathan Ahn. All three of these awards are a featured article in the respective magazines. The American Fine Art Magazine Award of Excellence was given to Erik Koeppel, the prize for which is still to be announced.
Look to the future weeks and months for full coverage of the ARC Salon Winners in the Epoch Times, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, as well as the featured articles on the specific winners in Plein Air Magazine,American Art Collector Magazine, Western Art Collector Magazine, International Artist Magazine and perhaps in other venues as well. The ARC Salon continues to grow every year with greater and more diversified publicity and a continual increase in the number of artists entering. We are approaching the start of our 11th annual ARC Salon Competition, scheduled for 2014/2015. This is sure to be our largest competition yet with the largest amount of cash awards and publicity to date. Placing as a top winner will certainly give an artist his or her big break in the field. We will be accepting entries from October 1, 2014 through the beginning of 2015. If you are an artist, don’t miss out on your chance to compete.
Kara Ross,
Director of Operations
