The La Quinta Arts Festival in La Quinta, CA, one of the nation's top art festivals shares here their 2017 prizewinners. After taking a look at this work you can see why they are at the top.
BEST OF SHOW:
Sculpture – CJ Rench – Hood River, OR
BEST OF CATEGORY:
Ceramics – Santiago Gutierrez – Nicaragua
Fiber – Bozenna & Lukasz Bogucki – Los Angeles, CA
Glass – Wesley Rasko – Jablonec nad Nisou, Liberec Czech Republic
Jewelry – Harry Roa – Sarasota, FL
Frank Strunk III, Best of Category: Mixed Media - St. Petersburg, FL
Signe & Genna Grushovenko, Best of Category: Painting - Greenville, SC
Daryl Thetford, Best of Category: Photography - Chattanooga, TN
AWARDS OF MERIT
Drawing/Pastel/Printmaking – Jennifer Cavan – Santa Fe, NM
Glass – Bob Kliss – Fresno, CA
Jewelry – Adam Neeley – Laguna Beach, CA
Mixed Media – Aileen Frick – Phoenix, AZ
Painting – James Randle – Phoenix, AZ
Sculpture – Jim Martin – Carpinteria, CA
Wood – Jay McDougall – Otter Tail County, MN
CITY OF LA QUINTA CIVIC PURCHASE AWARD:
Mixed Media – Christine Hausserman – San Diego, CA
Mixed Media – Ed Myers – Lake Mary, FL
Comments
My last comment on the subject.
All I can say is that I have seen his booth in person and have talked to the person who talks for him.
When Lu and I first started doing shows, we were living in Kansas City at the time, We were at a local mall show and the photographer across from us was showing his photos and as I sat there with Lu reading a Arizona Highways magazine I became to recognize some of the photos as being the same ones that I was seeing in the magazine. You could buy the slides from the back of the magazine. It was the first example of what people would do to take short cuts to make a buck. He only lasted for a couple of years before he was gone.
I've investigated this further, Wally and Kevin, and here is what I've found. The ceramicist, Santiago Gutierrez sits in his booth and carves his ceramics throughout the events he participates in, which indicates that he is indeed a master carver was well as an artist. Shows that do their due diligence do visit the website with which he is associated and are aware that he is part of a group from Nicaragua. There may be other artists from Nica Ceramics who exhibit in US shows, I'm not sure, but the excellence of the work taking place at the show indicates technical skill by the artist who is present.
An opinion from a show director: I honestly do not blame artists for being concerned about buy/sell. But they should not limit their attention to international artists. Unfortunately we have American jewelers who design their work but have it manufactured in Mexico or Asia and have also seen imports of paintings and fine baskets from China. It is a matter that we all need to be concerned about. The number of shows that an artist participates in is usually my first clue about whether they are making their own work or not.
Thanks Wallace. I'm new so it's really helpful.
https://nicaceramicart.com/
Just curious - which artist is questionable? Genuinely interested in understanding various POV's.
Love their 2017 poster, retro Palm Springs vibe:
I know what you are saying, Wally. I did a double take myself, but then decided that probably they knew better than we do. Hope so.
Once again, a top show was giving out a major prize to a questionable artist.