Congratulations to the Winning Artists of “A Woman’s Place is in the Arts”

Muse by Catalina Gomez

As our Women’s History Month exhibition comes to a close, we want to take a moment to thank all the artists who participated in this incredible art showcase. We are fortunate to have such talented creators working in such a wide range of media who contributed to this meaningful exhibit.

Elizabeth Pasquier (BA in Art History and Spanish, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tulane University), took on the challenging task of jurying this show. With so much talent on display in so many different mediums and styles, a lot of thought had to go into her selections. For those of you who voted in the People’s Choice awards, I’m sure you can relate.

We would like to congratulate our winning artists:

Catalina Gomez took first place for her piece “Muse,” the stunning and massive portrait that graces our postcard and arrests your view immediately upon entry to the center. This oil painting, inspired by Frida Kahlo, features a subtle hand painted pattern in the background that is truly impressive.

Patricia Coleman Cobb took second place for her piece “Rise Up.” This piece can be seen in the foyer, a beautiful warm-toned mixed media piece in a golden frame, adorned with three dimensional beads on the subject’s costume. A modern Black woman walks confidently in comfortable shoes, businesslike attire with a knee-length skirt, and loose hair. Behind her she casts a shadow of the past, the silhouette of a woman in a floor length dress standing demurely in a head wrap. The effect is clear and powerful, making for an arresting image to behold.

Yelena Portman took third place for her piece “Glowing Strength.” This oil on canvas piece is in the front hallway, featuring a beautiful woman dressed in a stunning flower-inspired dress on a hot pink background. The dual sources of light, one warm and one cool, are beautifully rendered and bring bold life to the subject, and a subtle but truly impressive feat of the painting is the smooth and even application of the hot pink paint in the background; it's very difficult to get a solid color background looking so seamless.

And a special congratulations to Ji Youn Yu for her piece “Untitled,” an incredible ceramic piece in our front lobby that evokes a dress in motion. It’s sculpted with a dark stoneware clay and painted in an array of metallic colors with a bold red pattern following a fissure In the skirt. The clean lines and folds in the clay give it the appearance of elegance and movement.

Thank you to everyone who displayed their work in A Woman’s Place is in the Arts, and to everyone who came out to see the show. Thank you to everyone who voted in our People’s Choice awards, too!

Our next exhibit is our Student and Member Exhibition, Artistic Alchemy, opening April 8th. We hope you’ll come by, vote for your favorite piece, and join us on May 9th for our closing reception and awards ceremony.