Agora Gallery is proud to be the sponsor of the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, a prestigious annual fine art contest which generally takes entries in February and March.
Art competitions can be very valuable to artists who are seeking to establish themselves as professionals in their field, and the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition accepts work by artists in all stages of their career, regardless of whether they are just emerging into the public eye and have never exhibited their work in public before, or whether they are well established artists with a secure following. Quite aside from the results, the fact of entering an international art competition helps an artist to affirm their faith in and dedication to their work. Agora Gallery’s Director, Angela Di Bello, considers that any artist who enters a competition of this nature is by definition a winner.
The 2011 Chelsea International Fine Art Competition opened on February 2, 2011 and accepted entries until March 14, 2011. The results were announced on April 5, 2011. As always, the 40 selected artists come from diverse backgrounds, their physical locations ranging all over the world, from the United States to Germany to Cuba, to Hong Kong, Norway, Australia and more.
The selected artists’ mediums are equally diverse, ranging from oil to acrylic, from photography to mixed media, from sculpture to digital art.
Similarly, many artistic styles are represented, including representation and also abstract, pop art and surrealism, conceptual and still life. The selected artists express their individual artistic inspiration through a wide range of media and styles. What binds them together is a sense of vision and expressive excellence.
“This year’s competition was a success on several levels. The submissions were of an extremely serious and professional stature, and as such all of the artists are to be commended for aspiring to achieve personal success through excellence. Each year I am encouraged by the level of talent that exists in the world; this year was no exception, as artists continue to strengthen their resolve and skills to communicate what is at the very heart of their emotive expression. In addition, I have no doubt that the selected artists will continue to grow and strive for even greater recognition; in years to come their accomplishments will inspire and motivate other aspiring artists,” said Agora Gallery Director Angela Di Bello (http://www.agoragallery.org/).
The prizes for selected artists, which are intended to help them further their careers in art as a profession, included cash prizes for three artists, Internet promotion for six artists, and a profile featured in contemporary art magazine ARTisSpectrum which was awarded to one artist. In addition, thirty artists were chosen for participation in a collective exhibition to be held at Agora Gallery’s elegant gallery space in the center of Chelsea, New York’s well known art district. Chelsea is renowned around the globe for its unique atmosphere, which visitors to the area feel immediately. This comes from the art galleries which can be found on every street and corner, making the neighborhood a paradise for artists, art-lovers and collectors. It is a place where artists from all over the world dream of having their work exhibited.
The exhibition of the work of selected artists from the 2011 competition will take place between August 19, 2011 and September 9, 2011, with an opening reception on August 25, 2011. It is a popular and generally well-attended exhibition, with many art-lovers and collectors coming to see the artwork of those artists whose work was chosen for the exhibition by the juror.
The competition is judged by an independent juror, and past examples include individuals from some of the most prominent and respected institutions of the art world. The juror of the 2011 competition was Elisabeth Sherman, curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ms. Sherman has an M.A. in History of Art from the U.K.’s prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art, and she has gained her professional experience through work in a number of respected art institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
About Agora Gallery:
Agora Gallery, was founded in 1984 to provide opportunities to artists who were entering the New York art market. Today, Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is close to the Chelsea Museum of Fine Art and the DIA Center for the Arts. The gallery is famous for showcasing a wide array of talented artists from around the world, and for providing quality and original art to its collector base.
www.agora-gallery.com
