“We created the [PLATFORM] Artist of the Year contest to empower talented artists and introduce their work to the world,” says Eric Smith, president and CEO of Redwood Media Group. “We had really wonderful artists submit their work, so it was a tough decision to make, and we are really excited to provide this opportunity to Kevin Grass, a very gifted artist.”

The entrants’ work was judged by a panel of esteemed art-industry insiders: Mary Ann Cohen, James Lambert, James Baird, and Smith. The panel considered originality, sense of composition, creativity, technical skill, use of materials and light, commercial appeal, and overall impact of the artwork when judging the work.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: KEVIN GRASS
Artist Kevin Grass was announced the winner of the [PLATFORM] Artist of the Year Awards and will receive prizes valued at $65,000, including a $10,000 cash advance against future royalties, a publishing and licensing contract with Art Brand Studios, and numerous exhibition opportunities at Redwood Media Group’s 2016–2017 shows.

“I feel very honored that I was chosen as the winner the first year of the [PLATFORM] Awards among all of the talented artists that entered,” said Grass. “I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity and to see what comes next.”

Grass, a full-time Assistant Professor of Art at St. Petersburg College in Clearwater, Florida, paints representational landscape and surrealistic figure paintings. He has been interested in art since he was a young child and, while in high school, he spent time on a wide variety of commissioned works, ranging from portraits and landscapes to campaign signs and car decorations. He exhibits his work throughout the East and Southeast, including the Evan Lurie Gallery in Carmel, Indiana. Grass’s work has been purchased for museum, corporate, public, and private collections throughout the United States and in Europe.

Art Brand Studios is excited to work with Grass and thinks his work has tremendous appeal and opportunity. Art Brand Studios will be providing not only art publishing, but also collaboration with Grass, offering him a comprehensive set of tools from retail placement to marketing strategy, propelling his art, and building his brand and market reach in the art industry.

FINALISTS
Julie Schumer – Three Figure Study No. 10
Rae Broyles – Dreaming of Tibet
Sara Conca – Virtue
Flavio Galvan – Way Over Yonder
Jeremy Sicile-Kira – My Future Girlfriend
Veronica Leiton – Invisible Realities
David Gonzales – Primal
Leon Oks – Anticipation
Sergio Valenzuela – Giros

SPECIAL CATEGORY WINNERS
Sculpture:
Jean-Jacques Porret – Pretense
Steven Lustig – Stacked Torso

Photography:
George Saitas – Nuclear
Charleen Baugh – Multicolored Reflections

Mixed Media:
Mary Hong – Abstract in Blue
Beth Goldberg – Keeping the Beat

Glass:
Alexis Silk – Electric Suspense
Elizabeth Dunlop – Turquoise Totem II

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