Skies

Our first Art competition “Skies” started in December 2019 and concluded on January 07, 2020. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Canada, Italy, Germany, Oman, Australia, Quatar, United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Romania, Luxembourg, Guatemala, Malaysia and Russia. The Skies theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, photography, fused glass, photo print on metal, mixed media, watercolor,collage, pastel, fiber art, archival pigment, white clay, instant film, ). The following evaluation criteria has been used for judging the artwork: creativity, interpretation of the theme, originality and quality of art, overall design, demonstration of artistic ability, and usage of medium. Jury decided to select 109 artworks for inclusion in the exhibition. Aside from First, Second, and Third place Jury also presented Merit awards and Honorable Mention awards.

Thank you, and enjoy the exhibition!

Statement:

Kenny Litwack has been practicing law since 1976. His first foray into fusing began in 2004 under the tutelage of renowned artist Dorothy Hafner. Since 2008 he has been working independently in his Fort Greene, Brooklyn studio. In addition to Dorothy Hafner he has studied with Renee Culler and Emma Varga at the Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey and in a workshop with Jesse Lepisto. While his primary focus remains in fusing, he has studied crucible casting with Mark Ferguson and Gene Koss at Urban Glass. His earlier works consist mainly of abstract landscapes. He currently works mainly as a portrait artist. In his first show he won a second place prize at the glass studio Urban Glass for his first pixilated portrait of the work entitled DIANE. His work has been exhibited and sold at various venues including the collectors’ 2016 GALA & AUCTION sponsored by Urban Glass.“Art gives one perspective on life and life gives oneperspective on art. Now working in a pointelist tradition muchof my work consists of small distinct squares of layered glassor color. We can look too closely at ourselves in an attemptto see who we are. But to truly see or understand we mustback. In art as in life the sum is often greater than theindividual parts we are defined by.”

Statement:

The primary body of my work has been produced in New England. I try to explore those areas that are rich in history, along the rivers and old rail lines of New England.There have been a few consistent themes throughout my history of producing photographs. The first is my love of transportation, particularly railroads...the people, structures, motive power, and the historical context related to the development of our country. I am amazed at how many of the scenes that I have taken over the years no longer exist and are now only a memory. The second theme is the unusual scene that might easily be overlooked. In recent years, I have also been working more with landscape themes, particularly those with challenging lighting as part of the scene. The moods of the mountains and the surrounding landscapes are worth the patience of multiple visits.The ”Reflection” submission was captured along the Ammonoosuc River in Northwestern New Hampshire. There is much beauty to behold in this world, moments that the eye captures, the wonders it sees moments that should be committed to perpetual memory, butsadly only to become fragments of a faded recollection, or more often, simply forgotten. I draw inspiration to record these timeless and special moments, tocapture them in my mind's eye, and through my lens, transforming each image and committing them to permanent form.