Current Exhibition

Our second art competition “Contemporary” started in September 2021 and concluded on October 21, 2021. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Germany, Australia, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Switzerland, Singapore, Lithuania, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom and Georgia. The Contemporary theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, graphite, charcoal, photography, digital). 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 94 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!

First place

Statement:

Jeff Pullen was born in New York City 1948 and is where he has spent his entire career living and working. Studying for his BFA and MFA in Painting at Pratt Institute Pullen was fortunate to work under artists Ernest Briggs, Edward Dugmore and George McNeil. He began exhibiting almost immediately after graduation, signing his first gallery contract in 1977 with the Neill Gallery in Soho, where he spent four years. In the succeeding forty years Pullen worked with many galleries throughout the country and abroad highlighted by a 20+ year representation with Adamar Fine Arts, in Miami. Pullen has enjoyed over fifty solo exhibits and numerous group shows, his work represented internationally in many private collections, as well as several public institutions. This new series of abstract paintings, which began in mid 2017, evolved over time and were not only influenced by, but were a radical departure from my long-time painting on construction series, a reality/illusion dynamic addressing the shifting of the Picture Plane, painting my imagery on constructions of wood, plexi-glass, louver doors, car-hoods, etc., forming a pictorial/sculptural continuum. A return to my early roots in abstraction these new works are compositions of form, color and movement based both in nature as well as inspired by man-made cultural influences including neon, reflections, faded walls and billboards, shadows and light on walls.

Statement:

I was born in Russia were I studied drawings and paintings at different professional studios, and after emigration to the USA I participated at many juried art exhibitions every year. In my paintings I develop the main ideas of Russian Avant-garde principles and it is the source of my inspiration. Among many directions of this movement was constructivism which based on geometric forms which created dynamic in compositions and impression of paintings. I created geometric composition from squares gradually reduced by sizes to form spirals turning to the left or to the right, so there were two canvases (diptych). Every spiral turned to each other to form specific movement.

Statement:

Marti White is a mixed media artist living and working in Tucson, Arizona. Marti’s work is show locally and nationally as well as online. Marti’s work is primarily abstract in various media which include acrylic, mixed media, watercolor and collage. She usually does not begin a work with a plan beyond her color choices and substrate or media used. She lets the painting evolve, showing her as she goes along what it wants to say. Marti is active in several arts organizations in the Tucson area. She is a Signature Member of the Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona for which she served two terms as president. She is a Saguaro Fellow of the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild and a member of the Acrylic Painters, USA. Marti’s work has won many awards in local shows as well as national exhibits and online shows. Marti has been making art for over fifty years. She began working in oil, but quickly became interested in the fluidity and spontaneity of watercolor which she worked in for over twenty years when she lived in the Midwest. After moving to Arizona, the climate and the lifestyle of the Southwest seemed to call for a change in her approach to art-making. She began working in mixed media and collage and then in acrylic. Recently Marti became intrigued with the idea of what lay behind the surface of a painting. She found the idea of light passages or openings she calls “apertures” drew the viewer into a work and allowed them to see their own story in the painting beyond what she might see herself. This opened up a new way for the work to communicate.