World’s Best Abstract Expressionists Named By America’s 25 Best Galleries: GRIMSTEAD, PESIC GROZDANOV, RADIVILOVIC, GERALD, ALMEIDA, GHANI, STEELE, ORLOV, PAN, RAMA, IVONINA & WANG / 2021 AMERICAN ART AWARDS

6 min readSep 29, 2021

Each May the American Art Awards organization selects the 25 Best Galleries and Museums in America, then in autumn these revered art institutions vote on online art to decide the world’s best contemporary artists.

America’s 25 Best Galleries scored almost 2,000 works in 50 categories from 64 countries.

Winners in this category are from AUSTRALIA, MACEDONIA, LITHUANIA, USA, UKRAINE & CHINA.

BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: I love things of visual beauty and interest. I qualified as an Interior Designer in London over two decades ago and during this time, I continued to also study all forms of art. I painted and regularly exhibited my art in England and Australia.

My Abstract Expressionist paintings are an exploration of how life experiences influence my art. I seek to translate my feelings, moods and memories onto a canvas.

I use bold, contrasting colours and compositions of dynamic movement, for texture and dimension. Starting from an initial loosely painted, energetic composition, often from an aerial perspective. As the work evolves, layers of paint increase, along with mark making, achieved using a variety of materials and tools as lines disappear and reappear through layers of glazing.

My painting ABSEIL evolved from thoughts of deep, watery, chasms. There is symbolic mark-making of ropes and life-lines which are subtly incorporated within this composition. These represent the tenuous links we have in staying connected in this uncertain world.

Karen Grimstead www.karengrimstead.com

ARTIST CONTACTS FOR ART COLLECTORS:

Category 7. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

1st Place KAREN GRIMSTEAD AUSTRALIA www.karengrimstead.com karengrimstead.art@gmail.com “Abseil” 120x120cm Acrylic on board.

2nd Place-Tie DIVNA PESIC GROZDANOV MACEDONIA www.divnapesic.com “Strengthening Mind” 130x120cm Oil on canvas.

2nd Place-Tie ANA RADIVILOVIC LITHUANIA ana.radivilovic@gmail.com “Way Away” 38x56cm Watercolor on paper.

3rd Place-Tie DEBRA GERALD USA debragerald7@suddenlink.net “Blue Vase And Red Flowers” 12x24” Fluid acrylic & acrylic on canvas.

3rd Place-Tie DIVNA PESIC GROZDANOV MACEDONIA www.divnapesic.com “Flirting With Sunset” 18x18" Oil on canvas.

3rd Place-Tie TONY ALMEIDA USA http://www.artbytony.org “Night On Fire” 48x44" Mixed media on canvas.

3rd Place-Tie NAOMI IFEOLUWA GHANI USA https://www.instagram.com/artsinaomi “Pandemic Love” 16x20" Acrylic on paper.

4th Place-Tie LINDA STEELE USA www.facebook.com/LindaSteeleOriginals/photos “Nebula No4” 18x24" Acrylics over fluid acrylic on canvas.

4th Place-Tie IRENA ORLOV usa https://www.irenaorlov.com “Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Graffiti” 70x45” Mixed media on canvas.

5th Place-Tie XIAOQIAN PAN CHINA 429378541@qq.com “Drift With The Tide” 60x60cm Acrylic on linen.

5th Place-Tie DIVNA PESIC GROZDANOV MACEDONIA www.divnapesic.com “Spiritual Awakening” 110x60cm Oil on canvas.

6th Place-Tie PRIYA RAMA USA www.priyarama.com “A Glimpse…And The Sparks Flew” 36x24" Acrylic on canvas.

6th Place-Tie KATERYNA IVONINA UKRAINE https://www.saatchiart.com/ivkaty “City” 80x160cm diptych Oil on canvas.

6th Place-Tie HAINING WANG CHINA whn999999@126.com “Change Qualitatively” 120x90cm Watercolor on paper.

Click below to see the relaxing hour-long movie revealing 2021’s hundreds of winning artworks:

Artworks from 59 countries won among the 50 categories: paintings, drawings, photography, digital and sculpture. (Americans won more because Americans entered more since the competition is better known here.)

Number of winners per country: Argentina 1, Australia 12, Belarus 2, Belgium 2, Brazil 3, Bulgaria 2, Canada 30, China 85, Croatia 2, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, England 2, Finland 1, France 7, Georgia 3, Germany 18, Ghana 1, Greece 3, Hungary 2, Japan 1, India 10, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 14, Kazakhstan 1, Kuwait 2, Latvia 6, Lithuania 27, Macedonia 5, Malaysia 2, Mexico 2, Moldova 1, Morocco 1, Netherlands 3, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 8, Norway 1, Oman 1, Pakistan 1, Philippines 5, Poland 8, Republic Of Korea 12, Romania 2, Russia 45, Serbia 1, South Africa 8, Spain 11, Sweden 3, Taiwan 7, Thailand 1, Turkey 3, Uganda 1, UK 10, Ukraine 5, USA 264, Uzbekistan 1, Zambia 1, Zimbabwe 2.