World’s Best Celebrity Portraitists / 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS: RIVAS, MACDONALD, SUKINDRA, LABALAN, TUSHAR, CAIRNS, ABUGU, GEEAWAN, FILICHKIN, RESKE, CHASOV, GEORGIEVA, GISCHER & ELUDO

Thom Bierdz
6 min readNov 3, 2023

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Artists from 72 countries competed in the 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS. Twenty of the most revered galleries in the USA were sent around 2,000 online images to score in drawing, painting, sculpture, digital and photography. The 300+ winning works, 1st to 6th Place (and ties) in all 50 categories, can be seen in this series of articles.

USA’s top galleries decided winners in every medium: oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pastel, realism, impressionism, naïve, abstract, expressionism, human figure, animal, landscape, fantasy, surrealism, pop, portrait, self-portrait, political, erotic, cubism, floral, humor, spiritual, etc..

Art collectors can see all the winning images and corresponding contact info to the best contemporary artists in the world here: https://americanartawards.com/2023-winning-artists-american-art-awards/

Winners in this category are from SPAIN, AUSTRALIA, INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES, INDIA, UK, NIGERIA, TRINIDAD, TOBAGO, USA, GERMANY, RUSSIA & BULGARIA.

BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: Ramón Rivas

Born in the lands of Don Quixote, Ciudad Real (Castilla-La Mancha / Spain).
His work is based on Rivismo which is his personal style, developed as a result of his multi-professional activities in the world of sports, music, engineering and inventions and in the world of art in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid. He applies his imagination to develop creative and innovative works that interact with the viewer. He creates images with great precision, with surprising density and with a depth that visually captivates.

Renowned art professionals have recognized the exceptional originality and aesthetic appeal of the work of Ramón Rivas. His talent has been recognized through individual and collective exhibitions held in several countries, including Spain, China, South Korea, Italy, Denmark, France, and the United States. He has actively participated in art fairs in the United States and his art is proudly displayed in museums in Spain, Denmark and South Korea. Ramón Rivas’s artistic contributions have also appeared in numerous books, magazines and art catalogues, consolidating his presence in the art world. Additionally, this exceptional talent has been honored with prestigious international awards, further cementing his reputation as a distinguished artist. http://www.rivismo.com

ARTISTS’ CONTACTS / SEE MORE OF THE ARTISTS’ WORKS:

1st Place RAMÓN RIVAS SPAIN http://www.rivismo.com “Strategic Gameboard For Peace” 195x195cm Mixed media-Rivismo on canvas.

2nd Place — Tie PAUL MACDONALD AUSTRALIA https://airartstudios.com/ “Timeless (Keith Richards)” 10x14” Airbrush acrylic paper.

2nd Place — Tie AGUNG SUKINDRA INDONESIA https://www.instagram.com/gie_agung/ “Prety Women” 60x80cm Acrylic, pastel & charcoal on canvas.

2nd Place — Tie AIMILEY GLEIMS LABALAN PHILIPPINES https://www.facebook.com/aimiley.labalan?mibextid=ZbWKwL “My Favorite Actor” 18x24" Oil on canvas.

3rd Place — Tie TUSHAR INDIA tusharpaintingstudio@gmail.com “Chaso” 20x20” Oil on canvas.

3rd Place — Tie MATTHEW WILLIAM CAIRNS UK https://www.artpal.com/mattcairns “You Take My Breath Away” 12x16" Acrylic.

4th Place — Tie ODINAKA CHRISTIANTUS ABUGU NIGERIA https://www.instagram.com/christiantus_odinakachukwu/?utm_source=qr&igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D “Kamala Harris” 36x24” Charcoal and graphite on paper.

4th Place — Tie HAYDEN GEEAWAN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO https://www.facebook.com/hayden.geeawan “Yia-Loren” 30x24" Acrylic.

5th Place — Tie TANYA FILICHKIN USA https://tanyafilichkin.artspan.com/ “Free Woman. Inspired By Lady Gaga” 20x16” Acrylic on canvas.

5th Place — Tie SUSANNE RESKE GERMANY https://www.atelier-kunst-fluss.de/ “Brigitte I” 80x80cm Acrylic, tissue paper, graphite, book pages on canvas.

5th Place — Tie YOURI CHASOV RUSSIA chasoffart@gmail.com “G. Klimt-1a” 14x14" Digital painting.

6th Place — Tie RUMJANA GEORGIEVA BULGARIA https://www.instagram.com/romigianna/ “Queen Elizabeth II” 70x70cm Acrylic, canvas.

6th Place — Tie JOLIE GISCHER USA www.instagram.com/jggallerie/ “Jack Nicholson” 12.5x8.5” Charcoal on newsprint.

6th Place — Tie DONG GA ELUDO PHILIPPINES https://www.facebook.com/lorelito.eludo “Axl Rose Singer Guns & Roses Band” 8x11” Watercolor on paper.

In 2023, AMERICAN ART AWARDS had submissions from these 72 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Tobago, Trinidad, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, USA, Viet Nam, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

USA’s 20 Best Galleries & Museums who were asked to score online art in 2023 were:

American Art Awards 20 Best Galleries & Museums for 2023, in alphabetical order:

BEST IN ARIZONA: Exposures International Gallery Of Fine Art

BEST IN CALIFORNIA: Sparks Gallery

BEST IN COLORADO: Mirada Fine Art

BEST IN FLORIDA: MAC Art Galleries

BEST IN GEORGIA: Black Art In America™ (BAIA)

BEST IN INDIANA: Gallery Forty-Two

BEST IN KANSAS: CityArts

BEST IN KENTUCKY: KMAC Contemporary Art Museum

BEST IN LOUISIANA: Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

BEST IN MAINE: Clarke Gallery

BEST IN MONTANA: Cawdrey Gallery

BEST IN NEBRASKA: Kiechel Fine Art

BEST IN NEVADA: Elena Bulatova Fine Art

BEST IN NEW MEXICO: Thornwood Gallery

BEST IN NEW YORK: Gallery 23 NY

BEST IN SOUTH CAROLINA: Mary Martin Galleries Of Fine Art

BEST IN TEXAS: Ao5 Gallery

BEST IN SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota Art Museum

BEST IN VERMONT: Helmholz Fine Art

BEST IN WYOMING: Gallery Wild

American Art Awards https://www.americanartawards.com/ annually awards 20 museums and/or galleries, who agree to score art and award nearly 300+ deserving contemporary artists from 60+ countries: painters, photographers, sculptors and digital artists.

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Thom Bierdz
Thom Bierdz

Written by Thom Bierdz

One of Medium’s TOP ART CONTRIBUTORS, award-winning author, actor, film-maker, painter. 12 books: 6 on art. President of WAA & AAA & ACCA.