World’s Best Manipulated Figure Photos Named By America’s 25 Best Galleries: QUAN, LUSTIK, BALAN, BANNON, CHUNG, PETERSON, NORTH, MOORE, GLANDARIUS, VANCE & WHELIHAN / 2021 AMERICAN ART AWARDS

6 min readOct 4, 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.

The 25 Best GALLERIES + MUSEUMS In America, 2021 — American Art AwardsAmerican Art Awards

The AAA board chooses only one gallery or museum per state per year. Among other criteria, selections are based on…

www.americanartawards.com

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

Winners in Category 45 are from USA, SOUTH KOREA, AUSTRALIA & GERMANY.

BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: Born in Toronto, Canada, Carolyn Quan is a multiple award-winning, internationally-collected fine art photo collage artist, based in the American Southwest. She’s been featured in over 20 publications as well as on radio, television and in a documentary film. Two of her nudes are in the permanent collection of art at The Kinsey Institute. She is the recipient of 19 American Art Awards as well as numerous other awards both national and international. Her work is inspired by nature, spirituality, and humankind. https://carolynquan.com/

BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: Kevin Lustik, born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, now living in New York City, is a needle artist who has been sewing for over 35 years. He started by creating quilts, then moved on to original needlepoint and cross-stitch designs. He often incorporates beads, buttons, needles, and humor into his work. Kevin has displayed his stitchery around Manhattan, including exhibits at the Leslie-Lohman Project Space, ChaShaMa, and the Garment District Alliance. https://www.facebook.com/LustikArt

ARTIST CONTACTS FOR ART COLLECTORS:

Category 45. MANIPULATED PHOTOGRAPHY — HUMAN OR ANIMAL

1st Place-Tie CAROLYN QUAN USA https://carolynquan.com/ “Utopia” 60x30" Limited edition print on aluminum.

1st Place-Tie KEVIN LUSTIK USA https://www.instagram.com/lustikart/ “Pink Triangles” 5x7" Yarn over historiacal photo.

2nd Place-Tie LEE BALAN USA www.leebalanarts.wixsite.com/mysite “Self Portrait” 15x16” Photo printed on metal.

2nd Place-Tie CAROLYN QUAN USA https://carolynquan.com/ “Angel of Light” 36x36" Limited edition print on aluminum.

3rd Place-Tie KAREN BANNON USA Karenbannon266@gmail.com
“Photographer Girl” 3x4” Manipulated photography.

3rd Place-Tie WOOTAK CHUNG SOUTH KOREA paulwootak@gmail.com
“Elder Abuse” 8x12" Adobe Illustrator.

4th Place-Tie DAVID A PETERSON USA montanagayman@comcast.net
“In Our Image And In Our Likeness (Creation)” 10x8” Photo.

4th Place-Tie LEE BALAN USA www.leebalanarts.wixsite.com/mysite “Magical” 12x16” Photo printed on metal.

4th Place-Tie GAVIN NORTH AUSTRALIA gavinnorth75@gmail.com “There Is A Light Above My Head” 30x30cm Digital print on canvas.

4th Place-Tie SERENA MOORE USA mooreserena39@yahoo.com
“Rebirth” 18x24” Photoshop.

5th Place-Tie GARRULUS GLANDARIUS GERMANY www.garrulus-glandarius.com “Die Dompteuse” 50x70 cm Combination of digital painting and photography, giclée print on archival paper.

5th Place-Tie DAVID VANCE USE http://www.davidvanceprints.com “Struggle” Manipulated photo.

6th Place ANTHONY R. WHELIHAN USA https://www.facebook.com/anthony.r.whelihan
“I Get Delirious” 17x14" Watercolor mixed media.

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.