World’s Best Portraitists: NUKPEZAH, YANTENG, PRUYS, PANIS, OWAKA, OBERHOLSER, TAKACHE & KAUR / 2024 WORLD ART AWARDS

Thom Bierdz
5 min readJun 29, 2024

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Artists from 61 countries competed in the 2024 WORLD ART AWARDS where 20 of the most revered galleries in the world were sent 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, will be revealed in this column one category at a time, and also an upcoming movie.

The WINNERS in CATEGORY 32. PORTRAIT OF SOMEONE NOT FAMOUS
represent GHANA, USA, CANADA, PHILIPPINES, KENYA, LEBANON & INDIA.

BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: Allswell Nukpezah

I am a Ghanaian based in the United States who specializes in charcoal drawings among other art forms. My African family is a primary theme in my work. I hope to share my strong connection to my culture and my ancestors through my art. In my winning piece, “Tribal Marks on a Matriarch’s countenance,” I memorialize the dying practice of scarification in my tribe through drawing my grandmother, one of the only individuals among my people I have seen to still wear these identifying markers proudly. I hope to use the perishable materials of paper and pencils as a vessel immortalize her and my culture. https://www.instagram.com/raising.canes222/

ART COLLECTORS — CONTACT THE WINNERS HERE: CATEGORY 32. PORTRAIT OF SOMEONE NOT FAMOUS

1st Place ALLSWELL NUKPEZAH GHANA/USA https://www.instagram.com/raising.canes222/ “Tribal Marks On A Matriarch’s Countenance” 28x28” Black and white charcoal on color canson paper.

2nd Place — Tie XIONG YANTENG USA 118085618@qq.com “Model Under The Blue Sky” 12.9x17.9” Color pencil on paper.

2nd Place — Tie CHER PRUYS CANADA https://artbycher.ca “MM Good” 7x9” Acrylic on paper.

3rd Place — Tie MARIO PANIS PHILIPPINES https://www.facebook.com/p/Mario-Panis-Visual-Artist-100063618854586/ “Jess” 14.5x10.5” Pastel.

3rd Place — Tie CHER PRUYS CANADA https://artbycher.ca “Oh Really” 6x9” Acrylic on paper.

4th Place — Tie XIONG YANTENG USA 118085618@qq.com “Green Choker” 11x14” Color pencil on paper.

4th Place — Tie HILLARY OWAKA KENYA hillaryowaka5678@gmail.com “Becky” 30x35cm Blue pen on manila paper.

5th Place — Tie ROCHELLE OBERHOLSER USA rochelle65@carolina.rr.com “Fire Eater” 8.5x11" Color pencil.

5th Place — Tie CHER PRUYS CANADA https://artbycher.ca “Mischief” 6x9” Acrylic on paper.

6th Place — Tie HICHAM TAKACHE LEBANON www.facebook.com/hicham.takache “My Late Mother Explaining A Serious Matter” 24x32” Oil on canvas.

6th Place — Tie MANJINDER KAUR DHAMI harbhav510@gmail.com 16x20" “World’s Successful Jernail Hari Singh Nalwa At Killa Jamraud” Oil on canvas.

In 2024, WORLD ART AWARDS had submissions from these 61 countries: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Denmark, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, UK, Ukraine, USA, Viet Nam, Wales, Zambia.

The World Art Awards 20 Best Galleries & Museums for 2024 who were asked to score art: (in alphabetical order by country):

Best in Australia: Bungendore Wood Works Gallery

Best in Chile: Isabel Aninat Gallery

Best in Columbia: Beatriz Esguerra Art

Best in Czech Republic: Knupp Gallery

Best in Georgia: UGallery

Best in Israel: Corridor Contemporary

Best in Japan: Nanzuka Underground

Best in Latvia: Galerija Romas Darzs

Best in Malaysia: Gallery des Artistes / Gallery@Tropicana

Best in Morocco: Comptoir des Mines Galerie

Best in Myanmar: New Treasure Art Gallery

Best in Portugal: Underdogs

Best in Taiwan: 1839 Contemporary Gallery

Best in United Kingdom: Miart Gallery London

Best in USA / Alabama: Alabama Contemporary Art Center

Best in USA / Arizona: Exposures International Gallery Of Fine Art

Best in USA / Iowa: Moberg Gallery

Best in USA / Nebraska: Kiechel Fine Art

Best in USA / South Dakota: South Dakota Art Museum

Best in USA / Utah: Ogden Contemporary Arts

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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.