World’s Best Religious Or Spiritual Artists / 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS: SAAD, STRASKA, CHO, PHILLEO, VILLACORTA, BROOKS BREWER, KIM, RHODES, BANNON, CHOI, ALDEHY, BHATTACHARYA, JAMES & ZEN
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 PAKISTAN, SLOVAKIA, SOUTH KOREA, USA, PHILIPPINES, UK, FRANCE, INDIA, NIGERIA & TAIWAN.
BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: ALI SAAD
As we all know that Nature unremittingly presents to us objects, shapes and sights in multifarious colours and postures like those in the kaleidoscope - I take them that catch my attention to render them artistically. I was one mind with Wordsworth to claim that “the meanest flower that blows can give me thoughts too deep for tears”. Alas! one life time is not enough for an artist to render these shapes and objects, at once bizarre and mysterious, into beauty. But strange, that anything rendered in art becomes a source of eternal joy for a man, as we all feel with some great poet that “heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter.” A piece of art never stops giving pleasure, sensational and sweet — a principle on which whole art stands on.
My subject matter from exhibition to exhibition may vary, but the technique and principles that I follow are of the Dutch Masters like Rembrandt and Rubens. To me things, which are considered commonplace or dull to the public, seem to carry special significance for me. On my part, with the profound and intelligent play of light and shade, simple yet beautiful compositions worked with bold but sensitive brush strokes always rendered great results.
Biography
Born in 1989, in a small valley of Baluchistan, called Quetta, My name is Ali Saad , since my childhood I’ve been brought up in an environment where I had easy access to books of Literature and Art. My Father, an Associate Professor of English Literature and Language passed on the best Literature to us three brothers, every evening, over a cup of tea which became almost a ritual was the moment of our interest. The tete-a-tete went round only Literature and Painting. I used to replicate illustrations from story books. With constant drawing practice in which I grew better and better. Thus participating in Art competitions till my high school.
Just by odd luck, after my intermediate I went to a Business University and studied Economics, while still keeping a keen interest in Art. Again by a strange quirk of luck the selection team, from the renowned National College of Arts Lahore, came to our city for the selection of the suitable candidates for college. Happy to tell you that I Beat all candidates who appeared in the Art test by gaining brilliant position overall. Later I graduated from the said Art College in the 1st division with an “Honour” . My thesis work was keenly observed and praised. The accolade that I won throughout the following years through the art exhibitions done along with my elder brother in tandem. I also exhibited in group shows Nationally and Internationally, with my recent participation in the world biggest Art salon, Art Renewal Centre — ARC, New York, In which 2 of my Paintings qualified for the finalist list, beating 4000 artworks from 83 countries, and got printed in the 15th ARC SALON catalogue, a record of many of the best representational works created in the three years prior to its publication, the ARC Salon book series is an important historical archive of the Representational Art Movement.
I am also an Award Winner “Honorable Mention” in the 16th ARC Salon, and my work is part of the Lunar Codex, wherein work will be laser etched on microfiche and archived on the south pole of the moon in perpetuity, along with other creatives.
ARTISTS’ CONTACTS / SEE MORE OF THE ARTISTS’ WORKS:
1st Place ALI SAAD PAKISTAN aleesaad1.as@gmail.com “Birbal” 30x24" Oil on canvas.
2nd Place — Tie MICHAL STRASKA SLOVAKIA www.michalstraska.com “Pope Francis” 58x40cm Pencil on paper.
2nd Place — Tie EMILY CHO SOUTH KOREA emilycho0125@gmail.com “Birth And Death” 50x76cm Acrylic on board.
3rd Place — Tie MATT PHILLEO USA www.mattphilleo.com “Fire of Fervent Prayer” 30x40” Acrylic on canvas.
3rd Place — Tie CELVIC VILLACORTA PHILIPPINES https://www.facebook.com/celvic.villacorta “Where Art Thou, Father?” 30x40" Acrylic on crumpled canvas.
3rd Place — Tie CINDIE BROOKS BREWER USA cindiebrewer@rconnects.com “Isaiah 53 Man of Sorrows” 16x20” Cotton fabric, synthetic hair, synthetic eye lashes, acrylic paint, gold leaf, Arches cardboard and Indian handmade paper.
4th Place — Tie MADELINE KIM USA rskim725@gmail.com “Reincarnation” 12x18” Acrylic on cork board.
4th Place — Tie GRAHAM EDWARD RHODES UK https://about.me/surreal_rhodes “Underground Arts“ 42x59.4cm Mixed media ink on paper/photo manipulation.
4th Place — Tie KAREN BANNON USA www.Karenbannonphotography.com “Gods Saving Grace” 1536x2042px Photo manipulated in digital.
5th Place — Tie CHRISTINE CHOI USA christinechoi613@gmail.com “Synchro-Maniac” 24x18” Acrylic.
5th Place — Tie ALDEHY FRANCE https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/aldehy-13005?view=serie “Bulle De Terre” 29x30" Acrylic on canvas.
6th Place — Tie UTTAM BHATTACHARYA INDIA bhattacharya.uttam1@gmail.com “Dream Mystic” 24x36" Acrylic on canvas.
6th Place — Tie MITCHELLE JAMES NIGERIA mitchyjevart@gmail.com “Republic Of Wealth” 60x60" Oil on canvas.
6th Place — Tie JADEN ZEN TAIWAN https://a0920654516.wixsite.com/jadenzenart a0920654516@gmail.com “Pray” 76x56cm Mixed media.
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.
