World’s Best Self-Portraitists / 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS: MILLER, JANG, GONZALEZ, BYUN, YANG, JEONG, KIM, GUO, TUSHAR, WOLF, HAN, SCHAEFER, KOTARSKA & CHUNG
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 USA, AUSTRALIA, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, CHINA, INDIA & POLAND.
BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER:
Maxwell G. Miller (b.1992) is an American contemporary realist artist working in the Dominican Republic. His artistic career began in the theatrical arts, where he became well known for specializing in large-scale theatrical puppetry. He served as director, artistic designer, and scenic artist for several theater organizations based in Cleveland, OH before pursuing visual art professionally in 2017. After refining his technique and developing an interest in mythology and history painting, he relocated to Scranton, PA in 2020 to complete an apprenticeship with master artist Anthony Waichulis at the ÀNI Art Academy. He completed his apprenticeship in 2022 and now serves as the Dean of the ÀNI Art Academies Dominicana in Río San Juan, Dominican Republic, where he strives to cultivate a richer artistic community through artistic education.
Maxwell’s sense of theatricality has continued to influence his compositions and has developed into a portfolio of dramatic portraiture and dense still life with a focus on storytelling. His work has received international awards and recognition from leading art competitions and major arts publications including The Art Renewal Center, The Boynes Artist Award, The FiKVA Foundation, The Artist’s Network, and Southwest Art Magazine. He is an associate member of the Oil Painters of America, an affiliated artist of Lovetts Gallery, and has works in private collections across the globe. www.maxwellgmiller.com
ARTISTS’ CONTACTS / SEE MORE OF THE ARTISTS’ WORKS:
1st Place MAXWELL G. MILLER USA www.maxwellgmiller.com “The Journeyman” 14x9" Oil on panel.
2nd Place — Tie EMILY JANG USA artistbonkoo@gmail.com “Self-portrait: By Default” 16x20” Oil on canvas.
2nd Place — Tie JOSEPH GONZALEZ AUSTRALIA https://www.appalive.com.au/ “Self Portrait, Mirror” 22x35” Acrylic on canvas.
3rd Place — Tie JIYOO BYUN REPUBLIC OF KOREA byunjiyoo03546@branksome.asia “Palette Of Expressions” 100x65cm Acrylic on canvas.
3rd Place — Tie GINA YANG USA yangyoonjeong713@gmail.com “Self-Portrait” 53x45.5cm Mixed media on canvas.
3rd Place — Tie NATHAN JEONG USA jnathan0110@gmail.com “Self Reflection” 24x18” Oil on board.
4th Place — Tie ALLYSON KIM USA artistbonkoo@gmail.com “Inner Struggling” 36x20” Oil on canvas.
4th Place — Tie YICHU GUO CHINA yichuguo15@gmail.com “Self-Portrait” 60x90cm Oil on canvas.
4th Place — Tie TUSHAR INDIA tusharpaintingstudio@gmail.com “Self Portrait” 13x18.5" Oil on canvas.
5th Place — Tie SHANE WOLF USA www.Shane-Wolf.com “Threshold IV” 93x50cm Charcoal, sanguine, & chalk on paper.
5th Place — Tie EMILY HAN USA emilyhan5321@gmail.com “Fragmentary Memories” 24x18” Acrylic on Masonite board, gold sheets, and candy wrappers.
6th Place — Tie CARMEN SCHAEFER USA https://www.carmenschaeferart.com 32x24” “Self Portrait In Studio” Graphite on paper.
6th Place — Tie AGNIESZKA KOTARSKA POLAND https://instagram.com/agnieszka_kotarska_?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== “Girl Without Pearl Earing” 23x19" Charcoal and graphite on paper.
6th Place — Tie DAEUN CHUNG SOUTH KOREA daeunchung0000@gmail.com “Self Ticket” 6x4” 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.
