Young at Art Winners 2019

posted in: Young at Art

The Foyer Gallery, sponsor of the Young at Art annual youth art exhibit presents the winning works of the senior and junior winners at the Foyer Gallery during the Eye-Catcher show, November 12 – December 1, 2019. Do visit our gallery to see the works of these talented young artists. Congratulations to both artists for their award and excellent artwork!

2019 Senior Level: Jonathan Callies

Jonathan’s pencil and charcoal drawing ‘Willem‘ received the Gerald Smith Award from the Foyer Gallery for excellence of concept, design, and execution.

Dimensions: 11’’ x 15’’ (including frame).

“Willem” by Jonathan Callies

 

Artist’s statement:

My primary interest in drawing and painting is portraiture. I’m currently in grade 12 and my work so far includes: photography, videography, drawing and painting. I’m interested in the subtle qualities of the human face and how light reveals them. Skin is both translucent and reflective, which creates interesting textures and colours. From the bluish hue that can be found around the eyes, to the red glow that you might find on an ear or nose that’s been illuminated, colour has a very important role in the face and in my work. The small wrinkles and folds around eyes and mouths communicate life and thought. I like to explore the topography of skin as it relates to texture and the emotion of the subject. I mainly use painting and drawing mediums. Charcoal and oil paint are my preferred at the moment because of the contrast and flexibility they provide. Black and white is particularly interesting to me because of its simplicity. Since it limits what the artist can communicate, it forces you to focus on contrast, value and all sorts of relationships that exist within a given subject. My goal is to capture the essence of a person in any medium whether my approach is precise and detailed, or loose.


2019 Junior Level: Myriam Bourry-Shalabi

Myriam’s photograph ‘Revolution or Evolution‘ received the Gerald Smith Award from the Foyer Gallery for excellence of concept, design, and execution.

Dimensions: 16.5 x 21.5 inch (including frame)

“Revolution or Evolution” by Myriam Bourry-Shalabi

 

Artist statement:

In the crooked and narrow streets of Rome, Italian artists display their various messages through the art of graffiti. As I was wandering through these streets, I noticed a peculiar message. There it was, written on the classic stonewalls of the Eternal City: REVOLUTION. It was bold and it definitely captured my eye. Yet underneath was pictured various animals, forming what could be described as an “evolution”. As I stood in front of the masterpiece, I questioned myself: “Revolution or Evolution ?”. I thought of freedom, evolution, hope, courage. I was inspired. I was reminded of the history pictures I found in books, these pictures depicting voices of revolution, the voice of humanity. After a few minutes standing in front of it, I pressed a button and walked away.

I have always been fascinated by the world. Revolutions, manifestations, protests; they all show a sense of freedom, passion and courage. Photography has always been a media for freedom. Photography is the dare-devil, the one who runs towards fear without any hesitation.