Press Release – Winners Announced!

10 UNDER 40 SELECT GROUP OF YOUNG ARTISTS EXHIBIT IN CHELSEA RIVER GALLERY’S JURIED COMPETITION   Chelsea, MI, October 1st – In early spring of 2012 Chelsea River Gallery  launched their 2nd major competition in their 9 year history as one of Southeast Michigan’s premier fine art venues. In keeping with their mission to identify and promote … Continue reading →

Sudandyo “Lilik” Aprilianto

ARTIST STATEMENT I relocated to the United States from my home country Indonesia in 2009. I studied at the Indonesian Institute of Art Yogyakarta, Indonesia for five years. My primary subject was Sculpture, but upon completion I focused more on painting and drawing. Yogyakarta, where I lived for eleven years, is located in central Java … Continue reading →

Matthew Derezinski

ARTIST STATEMENT In the past years my work has been directed towards photographic manipulated imagery.  This work incorporates layers of textural and organic imagery that draws upon my interest in decaying architecture, nature and the Mid-Western landscape in which I live.  This imagery, rich in personally derived symbolism, is organized into mystical and mysterious landscapes.  … Continue reading →

Helen Gotlib – First Place (tie)

ARTIST STATEMENT Much of human communication is nonverbal. Plants obviously cannot speak, yet they can be as emotive as a silent figure. Emphasizing the expressiveness of botanical and human structure rather than conventional beauty is what drives my work. I attend numerous drawing sessions with live models. Working with a living breathing human being rather … Continue reading →

Taylor Mazer

ARTIST STATEMENT This series of drawings are all based in psychology. Why do people see things a certain way? When I work, I am thinking of an anonymous fictional person and wondering how they interpret a certain scene. For example: If all the various actions are taking place in the distance, the drawing is from … Continue reading →

Mari Ogihara

ARTIST STATEMENT My medium of choice is clay for its close resemblance to skin. I am drawn to the natural color of the material which appears soft and sensual without glaze and decoration. Clay comes in various colors and I highlight its natural attributes by juxtaposing highly decorated accents. In essence I work to create … Continue reading →

Toko Shiiki

“Now or Never” Series ARTIST STATEMENT I captured the first shot of this series on a day when I had recalled a very difficult childhood memory. It stuck inside me like a sharp knife. After a while, I felt numbness in my body and it was very hard to do anything. However, I needed to … Continue reading →

Brian Spolans – Second Place

ARTIST STATEMENT “Leslie Murrell describes my work as an attempt to “populate fictional worlds with small creatures undertaking both the monumental and mundane tasks of civilization.”  For me, these fictional worlds act as a microcosm and translation of my environment.  In this microcosm, I invent relationships between communities, individuals, technologies and environments.  These relationships explore … Continue reading →

Dylan Strzynzki

The Sticks: House Portraits “Dylan Strzynski Right Now” The bulk of my artistic out put falls under the category of one type of landscape or another. At different times my work has been expressionistic and cartoon-ish, flattened out and diagrammatic and droll and nearly formal. I’m always thinking about the landscape, more specifically the environment … Continue reading →

Martin Thoburn / Chris Sandon – First Place (tie)

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago – Exquisite Motion Corpse from Martin Thoburn on Vimeo. Exquisite Motion Corpse is an interactive video installation based on an old surrealist parlor game.  The user combines body parts that stack together, all set to rhythmic timing, to create unique beats and stories via a touch-screen iPad controller. This 21st-century … Continue reading →

C. Jacqueline Wood

ARTIST STATEMENT This Line Has History (2012) explores the duality between the digital and the tangible. Two congruent frames at hand. A light slowly scans. A shadow steadily casts. The moving image forms ascending horizon lines and impressionistic landscapes. The adjacent frame remains still, while encapsulating the scanned object. We are left in the center. … Continue reading →

Special Guest Artists – Spontaneous Art

ARTIST STATEMENT Spontaneous Art is an interactive performance art collective that specializes in transforming spectators into active participants in our skits. We move through crowds blurring art and life, residing at the intersection of improv comedy, social experiments and sincere interpersonal connections. The core members of Spontaneous Art are Natalie Berry, Chris Sandon, and Trevor … Continue reading →