Theme: Family
The “Family” art contest is a collaboration between Bowery Art Collective and New Jersey Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The prizes, presented by NJAMFT, are $200, $100, and $50 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Interested artists should submit artwork with relevant information via the form linked above.
The deadline for submissions to the “Family” art contest is 10/22. Submitted artwork will be evaluated by the Bowery Art Collective during the time period of 10/23 to 10/29. Artists will be contacted during this time. Finalists will bring in their artwork to the gallery 10/30, and artwork will be on display for NJAMFT to judge during their meeting on 11/5. Winners will be announced the following day, with an awards ceremony on 11/13. Exhibited artwork will remain in the gallery until 11/20, when finalists will come to the gallery and collect their artwork.
Guidelines:
Digital art excluded. All other mediums accepted.
Artists are not required to make their works available for sale. However, artists have the option to sell directly to any interested buyer who may learn about such artwork through this event—or to list their works on our auction page.
If you have any specific questions, please email us at boweryartcollective@gmail.com
High school and college-aged artists are encouraged to submit
Jasmine Chen
(First place winner)
Instagram @mini_c.art
“Adopted Chitter”
24’’ x 38’’
Oil
Artist Bio
Jasmine Chen, originally from New York City, has been pursuing her BA/BFA in philosophy and art at Tufts University/SMFA. She focuses on creating fantastical worlds of characters that explore the complex psychology of the human mind and the field of philosophy. Her inspiration comes from the stories that explore human development in Japanese animations, the dreamy atmosphere of oil paintings by the old known masters of the representative art world, and innovative concept artists of the modern digital scape.
Artist statement
In the absence of my own guiding voices, I’ve lucked enough to happen upon sparse knots of sparrows hanging by branches of spring flora. I won’t speak ill of my blood - of the right to familial love, unfulfilled. I do praise the momentary and mutual engagement of all the dearest of whom I admire. I’ve been granted these moments of grand joy and a grander wish to view more.
Some of them flutter away- to the far left branch, to a closer view of the sun, or to a different tree altogether, perhaps. I won’t offer a eulogy for the rising mornings we could have adventured. I do praise the momentary symphony, even acknowledging the disharmonies in a time of our tunings.
Alongside the warm whistles of the breeze, the chirps of lived sorrows and pining pleasures, and the soft whirls of bright petals, descending from its attached patches, are the rustles of fabric that dress the parts of me which I’m smitten with. I’ll remind myself, from time to time, that I am an element in the creation of such momentary joy.
It may be given, I’ll continue to feel the pang of arrears - for I could never bring enough seeds to feed the beaks of the sparrows who frolicked around and with me. Perhaps I could ask for forgiveness. Perhaps I could plant a farm. Perhaps this guilt is an inevitable part of resting under this decorated tree, as though I’ve felt and anticipate bliss, too much.
Not for sale
Alfred Dudley III
(Second place winner)
"Titan's Inheritance"
22 x 30 inches
White Ink, Wax Pigment and Correction Fluid on Black Stonehenge Paper
Artist Bio
instagram.com/artmaps
Alfred R. Dudley III (b.Cheverly, MD 1995) is a studio-based artist and independent curator currently based in the Bronx. They graduated from The Cooper Union in 2018 with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts while receiving the Vincent J. Mielcarek Jr. Award for Photography, and upon graduation; the Irma Giustino Weiss Prize as well as the Service to the School Award. They are currently an MFA candidate at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of Art. Their work facilitates a conversation between drawing and photography, with heavy influences from contemporary manga, painting, and literature.
Artist statement
In February of 2021 I watched the Film "Judas and the Black Messiah". A film that shed light on the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal (played by LaKeith Stanfield), an FBI informant. Alongside that major plot of betrayal, the film biographically unpacks the community dynamics of the Black Panther Party during that era. It displays the food, shelter, and familial warmth that serves as a backbone of survival for all of the people connected to the Black Panther Party. Even more so throughout the film they depict the violence and destruction done onto the family/community dynamic with the government and police as aggressors. Nevertheless the movement and mission of the Black Panther Party survived the test of time and violence from their institutional raiders. My artwork, "Titan's Inheritance", is an allegory of what I imagine to be my psychic, visual and visceral inheritance as a Black person from the Film. To be more poetic, "I am but a small star in the world. My Titan Ancestors, simplified by time, have held me up, platformed me, and channeled me power. Within my veins is the blood of those who survived. Their sacred skills, and active intuition manifest through the history of my body.'' Tying this poetic experience to the work; the two main figures in the center of the artwork are ethereal/celestial bodies that serve as representations of parental lineage. Two parents; of different intensities(star shapes) holding up a surface or platform of support that is what the young celestial, the child(me) is born/formed on. Their collective support and energy are what propagates survival for their young. I am a composite of the family, movements, and culture I have been born into. I am the continuation of the Black American Diaspora. This work is me reflecting that through the figurative characters and symbols. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Chloe Oliveira
(Third place winner)
chloeoliveira_art
The Best Duo
18” x 24”
Acrylic Paint
Artist Bio
I’m an 18 year old artist. I’m a freshman at Rutgers Mason Gross School of Arts. Im majoring in Art and Design. I have been doing art since I was young and I’m very passionate about it.
Artist statement
This is a piece I created of me and my mom. This is a representation of one of the best and hardest days of my life. I was very young when my parents got divorced. I remember my dad being in a tough place and I wasn’t able to see much of him so in order to lift my spirits my mom took me to my favorite park to cheer me up. This piece shows both of us together as if we are being captured in a photo or looking at a camera. I did that intentionally because that’s a memory I would like to be captured as if it were a picture. My mom has always been there for me and we are like a team and that’s why we are the Best Duo…
Jack Mix
“Family”
10" x 7"
Marker
Artist statement
This work shows that although members of a family are separate people, together they are one. They are each a part of the others and they are stronger together.
Denise Bui
“Milk”
21' x 15'
Acrylic
Artist statement
A scene in which a mother grabs milk from the fridge of a grocery store. Upon grabbing the milk, she sees her daughter's face on the other side of the fridge, a reminder of how her daughter has grown and no longer needs to be nursed.
There are two sides to the painting. The left side consists of dull colors, including the mother and the sweater that she is wearing. It symbolizes a mix of emotions; she does not know whether to feel happy about her daughter's departure to an independent life. The right side of the painting is what reality actually looks like, consisting of solid shapes and colors. It shows how much her daughter has brightened up her life ever since the daughter was brought into the world.
In other words, this painting captures a bittersweet moment of a mother buying milk, reminiscing about the days when her daughter needed her most.
Bryan Montenegro
withmeudabest (insta)
“Cheers”
12" x 36"
Oil Paint
Artist statement
Family is very important and deer to me personally. I have captured many moments through photography that shared glimpses of my family dynamic, which is why I wanted to portray the special moment between my father and uncle through a painting. even though the painting is about my own family experiences, I tried to keep the subjects figurative as it opens up the possibility for the audience to relive any similar experiences with their own family.
Hannah Vargas
"Her Stories"
12 in x 16in
acrylic paint, micron, marker, printed photograph on canvas
Artist Bio
Hannah Vargas is a current art education major studying at Kean University. She has previously graduated from Union College with her AA in Visual Arts in 2021. Her work has been previously shown in the online poetry journal "Night Heron Barks" in the spring 2022 edition. Additionally, she does private commission work which includes paintings, drawings, children's book illustrations, as well as tattoo designs.
hannah.vargas.art (instagram)
Artist statement
I used to sit at my grandma's kitchen table and listen to her stories about her young life. She shared many stories with me, but the several about my pop and grandma stuck with me the most. When my grandma passed away last year, my aunt scanned all of my grandma's photographs and sent them to the relatives. I had found so many pictures of the two of them together while they were only dating. I began to recgonize these photographs as if I'd seen them before. This one particular photograph happens to be my favorite. I wanted to create a piece that summarized how I felt hearing about their romance and finally being able to see it captured in a moment in time.
Amanda Beckley
“Memories”
Collage
Artist statement
This piece relates to the theme of family because symbolizes an important memory of my family.
Gavin Szilvasi
“The Distant Goodbye”
12 (length) x 9 (width)
Watercolor Sketch
Artist Bio
A newbie artist that is learning while having fun!
Artist statement
During the coronavirus pandemic, seeing my great aunt, "Tia Inelia", was by means of through the nursing home glass. My aunt was like another grandmother to me and seeing her through the window was emotional. My piece is meant to represent how the term "family" has changed after the pandemic. After the pandemic, the way in which we interact with our most cherished loved ones has changed immensely from that of hugs and kisses to that of smiles, waves, and blowing kisses. In my piece, the family at the window is not colored to represent their utter sadness. This is exactly how I felt when visiting my aunt during COVID - colorless and sad.
My aunt passed away in October of last night. I never got to say a proper goodbye due to the pandemic. I used this piece to honor her and the lives of so many of our lonely seniors in nursing homes around the world.