Abstract Art Exhibit 2025

2025 Abstract Art Exhibit

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Opening Reception: Saturday, April 12 l 12 - 1:30 PM
On Exhibit: April 12 - May 1, 2024

Judge: Kimanne Core

“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”
- Paul Klee, Creative Credo

JUDGE'S STATEMENT

"Transforming Reality, the 2025 Abstract Art Exhibit, beautifully showcases the incredible depth and breadth of artistic talent in Connecticut. Featuring over 70 works in various media and styles, this diverse collection includes paintings, digital art, sculpture, and fiber pieces, spanning from purely non-objective to abstract realism. Thoughtfully hung, the exhibit offers a seamless and engaging visual experience. With so many exceptional works, selecting just a few for recognition was challenging. The pieces I chose stood out for their originality, masterful use of color and composition, and their strong visual and emotional impact."
- Kimanne Core

AWARDS

BEST IN SHOW
The Visitor by Clinton Deckert

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

I found The Visitor to be an engaging painting. The colors were original and creative with bright pink along the top of the wood strip that framed and contrasted with earth-toned greens and yellows. The piece was interesting because the top half (above the wooden strip that also appeared to be like a “horizon line”) seemed to have deep space. Within that open, atmospheric space, however, there were gestural marks that reminded me of the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s. In the lower half, there appeared to be solid ground with tiny dabs of yellow flowers. A small, round pink form creates a focal point. The painting is inset within a black frame. This creative, original painting for me was the best in the show.

FIRST PLACE
Coral Notes by Ann O'Brien

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

Coral Notes is a beautiful painting that balances all the painterly brushstrokes and subtle color variations within the composition, which drew my eyes around the picture plane. I felt soothed by the soft, pastel colors and blue tones and the restful in and out spaces that give me an upbeat, optimistic, and positive sense of flow around the painting, reminding me of a Willem DeKooning masterpiece.

SECOND PLACE
Oscillate by Sarah Grote

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

This intimate smaller work within a square format is a more sophisticated, formal, and thoughtfully executed painting. It is as powerful as the first two mentioned above, with primarily an achromatic color scheme, except for one small pop of red. Motion and movement are what this painting is all about, which is largely due to the execution of the circular shapes that are sequential, yet each has the feeling of movement in different directions. The black band above and the jagged black band below create a sense of being grounded. My eyes were constantly moving around the pleasing and symmetrical format, and I enjoyed this piece tremendously.

THIRD PLACE
Kick-Start by Nora Hillman

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

This textural, tactile painting I thoroughly enjoyed as it had me looking in, out, and around the biomorphic shapes. I almost was able to discern how the artist created the painting using threads of glue to give texture and a gestural, more intuitive approach to painting within a stenciled feel of hard edges vs. soft edges. The repeated shapes were brilliantly arranged around the composition, some going off the canvas and some feeling lost and then found again. The complementary color scheme of bright reds and oranges against a turquoise blue color scheme was both bold and subtle as some areas had thin washes or scumbled paint, while other areas still showed the white of the canvas beneath, thus giving it breathing space. You always felt as if there was a “way out” and it is an upbeat, playful piece.

HONORABLE MENTION

Motivity by Lisa Penny

Presence by by Jovani Maldonado

Cosmos by John Lanzl

VIRTUAL EXHIBIT*

Note: Scroll over images to see title, artist and price. Click to enlarge.

ABOUT KIMANNE CORE

After earning a B.F.A. in Fine Art and an M.F.A. in painting, Kim worked as a freelance illustrator in New York City. Her editorial illustrations appeared in numerous books published by Simon & Schuster, Doubleday, and Houghton-Mifflin, as well as many others. While studying for a master’s degree in Painting, Kim’s thesis focused on portraiture. One of her portraits, “Nala”, was accepted by Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. She is currently an art teacher at New Canaan High School where the work of her Advanced Placement students have won numerous regional and national awards. Kimanne is an A.P Studio Art Leader for College Board where each year she scores and instructs college and high school teachers to score over 65,000 high school art portfolios. She is also co-founder of iArt Institute, an online Advanced Placement Studio Art program. An accomplished illustrator and portrait painter, her first love is abstract art and she is delighted to judge Gallery 53's 2025 Abstract Art Exhibit.

*	The virtual exhibit includes pieces that were entered online. In-person entries may/may not be included.