Art Prize 2016

Every year, the public and an expert jury votes on their favorite pieces during Art Prize in downtown Grand Rapids. This year, 1,453 artists entered in the international art competition. Here are some of pieces and the work and meanings behind them.

Isabel Bird, Reporter
October 19, 2016

 

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“Birdzels” by Mark Chatterley presents six to seven foot tall birds. The birds are composed of high fired clay and crater glaze.

 

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“Astrobleme” by Joshua Welker expands and shifts color. When you walk by, the color and perspective change.

 

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Cassandra Burgess reveals her feelings in her piece “PTS”. The artist used the painting/sculpting as therapy towards her dad’s PTSD.

 

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“Emoh” by Loren Naji represents the backwards process of homes. The artist used debris of broken down homes to create this sculpture and spread awareness to homelessness.

 

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“Invasive Species” by Shiny Seed uses it’s mirror-made leaves to show the environmental surroundings. The sculpture is used to represent the positive and negative presence in a habitat.

 

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“Ashes to Ashes” by Jacqueline Gilmore shows the impacts of deforestation. This piece is used to spread awareness of forest fires.

 

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“The Smoke” by Mher Khachatryan symbolizes the consequences that come with smoking. This piece attracted many people wandering through Grand Rapids.

 

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“The Butterfly Effect” by Pettit Smith creates representation of the love and awareness for the monarch butterfly. The piece consisted of 1,234 bronze butterflies.

 

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“Embrace” by Marc Sijan displays a life-size hyper realistic sculpture. The artist hand painted the piece with oil paint to give the finishing and realistic effect.

 

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“Imagine If” by Robin Protz uses silver plates to show difference in perspective. The piece is a 3-D kinetic sculpture.