The Saint

By Laura Kuzmicz

ArtPrize has officially come to a close! Many wonderful submissions wowed the city of Grand Rapids! I compiled a list of pieces that captivated me personally during my visit! The amount of talent this year was astronomical!

1. Jeremy Spoke

This piece captured my attention due to its odd, yet whimsical nature. There is a warm atmosphere to the painting yet paralyzing loneliness. According to the artist Matt Esh, it’s supposed to capture the awkwardness and uncomfortable feeling after one says something they shouldn’t have said. The artist simply describes his piece as: “You’ll have to forgive Jeremy, sometimes he sticks his foot in his mouth.” 

2. Gods Of Cincinnati    

This unique piece combines old classical mythology and modern civic attributes. Artists Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch crafted this piece with the idea of the Cincinnati aesthetic in mind and used three Greek/Roman gods to hone personas representing culture and humanitarian work. The artists even decided to portray certain gods as the opposite gender for a unique perspective. A male Aphrodite represents Cincinnati’s body wash and skin care industry, a female Atlas represents the alcohol production in the city, and Athena represents the meat and poultry industry! 

3. SKY

Artist Surgei Zader’s “SKY” was such a wonderful piece to me. This fiberglass and crystal-encrusted giraffe was carefully constructed with the idea of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” in mind! 

4. Our Garden 

This particular piece represents the horror and chaos currently going on in Ukraine. Because of the unnecessary death and bloodshed, artist Lilianna Rudyk used her passion for art and love for her people of Ukraine to create this piece. By using the black, red, and green woven cloth to represent a garden of bloodshed, pure anxiety, and fear, the artist created a beautiful yet unsettling image simultaneously. Rudyk states: “Gardens are blooming, but anxiety is in the air. The thought of war is always with us.”

5. Tracy’s Garden

Last but certainly not least is Tracy’s Garden, a large array of plant and moss sculptures representing motherhood and femininity. The artist, Brent Knoth describes his piece as follows: 

“A mother is love. A mother is kind. A mother is the comforting hug and the peaceful kiss. You were all those things and more. You were the very definition of the word Mother. Tracy’s Garden is my attempt at working through the grief and sorrow of losing my mother to cancer in February. Individual moss sculptures of different animals will surround a sculpture of a woman holding her baby. Also, a fully functional water wall will be in the backdrop to provide a sense of calm and serenity.” 

Knoth’s piece captures the pure indenting love of a mother and the passion they have for their children.