The Overall Winning Artists Category consists of the 12 Best Entries received from the 3 media categories of the Painting & Other Media Category, the Photography & Digital Category and the 3 Dimensional Category.
The winning artists will now be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of April 2023 and thereafter, the artworks and links to the artist’s websites will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives.
The overall winning artists’ category of the 14th Annual "Abstracts" Art Exhibition will receive extensive worldwide publicity and promotion.
Congratulations to our artists who made our 14th Annual “Abstracts” Art Exhibition so successful this month. At any time, we invite our winners and other interested visitors to link their websites to the Gallery’s Archive section for further ongoing promotion.
Thank you to all of the artists who participated and for being a part of the gallery.
Scroll down the page to see read about each of our Top 12 Winning Artists. In the image gallery at the bottom, click on a thumbnail image and that will take you a lightbox to view the entire artwork. To return to the “Abstracts” Home Page click here.
1st Place – Overall - Gloria Joo - "TERRAIN”
Dr. Gloria Joo is a resident physician at the University of Pittsburgh, who brings her unique background as an artist-activist to the field of radiology to bridge the gap between healthcare and the humanities. As a first-generation immigrant who moved to the US in early childhood, she creatively overcame her initial language barrier by carrying a mini whiteboard to draw out her thoughts. Later, as an undergraduate at Williams College, she studied contemporary painting under Barbara Takenaga and became recipient of the Laurice L. Shern Merit Scholarship in recognition of her artistic achievements. After her extensive service work with struggling first-generation minority populations, she was motivated to go into medicine to become an advocate for patients who lack the power to speak for themselves. As a doctor, she finds her inspiration from the "controlled chaos" of working in a fast-paced hospital environment, the healing power of nature, and the meaningful interactions she has with her patients. She primarily works with acrylic paint, but is also self-taught in digital art and sculpture. Her works have been formally exhibited in Seattle, Williamstown, and Chicago.
To learn more about Gloria and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
2nd Place – Overall - Steve Stratis - "ABEYANT”
Many of the world’s marvels go unseen, whether due to the flow of time or being beyond our perception. Steve Stratis’ work centers around bypassing these limitations - giving the viewer a glimpse of how matter frozen in time and invisible phenomena may appear. Stratis fuses digital techniques such as 3D sculpting and VFX (visual effects) to apply a stylistic spin, resulting in a unique abstract-centric aesthetic. Steve aims to inspire a greater interest in physics and further appreciation for the many powers that shape our world.
To learn more about Steve and to see more of his work, please visit his website.
3rd Place – Overall - Karen Safer - "MARINA SANDS”
Karen Safer is a photographic artist, writer, documenter and poet with a musical bent. As a native Angelino, she was given a camera and crayons at 3 and exposed to dominant California motifs: light, palm trees, ocean, music and vernacular architecture that helped define her left-handed aesthetic. Fortunate to begin a life of travel as a pre-teen, it shaped her love of the exotic paired with an eye for the “beautiful” and formal; subsequently she has traveled and photographed in over 230 countries. She was influenced by her dad who developed black & white photos in their back washroom and by her mother’s thirst for knowledge and travel.
She received a master’s degree in art from CSULB and UCLA. Her career includes design and architecture firms; she is principle of ArtFocus International. Initially she began painting and printmaking alongside the study of art and architectural history before wholly embracing photography with influences from the ancients to Cindy Sherman. Not sure if behind or ahead of the times, she has been in over 10 solo shows and 140+ juried and group exhibitions, most lately in London, Rome, Glasgow, Zurich, Budapest, Athens, Prague, Barcelona, Hawaii, Canada and from California to New York winning Talent, Merit and Honorable Mention Awards.
She is a member of several art and charitable organizations. And is a self-described “romantic soul” with intellectual cravings, currently residing in Playa del Rey.
To learn more about Karen and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
4th Place – Overall - Linda McCord - "REPTILE”
The Dreams of Nature series of abstract acrylics are intended to appear dreamlike and represent nature. Focus is on rhythm, texture, form, and pattern. Interpretation of dreams was popular even in Bible times, and some psychologists use dreams as an analytical theory today. The subtle pen and ink look in the negative space that repeats itself throughout the image is the focus of many of the pieces in this series. My art is an expression of an inner need to escape and find a place where I can go on a creative journey. Creating art is fun and sometimes frustrating but never, never boring. I love being an artist.
To learn more about Linda and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
5th Place – Overall - Robert Obier - "INDUSTRIAL ICON”
Robert Obier was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he now resides. He received a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from LSU in 1981 and a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Design from Art Center College of Design in 2007.
He is an award winning artist. His work as an architect/designer/illustrator has been featured in numerous exhibitions, magazines and web articles. His high tech sculptural designs have appeared on network television and were selected for a “location shoot” in a major motion picture. His range of eclectic influences include the organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, the explorations of geometry in nature by Andy Goldsworthy and the theatrical creations of Industrial Light and Magic for a time long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
His work explores the intersections and obscures the boundaries between architecture, industrial design and art. Each piece is as much a realization of an abstract design concept as it is a unique work of three-dimensional art. The final sculpted artwork is derived from an initial “hand drawn” sketch. The preliminary shapes are explored and refined through multiple iterations as 3-d computer models. From creation through completion this dichotomy of ‘handmade’ and ‘computer generated’ informs the development and execution of the work.
To learn more about Robert and to see more of his work, please visit his website.
6th Place – Overall - Gareth Jones - "TEXTURE 3D”
Photography/digital art are the artistic expressions of my imagination, vision, and inquisitive mind. I explore all images - including abstracts or concepts created from my photographs or digital art. I strive to enjoy, explore and balance life. I want to give people a breather from the stress of today’s world – and I simply have to create! I see the world with all its wonders, big and small and then I put my take on it. It’s just what I do and my images are offered up to the world. I simply love to create, imagine and capture what I see, what I think.
I hope my images give the viewers some spark to their day – a thought, an aha! moment, the chance to enjoy the place my image takes them. My mind is full of images, they just have to come out and I love to share them. Artistic History: My artworks are in private collections around the world and are sold on several web galleries, through my website or directly via my Facebook/Instagram pages. I have won several international competitions for both photography and digital art in both Canada and the United States, including multiple Gold Medals in the International Salon of Photography.
I am also a speaker in Canada and the UK. My presentations are about the Journey and Challenge of Creativity”. I am still discovering and hope to do so for years to come.
To learn more about Gareth and to see more of his work, please visit his website.
7th Place – Overall - John H Diephouse - "VENTURI”
Mr. Diephouse is a primarily self-taught photographer who migrated from film to digital photography about fifteen years ago. After retiring from a professional management career, he has more actively explored the technical and creative sides of this media. Most recently he has also begun exploring digital collages as a means of expression.
John is attracted to a wide variety of subjects ranging from natural landscapes, botanicals and wildlife to images that provide either abstract expression or social commentary. He is interested in sharing images that evoke a story of some kind. Images may be simply documentary, reflect a sense of time and place, or resonate on a more abstract level of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.
He has exhibited widely and has earned recognition in local, regional, and national exhibitions. His photographs are also included in several corporate and private collections.
To learn more about John and to see more of his work, please visit his Instagram.
8th Place – Overall - Jacqueline W. Havn - "MAJENASIA PART 1 - MAGIC AND MAJESTY”
Jacqueline Havn is a full-time artist and calligrapher relishing a quiet life on the hill of Krokskogen in Norway. She comes from an ethnic minority family background in Indonesia and was initially mentored by her grandfather, who was a painter and photographer. Inspired by Gerald Scarfe, Mark Wilkinson, and Maurits Escher, she won several art competitions as a young girl and received scholarship to study Interior Design in Italy. She continued to live there until she met her Norwegian other-half.
Growing up through times of turmoil, matters that are important to Jacqueline are psychological experiences, childhood trauma, and the road to healing. She finds mixed media to be extremely precious in gaining flexibility in expression and experimentation. Her works contrast light and dark colors, gradient mixing and hard-edged geometry, taking the use of feminine elements, surreal composition, and both decisive and hallucinatory forms.
Dreams and mental state play a crucial role in Jacqueline’s artistic path. She works to represent the transcendence of time and place, of what is safe and uncertain, the deadly knot of human thoughts, and hope when all else has failed. "Majenasia" is an example of a cerebral piece consisting of 2 inseparable paintings; with the smaller one deliberately created to fill in the void in the larger painting. It speaks of the journey into the unknown, careful acceptance of the unexplainable, and logical perception of the unaccountable. Together, the paintings aim to evoke unnatural silence and (depending on the viewer), curiosity --- or fear --- of uncharted territory.
To learn more about Jacqueline and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
9th Place – Overall - Susan Gilli - "SOUND OF SIRENS”
I currently work in both oil and cold wax and acrylics, and I have been painting for many years My paintings are abstract. My attempt is to draw the viewer in with my use of color and shapes. I'm drawn to oil and cold wax due to the layering and depth of the medium. When I work with oil and cold wax, I never use a brush. This gives me the ability to retain true abstraction. My goal is to have the viewer take a second look and find something to relate to.
To learn more about Susan and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
10th Place – Overall - Jeanne Parker Martin - "IT'S INSIDE”
Jeanne Parker Martin makes art you’d want to have a drink with. A Graphic Designer and Communications Director by trade, Jeanne grew up in New Orleans and now paints from her studio in Mandeville, Louisiana, about a half an hour away from NOLA. With no formal training to speak of, she has painted and created as a hobby her whole life. Coming from a family of doctors and nurses, she was the outlier and has felt her way through many types of artistic expression, from abstracts and animals to detailed portraits created in acrylics on reclaimed wood doors.
She has sold hundreds of works in her lifetime, most in the past several years. Each piece she creates has its own individual personality. From the inception of the idea, the goal is to produce unique, affordable, kick-ass contemporary art to liven up your dwelling and bring color into your surroundings. She is focused on making each piece vibrant and alive with its own special flavor. From a formal dining room to a studio apartment, good art belongs wherever you want to put it.
To learn more about Jeanne and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
11th Place – Overall - John Pingree - "BAFFLED”
John is a fine art photographer living in Waterdown Ontario. Having retired from the work-a-day corporate world, John now devotes himself to his craft. John specializes in abstraction of the world around; seeing in ordinary everyday things, places and events the underlying potential that others may not. The world is before us and it is glorious; we have but to slow down embrace it and learn to see what is before our eyes.
John holds certificates in Applied and Art Photography from Mohawk College. He has studied visual design with Freeman Patterson, Andre Gallant and Tony Sweet. His work has been exhibited at various venues throughout Ontario including; Art Gallery of Burlington, Dundas Valley School of Art, McMaster Innovation Park, Beaux Arts Brampton (Contact Photography Festival), Mad & Noisy Gallery Creemore, Oakville City Hall, Oakville's Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Center, Fieldcote Park & Museum, Hamilton Public Library, Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts Collingwood, among others.
To learn more about John and to see more of his work, he can be reached via his Email.
12th Place – Overall - Yuho - "THROUGH THE GLASS KALEIDOSCOPE. "THE BLUE HILL (1)"”
I'm an artist based in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. While my work is best described as abstract, I primarily draw inspiration from the Earth's beautiful natural resources as well as its landscapes. My choice of tools often involves working with ink and acrylic as both mediums flow graciously and lusciously, helping me achieve my vision. Additionally, coming from a jewelry background, which requires a great deal of imagination and creativity, I've been able to transfer those skills to my work as an artist. I have found it easier to visualize my painting's setting, placement, color tones, and orientation before my paintbrush hits the canvas.
After spending years designing jewelry pieces, I've found myself increasingly drawn to sparkle and sophistication. As such, when I paint, I look for bold colors to emit feelings of passion, freedom, and positive energy. To me, it's most important to focus on formal color relationships and visual composition.
To learn more about Yuho and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
Click the Thumbnail Images Below to See the Artwork in a Lightbox
