Check this out! A chance to be featured in the very popular Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery. PLUS, a chance to exhibit during Art Basel Miami!
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Artist Miguel Paredes Joins Bombay Sapphire®, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation And Complex Media To Launch The Second Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series
Enter here.
Miami-based Artist to Judge Regional Competition and Provide Exposure for Emerging Artists At Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery on October 22.
20 Visual Artists Selected to Exhibit during Art Basel Miami.
Celebrated Miami-based pop and multi-media artist, sculptor and urban realist Miguel Paredes is pleased to announce his involvement as a judge in this year’s Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. The artist is set to help Bombay Sapphire, Russell & Danny Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and Complex Media launch a nationwide search to identify the finest undiscovered talent in the field of visual arts. June 8, 2011 marks the kickoff of the 2nd Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, when the next wave of artists seeking their national breakthrough is invited to enter the competition. With the impressive range of talent showcased in last year’s program, including nearly 2,000 artist entries and over 175,000 fans from across the country voting to select their favorite works, the expectations of this year’s candidates are exceedingly high. Artists who are up to the challenge can enter by creating a piece of inspired, original art and submitting it via www.Complex.com/SapphireArt or www.facebook.com/BombaySapphire by August 31, 2011.
“The Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series has established itself as a platform for emerging artists who seek to shape our contemporary cultural landscape—artists who look to defy boundaries with the power of their imagination,†says Russell Simmons, Chairman of GlobalGrind.com and co-founder of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. “With the extraordinary success of last year’s program, I am excited to see what emerges from this year’s roster of talent.â€
This year, submitted work will be reviewed by the program’s esteemed panel of judges, including Rush Philanthropic Vice Chairman, Co-Founder and artist Danny Simmons, program curator Andre Guichard and other guest curators and museum heads from around the country, including cutting edge artist, Miguel Paredes.
Miguel Paredes’ involvement as a judge in The Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series is a reflection of his ongoing philanthropic outreach to aspiring artists and art enthusiasts. His participation in Wynwood’s monthly Art Walk allows Paredes to reach potential collectors, art lovers and artists alike in a social and welcoming environment. In the coming months Paredes will use Wynwood’s 2nd Saturdays Art Walk as an avenue to search for young talent. Paredes encourages artists to take advantage of the opportunity presented with The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series as it allows them expose their work in a way they would not ordinarily be able to and potentially gain national exposure.
“As an artist, it is an honor to be a judge for this year’s Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. I am looking forward to meeting many of South Florida’s great undiscovered talents and I’m equally as excited to be a mentor and review their work,†says Paredes. “The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and Bombay Sapphire are providing emerging artists with an opportunity of a lifetime.â€
Following the submission phase, the panel will invite select artists to display their work at a sequence of gallery exhibits and events, taking place from September through November in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Two artists will be chosen from each semi-final event to compete in the finale during Art Basel Miami, recognized as one of the world’s premiere art events. Following the blockbuster Art Basel finale, co-hosted by Russell Simmons, two winners will have their work installed at Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center in New York City for the month of February 2012.
Miguel Paredes, a New York native, is an Urban Realist who combines cutting-edge techniques of street art, pop art and Japanese animation to create his own genre of trend-forward pieces. Drawing inspiration from pop icons such as his own mentor Ronnie Cutrone, Andy Warhol’s immediate assistant at The Factory during the notorious pop artist’s most productive and prestigious years, Warhol himself and Keith Haring, Paredes has created his own unique and explosive style. His combination of street graffiti, landscape and pop art have propelled his crossover from street walls, during his days as a student at the prestigious Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in the ’80s, to becoming a highly regarded creator of fine decorative art, prized by collectors from Los Angeles to Seoul.
Paredes, now Miami-based, has become one of the local arts’ scenes most prosperous artists. “Pulgha World,†an 18×26 mosaic mural donated by the artist on August 2010, is a colorful landmark located in the heart of Wynwood Arts District and his nearby new solo space, Miguel Paredes Fine Art Gallery, opened on February 2011 to rave reviews. Furthermore, he recently became the first Miami-Dade resident to ever receive simultaneous proclamations from the City of Miami Beach and Village of Pinecrest honoring his artistic donation to the Miami Design Preservation League’s Art Deco Welcome Center and support of historic preservation, devotion to the city and positive impact on the community.
The artist is also well-known for his iconic, Japanese anime-inspired digital series Pulghaâ„¢ & Birds. In this delightful collection Pulghaâ„¢, a magical flea, and her friends the spirited Birds, Yori & Kosue, join forces for good. An original, branded cartoon series based on these creations is being represented by the William Morris Endeavor Agency and a new collection of fine oil paintings is being developed. Moreover, Paredes continues to make his mark by further expanding his inspirational environment while simultaneously showcasing his works at local, national and international shows, including Artist-In-Residence at the iconic National Hotel during Art Basel Miami Beach, 2010. For more information, please visit: www.miguelparedes.com
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Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation is dedicated to providing underserved urban youth with significant exposure and access to the arts, and to offering exhibition opportunities for underrepresented artists and artists of color. Rush was founded in 1995 by three brothers: Danny Simmons, visual artist and community builder; media mogul Russell Simmons; and Joseph “Rev. Run†Simmons of the legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC. Their goal was to fill the gap that poor and minorities face in both accessing the arts and exhibition opportunities. Over the past 16 years, Rush has served over 700,000 urban youth and has developed a broad base of friends, collaborators and supporters dedicated to addressing these issues. In addition to the 2,300 students served each year in its education programs, Rush exhibits the work of 40 to 50 emerging and community-based artists in its galleries; welcomes over 10,000 gallery visitors; distributes grants to nonprofit arts organizations in NYC and South Florida; and provides unique opportunities for young people interested in careers in the arts. Rush currently operates two galleries, Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center in Chelsea (Manhattan) and Corridor Gallery in Clinton Hill (Brooklyn).
Rush Philanthropic believes that if you give young people the opportunity to practice and appreciate art—whether poetry, music, dance or the visual arts—you will see lives transformed. Nurtured in early childhood, and anchored in sustained, creative experiences throughout one’s life, it is through art that we see young people learn to value their own unique voices and visions; and it is through art that we see artists transform the minds and eyes of society.
For more information on the Artisan Series, please visit www.complex.com/SapphireArt.
For more information on Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation visit www.rushphilanthropic.org
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