Saatchi Art Announces Finalists of Showdown Competition

Saatchi Art today announced Golnaz Afraz as the winner of Showdown: The Painted World, the online art gallery’s competition that gives artists from around the world the chance to showcase their work and have it be judged by internationally acclaimed artists and curators. Presented in partnership with Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, this edition of Showdown (www.saatchiart.com/showdown) was themed “The Painted World” and attracted nearly 5,000 artists to submit paintings that respond to the world around them, making it one of the world’s largest juried art prizes.

Golnaz Afraz (France) wins Saatchi Art's international Showdown art competition with her painting "Le reflect du monde". (Photo: Business Wire)

Celebrated British artist Ryan Mosley served as judge for the final round of the competition, selecting Golnaz Afraz as the winner and Louise Giovanelli as the runner-up. Afraz and Giovanelli will receive cash prizes in the amounts of USD $1,000 and USD $500 respectively. Mosley’s selections for the top ten finalists were revealed last night at a party to celebrate the shortlisted works Upstairs at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. Rebecca Wilson, Chief Curator and Director, Art Advisory at Saatchi Art, announced Mosley’s selections during the event, where the top thirty shortlisted works were digitally projected onto a giant display in the hotel’s rooftop bar. Widely celebrated for his painted worlds that fall somewhere between reality and fantasy, Mosley joined an illustrious line of previous judges that includes artists Peter Coffin, Dexter Dalwood, Barnaby Furnas, Chantal Joffe, Wangechi Mutu, Ged Quinn, and Matthias Weischer.

Praising the high standard of the entries, Wilson said:

“The caliber of the works we received for ‘The Painted World’ was extremely high, with such diversity in style and perspective from artists from all over the world. Having selected Golnaz Afraz for spotlight in our ‘Invest in Art’ series, I’m happy to see her continued success. Golnaz’s masterful use of color and distinctive compositional style set her work apart, and I think we can continue to expect many great things from her in the future. The tremendous talent showcased in the finalists is testament to the robust nature of painting today, which is very exciting.”

Saatchi Art is delighted to be partnering for the first time with Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, which opened in early 2014 in the historic United Artists building in Downtown Los Angeles.

In addition to the pop-up projection display Upstairs at Ace Hotel Downtown LA, the works of the ten finalists are available for viewing online at www.saatchiart.com/showdown.

The finalists include: Golnaz Afraz (France), Louise Giovanelli (United Kingdom), Basttuz (Brazil), Melissa Loop (United States), Armando Rabadán (Spain), Mike Carney (United States), Robert Bubel (Poland), Woojung Son (South Korea), Julien Spianti (France), and Nick Potter (United States).

For more information about Showdown or for high-resolution images, please contact Nicole Garton at nicole@saatchiart.com.

About Saatchi Art

Saatchi Art features the world’s largest selection of original art and helps people all over the world find art and artists they love. The site offers more than 500,000 original paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs by over 50,000 emerging artists from over 100 countries. Saatchi Art is redefining the experience of buying and selling art by providing art lovers with free art advisory services and an expertly curated selection of art, while giving artists a convenient and welcoming environment in which to exhibit and sell their work. To discover the world of Saatchi Art, please visit www.saatchiart.com. Saatchi Online, Inc., which operates Saatchi Art, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Demand Media, Inc. (NYSE:DMD).

About Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles

Ace Hotel reinvents hospitality to make something fresh, energized and human. It embraces and reimagines classic buildings and interesting opportunities, creating a sense of history and place that pairs the pragmatic with the romantic. Its hotels are inspired by an affinity for the soulful and fueled by localized and handmade culture. For more information, please visit www.acehotel.com.

About Ryan Mosley

British artist Ryan Mosley creates painted worlds which fall somewhere between reality and fantasy. He is represented by Eigen + Art, Berlin and Alison Jacques Gallery, London. His work has featured in significant group shows including Zero Hours, S1 Artspace, Sheffield (2013); Nightfall, Modem Museum, Hungary (2012); London Twelve: Contemporary British Art, City Gallery, Prague (2012); Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2012); Merging Bridges, Museum of Modern Art, Baku (2012); and Newspeak: British Art Now, Saatchi Gallery, London (2010). Mosley has an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London. His work is part of the Arts Council Collection, UK; the Saatchi Collection, London, and Falckenberg Collection, Hamburg. He lives and works in London and Sheffield.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150206005120/en/