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Marquee:
Far wall of the Mathias Gallery (2025), Vinyl and Artworks
Overview
These pieces were carefully selected out of 650 different California artists and 2000+ submissions of work. We appreciate the efforts of each and every one. Congratulations once again!
About the Artist
For more information on these artists, take some time to look them up!
Best of Show
Tim Guan
George, Doomscrolling (2024)
Oil Painting
Painting
First Place: Maria Kazanskaya
Affordable Housing, Ocean View (2025)
Mixed Media/Painting
Second Place: Anna Sidana
Metamorphosis II (2025)
Oil Painting
Third Place: Aina Clotas
Self-Portrait as a Square (2025)
Oil Painting
Drawing
First Place: Bing Zhang
The Distance of Intimacy (2024)
Drawing
Second Place: Dave Ralston
Band Prep (2020)
Colored Pencil
Third Place: Sheila Ghidini
Interior 8 (2023)
Graphite and colored pencil
Photography
First Place: George Herman
London National Theatre (2024)
Photography/Print
Second Place: Richard Gilles
Lowes House (2022)
Photography
Third Place: Shay Lari-Hosain
Silence in B-Flat 1 #8535-610 (2020)
Photography
Mixed Media/Printmaking
First Place: Kathryn Kain
Rose Waterfall (2023)
Monotype
Second Place: Sara Kate Eberhart
Fog (2024)
Indigo-dyed linen with stitching
Third Place: Peter Baczek
Composition in Gray (2024)
Etching
Staff Picks
Director's Choice - Preston Metcalf, Executive Director and Senior Curator
Maura Carta
Long Shadows (2025)
Oil Painting
Preston: When is a still life not just a still life? When it is infused with memory, longing, competing pathos and joy, and an all-pervading wistfulness. Long Shadows is a painting of feeling, a story we can all understand. Is this the favored baby of our child, now grown or gone? Is it the comforting friend of our own childhood, still potent in its comforting balm? It is, of course, all of these and more. This is the magic of Maura Carta’s art. Also… I like bunnies.
Curator's Choice - Vanessa Callanta, Curator
Spence Snyder
Kelly's Space (2025)
Oil Painting
Vanessa: I love the intimate workspaces that are artists’ studios. They’re always fascinating to see, to see what the artist has around them for inspiration, to see all the different materials they use. This is not just Kelly’s “space,” but a portrait of Kelly herself as she wanders around and works in it. It’s a wonderful glimpse into the subject’s creative process. The painting is well executed, and the details are enjoyable to look at. I especially adore the fluffy white and brown cat peering out of the canvas toward the viewer (because oftentimes our animal friends make the best studio companions).
Curator's Choice - Bryan Callanta, Curator of Digital Programming
Stanley Peterson
China Cove (2021)
Acrylic painting
Bryan: I was immediately drawn to this painting upon seeing it. I really like this work for its creative approach in depicting this beautiful coastal scene. The varying linework creates attractive textures that leads your eye throughout the composition, and I enjoy the artist’s use of bright and bold colors. To me, it’s a very well executed and unique painting.
Honorable Mentions
The Artist Hines  St. Artemisia's Revenge (2023), Acrylic | Ellen Gust  It's Closer Than You Think (2025), Pastel | Pat Moseuk  City By the Bay (2024), Acrylic and Mixed Media | Kathy Dana  California Diversity (2024), Acrylic |
Lei Chi  Dad (2023), Watercolor | Kathleen Gadway  Winter Studio Windows (2023), Oil | Ben Lovell  Vatununu Traffic (2023), Photography | Vera Fainshtein  Chinatown (Diptych) (2025), Monotype |
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