The envelopes, please

Art Business News, April, 2005 by Susanne Casgar

WOW!! That is the first word that comes to mind when I think about the exhilarating week that I just had in New York at the 27th Artexpo.

Nearly 500 exhibitors, 2,600 artists and tens of thousands of attendees made it an exciting and memorable four days.

Albert Einstein once said, "True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist." So with that in mind, here are a few awards for creativity--Artexpo-style. The envelopes, please.

THE SOLO ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

To Adrian Prisecaru, one of the SOLO exhibitors, whose distinctive and beautiful oil paintings were chosen by the judges as the SOLO prize winner.

THE FABULOUS FRENCH FEMME AWARD

Maryvonne La Parliere, whose vibrant smile, exuberance and warmth were contagious and energizing for all those around her.

THE BEST PARTY AWARD

To the party at Lot 61, for the Artexpo SOLO artists and others, was a high-energy event, full of laughter, fun and conversation.

THE ICE-BOX AWARD

To the 100 brave exhibitors, who carted their wares and braved the elements outside at the CBS plaza, to bring their art to a national viewing audience on the "CBS Morning Show," the Friday morning of Artexpo.

THE GLOBAL AWARD

To CreaTech Gallery for traveling the farthest distance to exhibit at Artexpo. CreaTechArt is located in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. The second place award goes to Natasha Barnes, from Durban, South Africa.

THE MAN'S BEST FRIEND AWARD

To Ron Burns Studio--whose canine friends, Fidel, Kirby, Rosie and Scout, from the Good Dog Foundation--charmed all of the animal lovers in the crowd.

THE ARTISTIC APPAREL AWARD

To Steve Kaufman of the Steve Kaufman Art Studio of Los Angeles, for his wildly creative dinner jacket.

THE GIVE BACK AWARD

To the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering expression and creativity among young people, using the drawings and writings of the producer of Bugs Bunny as inspiration.

THE BEST DANCER AWARD

To Boy and Kat, our spirited Hawaiians, and the two lovely ladies who opened the show to visitors on Saturday morning.

THE ENDURANCE AWARD

To the exhibitors who have been at the show for the longest period of time: Nan Miller, Ruth Bloch, Nomi Faran, Leon Bronstein, Museum Editions Limited, Decorative Expressions, Sylvia Chait and Fiesta Sterling. And to those of you whom I've forgotten to mention, my apologies.

THE ART UH-OH AWARD

To Michael Godard Fine Art, whose unneighborly "entertainment" detracted from the positive energy displayed at the show.

THE PURSE SNATCHER AWARD

To Debbie Brooks, whose donations of 50 limited edition handbags to every one-thousandth consumer delighted the shop-til-you-drop visitors on Saturday and Sunday.

THE BEST VISITOR AWARD

And last but not least, to the thousands of visitors who took the time to visit our Artexpo booth and especially those who introduced themselves to us--my favorite part of the show.

Don't forget to look in our May issue for a complete show wrap up.

All the best, SUSANNE CASGAR scasgar@pfpublish.com