Beverly Hills artSHOW Receives 50K Visitors

From The Beverly Hills artSHOW: The Beverly Hills artSHOW, held on May 20 and 21, brought an estimated 50,000 visitors to Beverly Gardens Park where over 250 artists exhibited their work in the open outdoors along four blocks of Beverly Gardens Park on Santa Monica Boulevard. Attendees enjoyed artwork in different mediums, including sculpture, glass, jewelry, photography, painting and more. Great food and thirst-quenching drinks were available from gastro-worthy food trucks, juice and coffee trucks, and beer and wine gardens. Healing Art Reaching Kids (H.A.R.K.) of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the art show’s charitable partner, provided family-fun activities and entertainment.

Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse attended the show on Sunday, May 21 and walked the four blocks to find her selection for the Mayor’s Choice Award. The Mayor’s Choice Award is given to the artist from whom the Mayor selects art for installation at one of the City’s public facilities to add to over 60 pieces of Public Art. The Mayor’s Choice Award was established to affirm the City’s support of the arts and its commitment to the cultural community. Mayor Bosse selected a painting entitled “Flight of Spring” by artist Stephen LeClair from Studio City, California. The acrylic on canvas is a beautiful painting of bold colors with an image of a hummingbird. Mayor Bosse says of the print, “I was inspired by the vibrant optimism of color. The hummingbird in flight symbolized luck, courage and soaring towards endless possibilities. How wonderful and exciting to have it bring its magic into the Municipal Gallery of City Hall.” Artist Stephen LeClair, says of the painting, “Contemplating hummingbirds allows one to immerse oneself with the idea of their perfection and their journey.”

Karen McLean, artSHOW Director, says “The long-time support of the Beverly Hills community always contributes to the strong attendance, and we are grateful for this. Many new artists from across the southwest and other parts of the country, as well as two new Beverly Hills artists, Julia Vericella and Mike Becker, joined the show this spring, which was exciting. All the artists shared their sentiments and many indicated it to be one of the best in the nation with significant sales of thier art work.”

May 2017 artSHOW First Place and Special Category Winners are:

SPECIAL CATEGORY WINNERS

• Mayor’s Choice Award – Stephen LeClair, Studio City, California
• Best of Show – David Tanych, Venice, California
• Gil Borgos Award for Originality – Paula Collins, Fallbrook, California
• Best Art Display – Fred Stodder, San Juan Capistrano, California
• Best Artist in a Featured Category – Sondra Wampler, Sante Fe, New Mexico

FIRST PLACE WINNERS

• Ceramics – Paula Collins, Fallbrook, California
• Digital Media – Mallory Morrison, Woodland Hills, California
• Drawing and Printmaking – Varoujan Hovakimyan, Burbank, California
• Glass – Christopher Jeffries, Laguna Beach, California
• Jewelry – Marianne Hunter, Palos Verdes, California
• Mixed Media-Two Dimensional – Doug Roy, McMinnville, Oregon
• Mixed Media-Three Dimensional – Larisa Safaryan, Glendale, California
• Painting – Hans Kegler, Thousand Oaks, California
• Photography – Dave Ness, San Diego, California
• Sculpture – David Tanych, Venice, California
• Watercolor – Martino Dorce, Pasadena, California

Artists are encouraged to apply in June for a juried spot in the upcoming fall Beverly Hills artSHOW, which will be heldOctober 21 and 22, 2017. For more information, go to www.beverlyhills.org/artshow or call 310.285.6836.

The 2017 artSHOW sponsors and media partners include: David Frank Design, Engel & Volkers, RPM Mortgage, Longshot Espresso, the LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Art Association, Fabrik Magazine, LA Art Party, Yelp, and the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitor’s Bureau. Food and Beverage support come from Premiere Events, Stella Artois, and Hint Water. The show’s charitable partner is Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and its sister organization, Healing Art with Kids.

The Beverly Hills artSHOW is produced by the City of Beverly Hills and is a bi-annual event. The fall Beverly Hills artSHOW October 21 and 22 show hours are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. All activities occur at the historic Beverly Gardens Park and admission to both days is—as always—free. For more information, please visit www.beverlyhills.org/artshow.

Image Courtesy of Beverly Hills Art Show