Deer Park High's Asante Mills Honored as Top Young Artist

Deer Park High School senior Asante Mills was one of only 80 Long Island student-artists recognized for the recent “Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum” gallery show, chosen out of hundreds of submissions.

A comprehensive arts-in-education program integrating Huntington’s Heckscher Museum and Nassau and Suffolk high school art classrooms, Long Island’s Best encourages students to be inspired by works on display at the museum, using the experience to create their own original works of art. The process culminates in a juried exhibition, the only one on Long Island that provides high school students the chance to see their artwork on display in an art museum.

Mills’s stunning, colorful piece “Push,” created from latex paint, rubber cement and cardboard, was inspired by Maria Robertson’s 2012 installation “222,” part of the Heckscher’s exhibition “Modern Alchemy: Experiments in Photography.”

Accompanied by his proud mother and art teacher Derek Mainhart, Mills attended the March 28 opening reception and awards ceremony at the Heckscher, enjoying the opportunity to interact with viewers and fellow artists alike.

“Receiving direct feedback was the greatest personal gain for me, as I was able to interact with the audience as they experienced my piece,” he said. “It was an honor to be a part of the show.”

“Asante’s art is already at a professional level, both in concept and execution,” said Mainhart. “This will not be the last time you see his work in a museum.”

Photo by Deer Park School District