|
NEW YORK, Nov 21, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Celebrating its 75th Anniversary as the preferred hotel to Gotham artists and performers for three quarters of a century, New York`s Buckingham Hotel last night hosted the unveiling, exhibition, and awards ceremony for the winners of the first annual "Buckingham Prize for the Expression of Music through Art," a unique, juried art competition held in association with the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture and Art Students League of New York.
Attendees at the ceremony included Regina Resnik, to whom Gramophone Magazine recently referred as the "Grand Dame" of Mezzo-Sopranos, and Metropolitan Opera Conductor Daniel Oren. Maestro Oren is presently conducting La Boheme at the Met, whose cast included Ramon Vargas; both men were in residence at the Buckingham during the time of their Boheme performances.
"Singing Birds," an oil-on-canvas piece by Ronan Sharabani was unveiled as the overall Grand Winner of the Buckingham Prize. "Ballet of the Stars" by Norman Darvie took second place, and "Red Ballet Red" by Janet Cook, third. The work of the winners was unveiled by Stephen Shapiro, Managing Partner of the Buckingham Hotel, as well as by Ira Goldberg, Executive Director of the Art Students League.
Sharabani, who joined New York Studio School in 2000 after studying in Israel, is a recipient of the 1998 Golden Feather award (for editing and video work), and the 2002 Hohenberg Scholarship. "Music inspires on many levels," he said. "I attended a concert of Handel, and it was the sight of a chorus and the sound of human voices in harmony that moved me. This mixture, combined with the nuances of light and shadow in my imagination, inspired me to create this painting."
"Singing Birds" -- which was culled from over 100 entries from the City`s seven largest art schools this June -- was awarded $10,000 and will be displayed by the Buckingham Hotel in its grand lobby; cash purchase prizes of $5,000 and $2000 went to Darvie and Cook respectively.
The three paintings become part of the Buckingham`s permanent collection of musically inspired artwork that already includes "Bounce Fugue," a piece crafted from musical instruments themselves, and commissioned from a team at the New York Studio School under the direction of Graham Nickson. The Buckingham collection also features portraits of Artur Rubenstein and Mstislav Rastropovich by the late School of Paris painter Arbit Blatas, on loan by one of the Buckingham Prize judges, Regina Resnik, wife of the artist.
The Buckingham`s collection also includes the "Dancing King," a stained glass installation at the Hotel`s entranceway commissioned from Jose Ortega and crafted by the fourth-generation Rambusch Studios. The work pays homage to the West 57th Street tradition of art glass and performing artists.
About The Buckingham Prize
In the tradition of Paderewski`s establishment of the Paderewski Fund, the Buckingham Hotel established "The Buckingham Prize for the Expression of Music Through Art" in 2002 to support young artists. The Buckingham Prize is a juried art competition co-sponsored with the New York Studio School and the Art Students League, and it awards monetary prizes for paintings which best capture the theme of music.
"The Buckingham Prize celebrates the extensive musical history of the property, as well as honors West 57th Street`s own long-standing artistic traditions," said Stephen Shapiro. He continued, "For three-quarters of a century, the Buckingham has been home to world-renowned musicians, performers, and artists. In the last few weeks alone we have hosted everyone from the Kronos Quartet to Lou Rawls to Lang Lang. The tradition continues!"
Determination of the winners of the Buckingham Prize was made by a panel of prestigious judges, including Graham Nickson, Dean of the New York Studio School and Ira Goldberg, Director of the Art Students League, both of whom are painters. The third judging position, annually reserved for a Performing Artist Judge with a strong association with the visual arts, has been filled this year by renowned opera star Regina Resnik, who has long been associated with the visual arts both through her husband, painter Arbit Blatas, and through her own creative works, including film and opera production.
The Buckingham Hotel (http://www.buckinghamhotel.com/) is located at 101 West 57th Street, at the corner of Sixth Avenue, in the center of New York`s historic Arts District. Surrounded today by internationally-renowned art galleries, museums and schools such as MoMA and the Art Students League of New York, the neighborhood saw many renowned artists -- whether painting, studying or instructing -- including Childe Hassam, John Sloan, Stuart Davis, Marc Chagall, Georgia O’Keefe, George Grosz, Arbit Blatas and so many more.
|
