Color Abstraction
Angela Willetts Wins Blue Tangerine Art Competition
Artist wins People's Choice Award in new competition Honoring Emerging Bay Area Painters
SAN FRANCISO, Calif. - July 20, 2004 - Blue Tangerine Art, a new volunteer arts organization, today announced Angela Willetts as the winner of the Blue Tangerine Art First Annual People's Choice Award at its debut opening, Color Abstraction. The show was held on Saturday July 17th at Belcher Studios, in San Francisco, and featured original paintings by eight emerging artists: Carlo Abruzzese, Neysa Budzinski, Chris Crossen, Jennifer Padgett Orser, Kathy Montgomery, Whitney Vosburgh, Sasha Weigel and Angela Willetts.
Visitors of Blue Tangerine Art's debut show were invited to view the artworks on display, as well as actively participate by voting for their favorite painting in the exhibition, as part of the First Annual Blue Tangerine Art People's Choice Award.
The winning painting was Evensong, by UK-born artist Angela Willetts. Currently without permanent gallery representation - a requirement for entry in the show - Angela Willett's work has been included in the Napa Valley Musuem's annual invitational show, and the diRosa Preserve's annual invitational auction, amongst others. Her first solo show won the patronage of Rene diRosa as well as a number of local private collectors.
"I am thrilled to have been selected to be in Blue Tangerine Art's first show, and to win the People's Choice Award," said Angela Willetts. "Blue Tangerine Art is filling a much needed gap in the art world."
"We hope this Award helps boost Angela's art career. Many artists are inspired by the Bay Area and start their careers here, but time and time again they are forced to leave for New York or Los Angeles where they can find broader support for their work," said Trudy Montgomery, founder of Blue Tangerine Art. "Blue Tangerine Art is committed to reversing this trend by widening the collecting base in the Bay Area for local artists."
"Having the general public be the judge of that perennial question "what is art?" is an usual concept in art shows," added Montgomery. "We're removing the fear of art-buying by providing access to affordable contemporary art in a non-intimidating environment. While we present art that is pre-judged by experts, we also helping people see that there is no 'wrong' art. T he answer to "what is art?" is different for everyone; it's what each of us find most appealing."
The artworks presented in Color Abstraction were pre-selected from an open call for entries by a guest jury panel that included Nora Kabat Dolan, former curator of exhibitions and public programs at SITE Santa Fe, and Julie Casemore, co-founder of aov, an alternative contemporary art space in San Francisco. Juan Navarro, founder of Artworks, a fine art installation and consulting firm, and Trudy Montgomery, founder of Blue Tangerine Art, curated the event. Over 200 people attended the invitation-only event.
For more information on the competition, exhibit, and artists, please contact Blue Tangerine Art Advisors: http://www.bluetangerineart.com
