The art-loving public has spoken and there is a winner!
London's JD Malat Gallery recently hosted a juried-open call competition for UK-based artists, offering a solo exhibition at the gallery as the winning prize.
The initiative, dubbed "Isolation Mastered," was a bid to give a platform to UK artists of all ages and backgrounds. The responses came in swiftly, with more than 1,000 submissions flooding in the weeks that followed the call.
The jury, lead by gallery founder Jean-David Malat, along with cultural luminaries including dealer Simon de Pury, Dylan Jones, editor of GQ, and art historian David Bellingham, among others, whittled down the remarkable pool to just 25 artists whose works were installed in the gallery at the beginning of the month.
Then the voting was turned over to the public, with the gallery accepting ballots online and in-person. Over 8,000 people participated in the fun-loving event, with Spanish-born artist Marina Gonzalez capturing the big prize.
"The experience has been emotional and incredibly rewarding," Malat said. "After working with the fantastic committee, meeting the artists, and using our space to share their work, I feel as though a sense of community has been restored in the art world."