RED
JULY 2026
BEST IN SHOW
JOHN DIEPHOUSE
** RUBY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
** CRYSTAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2023**
* BEL AIR *
Photography
“I am a self-taught photographer and digital collage artist and am attracted to a wide variety of subjects ranging from natural landscapes, botanicals and wildlife to images that provide either abstract expression or social commentary. I am interested in sharing images that evoke a story of some kind. Images may be simply documentary, reflect a sense of time and place or resonate on a more abstract level of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.” — JOHN DIEPHOUSE
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
JAY JOHANSEN
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
* BLAZING SPIRIT *
Acrylic
“My art explores identity, emotion and legacy. Through portraits I capture not just likeness but essence, using bold palettes and textures to evoke nostalgia, intrigue and reflection inviting viewers to connect with deeper stories. Legacy, history & experience — that’s what makes the story telling, by way of oil & acrylic mediums — approachable, relevant & enduring.” — JAY JOHANSEN
GOLDEN TRIO AWARD
HENRIK BAKMANN
GOLDEN TRIO AWARD
VIOLETA KACINSKIENE
* 4Y *
* THE * * RED A *
Digital graphic art/experimental typography print
“In my digital graphic works, the color red serves as the undeniable, visceral pulse driving the composition. My creative practice explores the poetic potential of industrial waste — specifically the negative spaces and fragments left behind from laser-cutting volumetric typography. In this series, red acts as a powerful catalyst for emotional and conceptual transformation. Rather than a mere background choice, the intense crimson hue completely floods the structural grids and de-constructed stencils, charging the sterile, mechanical remnants with a sense of urgency, vitality and raw energy. By enveloping these fractured linguistic textures in a dominant red territory, the text ceases to demand legibility. Instead, it morphs into a vibrant visual landscape where industrial residue is reborn into a striking testament of momentum and artistic power.” — VIOLETA KACINSKIENE
RUBY AWARD
KATHY SAYAD ZATARI
* FIREFALL *
Mixed media
“Abstract artists are brave. It takes courage to let go of a known image — to step into the unknown. Abstract art is improvisation, using rules of composition to step away from reality. One of my favorite quotes is from the philosopher Walter Benjamin, who said, "Strength lies in improvisation. All the decisive blows are struck left-handed." His words spoke to me as an artist. Abstract art should enter an imaginary realm, where neither traditional time nor space exist.
Bravery in abstract art requires the choice of the never told.” — KATHY SAYAD ZATARI
RUBY AWARD
ANNITA APOSTOLIDOU PLATIS
**EMERALD ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2025**
* WHAT WAS NEVER SAID *
Mixed media digital collage
“Inspired by the proverb Speak No Evil, What Was Never Said speaks through what is withheld. Bathed in tones of rust, burgundy and muted gold, the portrait is surrounded by deep red camellias — flowers associated with admiration, longing and hidden love. Their velvety petals echo a softness that is both deliberate and powerful. Gliding through her hair and across her embroidered kimono, koi fish form a quiet current of thought and emotion. Often associated with resilience and spiritual transformation, they embody a silent perseverance that transcends words. Her lips are covered by a single camellia — one final bloom, an emblem of all that remains unspoken. The crimson palette carries the pulse of withheld emotion, while my Japanese monogram, embroidered into the composition, binds personal identity to the symbolic act of silence. Here, silence is not surrender — it is sacred architecture, where what is left unsaid becomes its deepest truth.” — ANNITA APOSTOLIDOU PLATIS
RUBY AWARD
A. DEBRA REICH SCHWALM
* AMERICAN PIE *
Watercolour batik on mulberry paper
“I love the journey for the next inspiring image and how it can be embellished and re-invented into a watercolour batik. Capturing the light is everything. The final results of the textures and transparency is amazing. I like to create a sense of magic, whimsy and GLOW into my art.” — A. DEBRA REICH SCHWALM
RUBY AWARD
RUIQI ZHANG
* APPLE BETWEEN THE LEGS *
Photography
“My practice explores the body as a space of negotiation between personal desire and social construction. Working across moving image and photography, I use symbolism, mythology and everyday objects to create emotionally charged narratives that blur the boundaries between memory, dream and lived experience. I am particularly interested in situations where transformation appears possible yet remains incomplete. Through recurring motifs of concealed bodies, domestic spaces, animals and imagined creatures, I examine how identity is shaped through observation, expectation and internalized ideals. Rather than presenting liberation as a definitive outcome, my work focuses on moments of ambiguity, where escape from one form of confinement may lead into another. Autobiographical experiences often serve as a starting point but the work ultimately moves beyond personal narrative toward broader questions of belonging, displacement and the psychological structures that influence how we inhabit our bodies and our environments. I approach moving image as a space for associative thinking, where emotional logic can replace linear storytelling and where memory, fantasy and reality coexist simultaneously.” — RUIQI ZHANG
RUBY AWARD
LINDA MCCORD
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2022**
* PASSAGES *
Mixed media
“Behind Closed Doors is a new series of acrylic and mixed media paintings that explores the quiet spaces of life that are rarely seen. What exists beyond the surface: private thoughts, hidden stories and moments that unfold away from public view becomes the inspiration for this work. Through layered paint, texture and mixed media elements, each piece suggests a narrative rather than defining it. Hints of structure, fragments of colour and shifting forms invite the viewer to imagine what might be happening on the other side. As with much of my work, the process is intuitive. The paintings evolve through experimentation, allowing unexpected marks and materials to guide the direction of each composition. In Behind Closed Doors, the mystery is intentional, viewers are invited to pause, reflect and create their own stories.” — LINDA MCCORD
CRYSTAL AWARD
(in random order)
AWARD OF MERIT
(in random order)
(in random order)
HONOURABLE MENTION
(in random order)
**WINNERS VIDEO**