California artist, Adonne Khare won $200,000 at the ArtPrize Michigan contest after displaying her 13-foot-by-8-foot canvas called “Elephants”. The carbon pencil work of art competed against other 1,517 drawings from 56 countries and 45 states.
Adonne Khare and many other artists from 56 countries and 45 states took part at the ArtPrize contest held in Michigan, on Friday. Her carbon pencil drawing entitled “Elephants” was declared the winner of this year’s edition due to the magnificent images illustrated on the 13-foot-by-8-foot canvas. Khare went home with $200,000, whereas the other contestants received significant prizes, as well.
Adonne Khare was born and raised in Burbank, California. She told the press that she used the “Elephants” work of art to document her past year and a half. Thus, the drawing is not just an illustration of the friendly animals, but also a testimonial of her daughter’s birth, of the connections she has with other people and the various feelings she experienced in this period of time. Loss, sickness, happiness are some of the emotions that viewers may trace on the canvas.
The fourth edition of the competition began on September 19 and the names of the winners have been communicated on October 5th. The organizers offered $560,000 to the winners of 16 installations. The best drawings were selected through public voting and experts’ decision.
This was the first time when the $100,000 Juried Grand Prize was awarded for an exhibition of found artifacts called “Displacement, 13208 Klinger”. The items were found in a vacant home in Detroit which was located at the address 13208 Klinger. Mitch Cope and his wife, Regina Reichert were the ones who found the artifacts in the abandoned house and decided to collect them for the exhibition.
The couple is the leader of Powerhouse Productions, a nonprofit foundation in charge of renovating abandoned structures for the stabilization of Detroit’s neighborhoods. The two visited the house and noticed there were hundreds of paintings that spoke about the family’s past. They decided to gather them and display every drawing during the exhibition.
