Winners, 2010-11
Ricardo Grullon
Sculpture
“I am a passionate artist who feels art is a great way to express feelings,emotions and communicate with others visually. My personal and academic goals include graduating on time and becoming a well rounded, educated artist in all types of media. Academically, I am very interested in learning more about computer animation/design and one day being part of a large company that can use my artistic background to help communicate their ideas and thoughts.”
Greg Leibowitz
Printmaking
“I am a non-traditional student, who is going back to school to pursue a career in a field that I care deeply about. I recently organized an art auction which raised $3,500 for the people of Haiti a week after the earthquake, where all of the art was completely donated and 100% of the proceeds went to Doctors Without Borders. I would also like to organize fellow students/peers and work as a collective to produce professional campaigns for organizations that need help. My future goals are to open a design studio and produce campaigns for non-profits and other organizations that truly need great art work for a low cost.”
Juan Manuel Mesa
Painting
“I was born in Medellin, Colombia; a city where music and fine arts are a significant influence on its culture. I liked playing music, but I was not able to express myself through a musical instrument. My mother registered me in sculpture classes. These classes finally helped me to understand that creating new things with my hands was the passion of my life. During my studies, I fell in love with the use of technology and the creation of new virtual worlds and cinematography effects. My goals in life are to expand my designing techniques and concept development of my own three-dimensional art to new horizons.”
Gabriel Quinones
Painting
“Art is the one thing that I have been true to all of my life. Ever since I was young, everyone has known me as an artist. At first it was just a hobby, but now I know it is something I want to do for the rest of my life. My goal is to be a successful artist of all kinds of mediums. My favorite medium to work with is mixed media. I find that I can make more visually interesting patterns and textures using mixed media. My favorite kind of art is surrealism. Artists like Dali, Escher, and Bosch all inspire me to think outside of the box, but I believe I am here to change the box.”
Kwok Yin Mak
Digital Media
“Born and spent the first 12 years of my life in Hong Kong, I simply wasn’t prepared for the challenges I was about to face. After moving to America, I became very quiet and isolated because of the language barrier. And from that point, I began to pay extra attention to everything around me simply because I wanted to learn. As I learned more about what is surrounding me, the more it impacted me. And that inspired me to have the urge to create a similar effect toward other people. My artwork is all about giving impact to the audience. I believe the only way to fully deliver an idea or an expression is to have the right design and a good execution. After college, I plan to get my foot in the advertising field.”