"Bright Lights Big City" Showdown Runner-up, Kaloust Guedel

Congratulations to our "Bright Lights Big City" Showdown runner-up, Kaloust Guedel, who lives and works in Los Angeles. Kaloust's painting "Cityscape #147" will be exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery, London.

Check out the Top 10 Finalists: http://saatol.us/10jkWzU

http://www.saatchionline.com/showdown/view/showdown/14/artist/90515

For comments visit to:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151637421163447&set=a.416331628446.190768.143517328446&type=1&theater

 

• Cristina Popovici Congratulations to this innovative artist who successfully continue to captivate, intrigue and stimulate our perception about art. For a better understanding his work I suggest reading his statements.

  Like · Reply · 6 · May 22 at 7:39pm
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  Fay Anagnostopoulou Mantzari @tom sykes: the texture, the layering, the thickness of colour in combination with the use of transparencies, the combo of media, the vibrancy, and the way the shapes are outlined making them come out of the main surface. i love it.

  Like · Reply · 4 · May 22 at 10:25am
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  Zohrab Kemkemian Primarily I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Saatchi for the outstanding artworks that reached the last stage of the competition. Looking at the artwork with its delicate display of the composition, forms, colors, also the precise pl...See More

  Like · Reply · 3 · May 22 at 8:26pm
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  Nick Iskanian Tom Sykes: This work has nothing to do with what they teach in schools and it is unlike anything you have ever seen. Besides... the execution is masterful. In case... you ask the same question about Van Gogh, I'll tell you the same.

  Like · Reply · 2 · May 24 at 4:43pm
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  Andrew J. Barton Good piece! Its far superior in every way to the piece that won 1st place...without any doubt whatsoever.

  Like · Reply · 1 · May 24 at 8:44am · Edited
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  Alexander Sadoyan I couldn't say any better. Absolutely...

  
  
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  George Comer Congratulations Kaloust Guedel!
  Love the work!

  Like · Reply · June 1 at 10:06am via mobile
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  Alain Durbuis great work

  Like · Reply · 5 · May 22 at 6:21am
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  Tom Sykes I would love to know what's 'great' about this.

  Like · Reply · 3 · May 22 at 7:06am
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  Janet Bird Fuller Love this!

  Like · Reply · 2 · May 22 at 8:11am
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  Şemsi Düzgit Congratulations, I don't have a right to say anything about this painting an artist. But in my opinion ; if a contest has a special theme , works should have the same theme.

  Like · Reply · May 23 at 2:26pm

Saatchi Gallery in London to Display Work of Kaloust Guedel

By Anush Kocharyan

11:22, May 24, 2013

Kaloust Guedel is an artist based in Los Angeles with roots in Lebanon.
His Cityscape #147 assemblage/collage art work will soon be on display at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London.
The work came in second out of the ten finalists in the Saatchi Gallery’s recent Showdown competition where artists can showcase their work and be given the chance for it to be judged by internationally acclaimed artists and curators.
The top two works will be shown at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
One of the conditions for entry into the Showdown competition is that the top ten original works must be exclusively for sale on Saatchi Online for 6 months following the end of the competition.
Cityscape #147 is now on sale at Saatchi Online for $8,000.
The work is made by applying acrylic on transparent forms and turned down-side up before placing on surface of the board. This unique technique is experimental in terms of media and its use and produces reflective outcome. in my work bright and uplifting colors represent hope and optimism.
I had a chance to talk to the artist recently about Showdown and his work in general.
I would first like you to talk about Showdown.
In the past thirty years, Charles Saatchi has been one of the most influential figures in the art world. He has a private collection and an artist whose work appears there receives important recognition from art aficionados and the market value of his work increases.
Saatchi has a huge museum of contemporary art in London where his other collections are on display. He also has a web page administered from Los Angeles.
Before talking about the competition itself, why did you choose Cityscape #147 as your entry piece?
The main reason was the theme of the competition, “Bright Lights, Big City”.
The work was done using non-traditional materials. Vinyl, a transparent material, was used. Most of the colors were applied from the back.
This completely changes the traditional approach in painting because in other artists we usually see the last layer and then the previous layers appear less so.
In this case it’s the opposite.
What was the evaluation process of the competition like? Who did the judging?
The competition was comprised of several stages. 3,300 painters submitted works which was filtered down to 300 after the first leg. Of these, 50 were judged on-line and 250 by a Saatchi team.
The prominent artist Eddie Martinez from Brooklyn picked the top ten works in the final round.
So what are your expectations from London?
I still don’t know. I hope to hear some critique, since indifference for me is even worse.