Saatchi Art Announces The Finalists For The World's Most Highly-Submitted Art Prize

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Saatchi Art, the world's leading online art gallery, today announced the finalists in its "In Glorious Colour" Showdown competition, presented in partnership with the Saatchi Gallery and Winsor & Newton. The prize, which attracted a record-breaking 6,440 entries in an entry period of just 12 days, is the most highly-submitted art prize in the world.

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Launched in 2010 as an opportunity for art collectors to discover emerging artists from around the world, Showdown is a competition hosted by Saatchi Art for artists to showcase their work and have the chance for it to be judged by internationally celebrated artists and curators. The artist Jaime Gili, widely acclaimed for his vividly coloured geometric works, joins previous judges who have included Barnaby Furnas, Ged Quinn, Wangechi Mutu, Peter Coffin, Dexter Dalwood, Matthias Weischer and Chantal Joffe.

Saatchi Art is delighted to again partner with Winsor & Newton, who have been making the finest art materials since the company was founded in 1832. The works of the 10 finalists will be shown in exhibition at Winsor & Newton's gallery, the Griffin Gallery, in London from 20 March - 18 April. There will be a private view on 19 March from 6.30 - 8.30pm during which Jaime Gili will announce the winner and runner-up. The winner and runner-up will receive Winsor & Newton art materials to the value of £1000 and £500 GBP, respectively.

A longlist of 300 artists was chosen by the Saatchi Art community and by curators from Saatchi Art. The 30 shortlisted artists were selected by Rebecca Wilson, Chief Curator, Saatchi Art. The 10 finalists, chosen by Jaime Gili, Rebecca Pelly-Fry, Director, Griffin Gallery, and Nigel Hurst, CEO, Saatchi Gallery, are: Robert von Bangert (USA), Matt Coombs (USA), Arpad Forgo (Hungary), Jonathan Gabb (UK), Guy Matchoro (France), Cécile van Hanja (Netherlands), Dragomir Misina (UK), Alexandros Papathanasiou (Italy), Jessica Rimondi (Italy), and Vivien Zhang (UK).

For more information about Showdown and to view the finalists, please visit www.saatchiart.com/showdown.

News media contact:
Nicole Garton, Saatchi Art
[email protected] | +1 310.869.7797

SOURCE Saatchi Art