The Winner’s Show
Abel Marquez, Rob Saunders & Ron Schagrin
DEC 18, 2021 – JAN 8, 2022
SCHEDULE UPDATE: The City of Wilton Manors will be hosting an early voting site in the Island City Cultural Center beginning January 1, 2022. The gallery, per se, will not be open, but, for those choosing to vote early, you’ll be treated to an extraordinary art exhibit while performing your civic duty. Thanks!
MEET THE ARTISTS …
Abel Márquez is an Argentinian-American artist living and working in Fort Lauderdale. He has been recognized more than 17 times in the USA and abroad, including the 2008 Gold Medal Award at the Pastel Society of America International Competition. Abel has been featured in national publications including Pastel Journal, The Artist Magazine, Pastelagram (PSA), and art books like 40 Maîtres Du Pastel, France, 2016.
He is working with different mediums , but seems to favor soft pastels, gouache and oil. Light, atmosphere and realism with exquisite details characterizes Abel’s work.
Abel Márquez is working in his studio and teaching at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale. Follow him on Instagram @abelmarquezarte.
For South Florida artist Rob Saunders, painting and drawing is a promise fulfilled – to himself.
In the 70s and 80s while working in journalism in New York, Rob enrolled in weekly portrait-painting classes at the Art Students League. After a year or two, he became accomplished enough to garner numerous local portrait commissions.
However, there followed a 25-year hiatus from painting as divorce, kids in college, his career and aging parents etc. left little room for art. All the while, though, he resolved to return to the easel after retiring, and he did.
Nowadays, he has expanded from realist portraiture into figurative artwork in styles that range from contemporary classical to expressive abstraction. Painting and drawing, he readily admits, are his passion. “I couldn’t ask for a more fulfilling second act.” Follow Rob on Instagram @saundersartwork.
Ron Schagrin decided to go back to school in the spring of 2015. Back to Northeast Senior High School (NEHS) in Fort Lauderdale where he had graduated in 1967. NEHS had an adult education program and one of the non-academic classes being offered was ceramics – all levels from beginners to advanced! Instructor Wayne Pelke gave a quick overview of what to expect from the 8-week class and an artist was born. Ron fell in love with hand building with clay.
During the pandemic in 2020, Ron set up a home studio in his garage and continued to work with hand building different objects d‘art. The isolation provided him the opportunity to be creative and try different ideas. Through Zoom, he enrolled in virtual classes from different art schools that were offered, from NYC, Chicago, LA and San Francisco. He was introduced to a wide range of new techniques. Ron says, “My hope is that you will enjoy my work as much as I have enjoyed creating it.” Follow Ron on Instagram @schagrinceramic.