Elisha Gold won the $1,000 Grand Prize for his sculpture in an overall competition among the 20 local artists chosen to exhibit at venues scattered among businesses in the heart of Memphis for the Unveil Downtown art walk and auction. His pieces are on display at Lansky 126.
A sculptor and painter originally from Mississippi, Gold received his bachelor of fine arts degree from William Carey College in Gulfport before earning a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Memphis in 2009.
Rebekah Laurenzi, exhibiting at Art Under a Hot Tin Roof, took home the second place prize of $500. While she considers herself mainly a sculpture and installation artist, Laurenzi’s current series are a mix of drawings and relief sculptures of crystalline landforms that aim to blur lines between the natural and man-made world. She lives and works in Memphis as an elementary school art teacher.
Jimpsie Ayres was awarded third place with $250. Ayres is a Memphis native who studied fine arts at the universities of Tennessee and Florida. Her landscape paintings are inspired by her Southern childhood, and can be found at Thai Bistro.
Congratulations to these and all of the artists chosen to exhibit for Unveil Downtown! The auction to benefit the Downtown Neighborhood Association will continue until June 20th, so check out the great work and bid on a piece of art in the lobby of the building at 80 Monroe Avenue or online.
