4 on 4 New York Wine Art Competition Event Photos and Highlights

JORDAN VINEYARD & WINERY AWARDS $10,000 IN CASH PRIZES TO N.Y. ARTISTS

In honor of our 40th anniversary, Jordan Vineyard & Winery awarded $10,000 in cash prizes to New York-area artists as part of the 4 on 4 Wine New York Art Competition exhibition event on June 6, which was organized by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and drew a sold-out crowd of nearly 100 local wine lovers, artists, journalists, and epicures to Sherry-Lehmann Wine & Spirits for an elegant evening blending wine, food and art.

Part of a coast-to-coast, four-city initiative to marry the distinct flavors of metropolitan cities with the essence of Jordan wines and Sonoma wine country, the 4 on 4 New York Wine Art Competition culminated in a one-night-only public exhibition and Jordan wine tasting presenting the top five of 30 original entries, featuring works by celebrated Mexico-born visual artist Andrea Arroyo, Taiwanese-American handbag designer and artist Stella Chang, life-long New York state resident and painter Jen Ferguson, Mexico-born illustrator and cartoonist Felipe Galindo and Mexican-American mixed media artist Stephanie Mead.

A panel of judges specializing in art and all things epicure—NYFA Deputy Director Mark Rossier; noted artist, art critic and curator D. Dominick Lombardi; magazine columnist and “Today Show” blogger Julieanne Smolinski; food writer and NY1 television anchor Michelle Park; editor of GrubStreet.com New York and author Alyssa Shelasky; celebrity caterer Andrea Correale of Elegant Affairs Catering; and cookbook author and journalist Corinne Trang—selected one grand award winner, two first runners up and two second runners up from the five finalists. Guests mingled through the exhibition while sipping Jordan 2009 Chardonnay and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by charcuterie stations from Chef Mark Chabus of Heavenly Chef.

The grand award winner of 4 on 4 New York was Celebrate! by Stephanie Mead, a Brooklyn-based artist specializing in intricate works that combine watercolor painting and hand sketching. Born in California to a Mexican mother and American father, 26-year-old Mead moved to New York in 2010 to pursue her art career after graduating from San Diego State University. Her strikingly elegant painting measures 25×36 inches and depicts colorful grape leaves cradling the iconic, blue-washed Manhattan skyline. Mead says, “Together, the grapes, the Jordan winery family and the community are a harmonious entity, glowing in the growth of their achievements as the sun rises on their occasion.” Mead will receive a check for $7,000, and her work of art will be transformed into a limited-edition lithograph for Jordan’s loyal New York-area fan base.

First runner-up honors went to Felipe Galindo’s Jordan in the City and Stella Chang’s Cheers! Each first runner-up will be presented a check in the amount of $1,000. Originally from Mexico, Galindo is an award-winning artist, illustrator, cartoonist and animator whose work has been featured in world-renowned museums (Guggenheim) and notable publications, such as The New Yorker, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Married to fellow artist Andrea Arroyo, who ironically also was a 4 on 4 New York Art Competition finalist, Galindo has permanent art at a New York subway station, which inspired him to create an edgy, mixed media entry for the competition that melded Manhattan’s subway map, skyline and the Statue of Liberty with the Jordan winery chateau and a Cabernet Sauvignon wine bottle.

Stella Chang, who was born in California but raised in Taiwan, Canada and Detroit, ventured outside of her artistic comfort zone as a handbag designer for her art-cum-fashion company ModaRévisé to create a mixed media piece that combines wine’s Bacchanalian spirit with the elegance of Broadway theatre and the vibrant colors of Manhattan subway tiles. Cheers! also took home the 4 on 4 New York Art Competition People’s Choice award, which was chosen by guests during the event.

Andrea Arroyo’s New York Celebrates Jordan and Jen Ferguson’s Wine City took home the second-runner up titles and prizes of $500 each. Arroyo immigrated to Manhattan from Mexico in the 1980s to study professional dance and performed professionally for a few years before transitioning into visual arts. She met her husband—fellow artist and 4 on 4 Art Competition finalist Felipe Galindo—in New York where they now reside. Internationally renowned, Arroyo’s work is included in the permanent collections of numerous museums and institutions, including The Library of Congress, the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution. She’s also been featured in hundreds of news stories and was named “Outstanding Latina of the Year” by El Diario la Prensa of New York. For the 4 on 4 New York Art Competition, Arroyo created 38×26-inch acrylic and mixed media masterpiece with vibrant colors and whimsical lines that showcased the Jordan chateau atop a skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan.

Jen Ferguson, who grew up in rural upstate New York, is a self-taught painter who studied illustration at Pratt Institute and has resided in Brooklyn since 1992, though exhibitions of her work take her to Paris, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Ferguson’s detailed 30×30-inch oil painting depicts Manhattan’s skyline as wine bottles rising into the sky and a vineyard flowing from the streets with the iconic Jordan chateau nestled at the end of iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

Original sketches and finished works of art submitted to Jordan Winery’s 4 on 4 New York Art Competition are available for purchase from NYFA through June 30, 2012. Prices range from $350 to $7,000. Inquiries can be directed to David Terry at 212-366-6900, ext. 240 or dterry@nyfa.org. Please note that the grand award-winning painting and original submission by Stephanie Mead have been sold, but limited-edition reprints may be offered by Jordan Winery this fall. For information, please email info@jordanwinery.com.

“We were honored to partner with Jordan Vineyard & Winery on this event and applaud their commitment to celebrating the importance of art during such a significant company milestone,” said Mark Rossier, Deputy Director of NYFA. “NYFA’s mission is to empower artists are critical stages in the creative lives, and we are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to introduce a larger public to the work of these five wonderful artists through NYFA’s Curatorial Program.”

View a photo gallery of all 4 on 4 New York Art Competition entries here.

For more information about the 4 on 4 Art Competition, please visit our news post.