Winners named in 2014 Young Painters Competition

yp-chen

"Screens," 2013, oil, acrylic on panel, by Xuan Chen is the winner of the 2014 Miami University Young Painters Competition.

Xuan Chen of Albuquerque, N.M., is the winner of the 2014 Miami University Young Painters Competition for the $10,000 William (Miami '36) and Dorothy Yeck Award. Winners of the competition, sponsored by Miami's Hiestand Galleries, College of Creative Arts, were announced Jan. 31. Chen was selected for her work "Screens," which is now part of the Miami University Young Painters Collection.

Chen received an MFA from the University of New Mexico in 2011. She also earned a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 2008.  Among other awards she has received a "Working Artist Grant" in 2013 and first prize from the Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico in 2012.

Nicholas Irzyk of Richmond, Va., received the second place award and $1,500 for his painting "Untitled."

yp-irzyk

"Untitled,"2013, oil, acrylic on linen, by Nicholas Irzyk won second place in the Young Painters Competition.

Benjamin Gardner of Des Moines, Iowa, won third place and $1,000 for his painting "Flower Sermon."

Works by the winners and other finalists will be exhibited through Feb. 13 at Hiestand North Gallery.

Also on display through Feb. 13 is an exhibition by Robert Anderson, winner of the 2013 Miami University Young Painters Competition.

The 2014 Young Painters Competition, which focused on nonrepresentational paintings, was judged by Timothy McDowell.