Saatchi Online Showdown

Showdown Submissions Have Started

Submissions for the Places & Spaces Showdown have started!

This Showdown the theme is to submit a piece of work that reflects your environment either literally or figuratively. From your childhood home to a painting of meal that perhaps makes you FEEL at home. This Showdown we want to get to know your individual path, regardless of medium or style of the work.

For more information on the theme check it out here: http://magazine.saatchionline.com/articles/artnews/showdown-announcing-places-spaces

To read about our judges, Kirstine Roepstorff & Matthias Weischer here: http://magazine.saatchionline.com/articles/artnews/judges-announced-for-showdown-kirstine-roepstorff-matthias-weischer

Learn some practical tips about Showdown here: http://magazine.saatchionline.com/articles/artnews/preparing-your-showdown-submission-for-places-spaces-showdown

Marnie Weber to Judge Surreal Showdown

Photo by LeeAnn Nickel, Los Angeles. Photo is courtesy of the artist, Marnie Weber.

We are thrilled to announce that Los Angeles sculptor, performance artist, and musician Marnie Weber will be judging the final round of the  Surreal Showdown. Stemming from the punk rock scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s, Marnie Weber’s work incorporates punk rock’s reactionary energy, creating environments that never cease to shock and awe. Her immersive video installations, theatrical costume- inspired sculptures and nightmarish videos create an uncanny physical environment out of a distant Freudian psyche. Weber has helped defined a style of Los Angeles surrealism filled with theatricality, magic and terror.  Her work has sprung up in such prestigious institutions as the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, as well as unusual locations such as Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum and even a Sonic Youth album. If you’re an artist and wish to participate in Showdown, submissions begin Tuesday, June 5th (12pm pst).  If your an art lover, a collector or a fan of Showdown, stay up to date on all things Showdown here. To learn more about Marnie Weber be sure to check out this video from the  MOCA show, The Artist’s Museum or visit her site www.Marnieweber.com.   All photos are from Marnie Weber’s website and courtesy of the artist.

Surreal Showdown Submission Pointers

Saatchi Online Artists: Each Showdown we receive hundreds of emails asking how to participate.  We’ve compiled a step-by-step checklist to expedite the submission process.  Please give yourself plenty of time, it takes at least 24-48 hours for your ID to be verified if you’ve never sold with us before. (Note: All work submitted to Showdown must be for sale as an original and/or a print). We look forward to your participation. Sincerely, The Saatchi Online Team

Abstract Showdown

Artists, showcase your ABSTRACT style work of any medium into Showdown to win a chance to display your art at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

Not only would you receive recognition, but you may also win a cash prize of up to $1,000! Enter your work by Tuesday, March 13.

The winning piece will be chosen by internationally acclaimed artist Peter Coffin.

Click here to find out more about Abstract Showdown.

Making the Best of Your Abstract Showdown Submission

If you’ve entered Showdown, we’re glad to have you. If you’re considering participating, we wanted to provide you some tips to help your submission stand out to the judges. What’s more, hundreds of thousands of art lovers from around the world will see your submission and will have the opportunity to cast a vote for your work in the preliminary round so we want to help you put your best foot forward.

(Note: The 50 submissions that garnered the most community votes will automatically move along to the second round, along with 250 pieces selected by the Saatchi Online professional staff).

Presentation: Making sure your art can be viewed accurately is one of the most important elements of presenting your work online and of course in participating in Showdown. Lighting, cropping and presentation are essential. Make sure that the background isn’t showing when you crop your image, there aren’t any hot spots in the lighting and be sure to upload high quality images by not overly compressing image files.

For more information on how to photograph your work check out our artist resource page: http://www.saatchionline.com/artschool.

Fill Out All the Boxes: We want to know about you. What’s more art collectors want to as well. If you have an artist statement, we strongly encourage you to put it on your profile page. An artist statement can be anything as long as you think it helps people to understand how you make your work. It can describe what you are thinking, why you make art or even the process of how you made something.

Looking for some inspiration? Kelly Susan, the winner of the last Showdown included a very clear statement about herself and her process. Always ask yourself: who, what,where, when, why and how.

Promote & Market Yourself: The first round of the competition is open for community voting. Other artists, art lovers and collectors will have the chance to cast their vote for your work. Let everyone know that you are participating in the Showdown. In your profile, you’ll find a link to your specific submission. Post your link to facebook, tweet about it, add your submission to Tumblr and of course email your friends and family. Feel free to promote your submission on other artist communities.

The second round will be led by Rebecca Wilson, Director of the Saatchi Gallery London. The final round will be judged by internationally acclaimed artist and Smithsonian Fellow, Peter Coffin.

Understand the Contest Rules:Keep up to date on all the rules and workings of Showdown. Read the blog posts, rules and information provided in order to understand each step of the process. Understand that the Abstract Showdown isn’t restrained to any medium but to the style of abstract work.

Thank you for sharing your talent and enthusiasm with the Saatchi Online Community, we look forward to seeing your work!

- The Saatchi Online Team

“How To” For Showdown Submissions

Saatchi Online Artists: Each Showdown we receive hundreds of emails asking how to participate. We’ve compiled a step-by-step checklist to expedite the submission process. Please give yourself plenty of time (it takes at least 24-48 hours for your ID to be verified if you’ve never sold with us before.) We look forward to your participation.

Internationally Acclaimed Artist Peter Coffin to Judge Showdown

Aura Portrait (Peter), 2000, ©Peter Coffin

We are happy to announce that artist Peter Coffin will be judging our Abstract Showdown competition. Peter Coffin’s interdisciplinary practice explores conceptual point of view and is motivated by the desire to connect with the kind of understanding that invites new perspective and engenders further inquiry.

His artwork often integrates an informal objectivity with the subjective to generate a dynamic between the two. Coffin has mounted solo exhibitions at Herald St. Gallery, London (2011), Galerie Emmanuel Perroin (2010), Manhattan’s City Hall Park with the Public Art Fund (2009 - 2010), the Centre d’art Contemporain d’Ivry in Paris (2010), the Barbican Gallery, London (2009), the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2009), the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco (2009), Centre d’Art Contemporain, Fribourg, Switzerland (2009), Andrew Kreps Gallery, NY (2008), Palais de Tokyo Museum, Paris, France (2007), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2007), le Confort Moderne, Poitier, France (2007) and the Horticultural Society of New York (2007).

His work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Le Musee Oceanographique, Monaco, Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Rome, the Museo de Arte Contemporanea de Vigo, Spain, the Tate Britain, London, the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich and international biennials in London, Berlin, Belgrade, Liverpool, and Moscow. Peter Coffin’s work is in collections including the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Guggenheim Museum, NY, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The French National Arts Council Collection among others.

Currently Coffin is a Smithsonian Research Fellow and is preparing solo exhibitions with the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. in 2013.  

Important Showdown Updates

We are excited to launch the next Showdown. Community participation over the past several months has been extraordinary. Of course we’re thrilled for our winners who were each given the opportunity to show their work in London at the Saatchi Gallery. Perhaps this time it will be you? As you may have noticed, the past two showdowns were “themed” (Drawing & Collage). What’s more, we invited internationally acclaimed artists, Dexter Dalwood and Wangechi Mutu to judge the finals, two updates that have proven very popular. In that same vein, our next Showdown will be style based- - Abstract Art and will be judged by another internationally acclaimed artist (announcement coming soon). As we continue to evolve the competition so that artists and collectors alike have a great experience, we wanted to update you on a some additional changes. We’ve received a great deal of feedback and have made what we feel are very positive adjustments. Changes are as follows: Submissions:

• When you submit your work, it must be within the style of “Abstract” ( you will be asked to “check a box”).
• Your work cannot have been included in a previous Showdown or Saatchi competition.
• Your submission (the Original and/or a Print)MUST BE LISTED FOR SALE during the entire competition.
• Top 300 works must remain for sale for at least 3 months following the Showdown.

Note: an original must be available to show in the gallery should you win 1st or 2nd place. Judging Process:

• Your work will be judged singularly, instead pitted against another work of art as it has been in the past.
• Your work will be judged on a scale from 1-5 instead of yes/no which had been the case in the past.

First Round: Community Voting + Curated Voting

• The 50 submissions with the most votes will automatically advance to the second round.
• An additional 250 submissions will be selected by the Saatchi Online team to advance to the second round.
• This ensures that we have a selection of community favorites as well as work selected by our professional team.
• Submissions begin Tuesday, February 28th.

Second Round Voting

• Judging panel, which will be led by Rebecca Wilson, Director Saatchi Gallery London, will select 30 works to advance to the finals.

Final Voting:

• Internationally acclaimed artist (to be announced) will select 1st and 2nd place winners from a group of 30 finalists.
• Top two pieces will show at the Saatchi Gallery London.
• 1st place ($1,000 US) | 2nd place ($500 US) prize money.

Good luck. Have fun. Stay tuned for details on our judge.

Abstract Showdown

Over the course of their careers, revolutionary minds such as Pollock, Picasso, Richter and Twombly each developed a unique abstract style. Whether iconic paint splashes, geometric fragments, pencil scratches or squeegees, each of these masters can be identified by their mark-making, in essence, the fingerprint they put on the world of art. How do you define and create your abstract work? Whether you are interested in fragmenting form, expressing emotional resonance, or psychological state- we want to see the world the way YOU see it. Even though abstract art had its start in painting and drawing, it continues to destabilize the structure of all art forms it presents itself in. From the goopy sculptures of Rachel Harrison to the geometric oddities of David Altmejd, abstraction is now an idea for creation instead of a set of rules to create from. What does this all mean? It means DON’T LIMIT yourself to any medium. Express yourself however you wish. All that’s required, is your work must be considered ABSTRACT in terms of STYLE, when you upload your work to Showdown. We hope that you’ll participate in the Abstract Showdown and look forward to your submissions. Details on judges, dates and more coming soon. Questions about Showdown, email showdown@saatchionline.com.