Does art have to shock to be good?  In the contemporary art world there is great emphasis placed on shock value – but is this really representative of the good, creative and talented artists of today?  What happened to the days when talent and skill were important; when the ability to paint the human figure was considered an artist’s ultimate goal?  The art community needs to embrace, celebrate, appreciate, collect and support GOOD academic art and artists; those who not only have the talent to translate onto paper or canvas what they see,  but have the ability to create unique, interesting and thought provoking works of art in the representational style.

The ultimate goal of The Big Gamble is to celebrate the good, the talented, and the skilled contemporary artist working in the academic tradition.

We chose this theme for a number of reasons:  The whole idea of an exhibit in today’s art world that is academic in nature is a gamble in and of itself.  Will people respond?  Will they react?  Will they come?  More importantly, we felt it was important to give the works in the exhibition a common thread.  The participating artists (currently 33 in number) were asked to use the phrase “THE BIG GAMBLE” as inspiration for their work.  Some chose to explore the theme quite literally, others took a humorous approach, and still others explored ideas that were more personal which reflects a big gamble in their life (a choice or turning point that make life more interesting and fulfilling, or not ?). Whichever road the artist chose to explore the theme, we know you will be intrigued by the stories that inspired them.

Among the roster of artists who will be participating in this exhibit are Anthony J. Waichulis (director of The Ani Art Academies, Waichulis), Timothy W. Jahn (director of The Ani Art Academies, Anguilla), Ed Dillon (director of The Ani Art Academies, Dominican Republic), Tim Reynolds (founder of the Ani Art Academies project), Brian O’Neill, Omar Rodriguez, Helen Crispino and many others.

We know you will find this exhibit not only filled with beautiful and skilled works of art; but intriguing, inspiring, thought provoking and we hope that each will bring a little laughter and enjoyment into your life ... because, in the end, isn’t that what art is all about?