At the Festival, every artists who gets their work in the exhibition is a winner. The visual art is the backbone of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival. Here are the pieces of art that caught the attention of our jury and attendees. Selections are based on: execution, emotions elicited, subject matter, the ability to spark conversations, and the undefinable “This one is my favorite”. Feel free to visit these artists’ websites and see more of their work. Remember that some of their work and websites are NSFW.
Jury Choice Awards
The jury agonizes over which pieces will make up the Seattle Erotic Art Festival Visual Art exhibition each year. And as a reward for their hard work, we ask them to choose three pieces that stand out just a little more than the rest to receive the Jury Choice Award. These artists will return to to the next year’s Festival as Invited Artists.
Art by Cath Orain
“Oppression” by Cath Orain.
Cath Orain is an embroidery artist from Paris, France. “I’ve been doing erotic embroidery since 2009. The purpose of my work is exploring representation of female body and carnal desire by means of textiles and embroidery. I chose textile for the sensuality of its texture and I use traditional techniques to create erotic pictures which is different from like typical traditional embroidery. I sometimes mix in other graphic techniques (drawing pencil, markers,inks…) In my work the nude body becomes militant and isn’t only the instrument of male pleasure, but, it also has a political and social context: a reaction to puritanism and male chauvinism. This nude body is the flag of women’s sensuality, her pride and the object of her pleasure shared with her partner, love, desire, being desired, woven into passionate relationships over embroidery.
Art by Vilèm
“Bizzaria No. 54” by Vilèm.
Vilém’s passion for photography started as an avenue of self-expression and communication. Born in Moravia, Czechoslovakia, Vilèm came to the United States at the age of eighteen.
Vilèm consciously reinvents, supplements, counteracts, and alters dimensions, by capturing his delight in the everyday. He adheres to a strict rule of using natural light and surroundings in addition to the immediate human element, leaving any post production digital manipulations to the minimum. He is truly a painter of light in every meaning of the word. Whether you perceive Vilèm’s art to be abstract, unconventional, or contemporary, you can rest assured that it is both a mesmerizing and immeasurable experience, that leaves you inspired by its depth desiring more.
Art by Chris Sheridan
“White Specter: Life, Death, and Awakenings” by Chris Sheridan.
Chris is originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts and now calls Seattle, Washington home. His lifelong commitment to learning and growing began with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration from the Ringling College of Art and Design, followed by a Master’s of Fine Art in Painting at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He is an award-winning artist who has been included in numerous publications including The Citrus Report, Newbrow: 50 Contemporary Artists, The Better Bombshell, and Miroir Magazine. He has shown extensively nationally and internationally, including a month-long artist residency and solo show in Vienna, Austria. Additionally, Chris was recently a professor at the Art Institute of Seattle, and is currently a teaching artist at the KOH Atelier at Gage Academy of Art.
People’s Choice Awards
Art by Inna Rohr
This year, we also reintroduced the People’s Choice Award, because more awards is more fun. The People’s Choice Voting Wall was a huge success! Festival attendees received 3 tickets (with an extra ticket given to art buyers) and given the opportunity to place their tickets in ballot boxes that matched each piece of visual art in the exhibition. With more than 1,300 people casting 4,062 votes over the three days of the festival, the voting wall always had someone seeking the ballot box for their favorite pieces art. Every piece of art received votes from patrons. The artists who created the 3 pieces of art with the most votes will be invited to be part of the SEAF2019 Festival.
“Laundry Day” by Inna Rohr.
Inna Rohr is a painter residing in Arizona, USA. “I like things moody, intense and raw in my art… with a side of silly. I enjoy exploring and exposing our daily lives with all of our entanglements, habits, and quirks that make us so wonderfully human.”
Art by Olivier Duhamel
“The Shed” by Olivier Duhamel.
Born 1957 in France, Olivier Duhamel is a prolific and respected sculptor. Duhamel has acquired a masterful command of the figurative form. His bronze figurines and laminated sculptures have won awards and are held in many private and public collections. After extensive travels in Europe, northern, western and central Africa and the South Pacific, Duhamel settled in New Zealand in 1987. He now shares his time between Canberra, Australia and Waiheke Island. He has established a bronze sculpture practice and a network of art galleries representing his work in New Zealand, in Australia and in Europe. He teaches, publishes, takes commissions, and runs a life drawing class.
Art by Chthonic Photography
“NightsPassion” by Chthonic Photography.
Jake Yarton is Chthonic Photography and a U.S. Army veteran of 8 Years. He works on photography and digital manipulation. Key focal points on textures, and light. He is self taught, and has been practicing his art for 6 years since he left the army.
Foundation Award
Each year the Festival purchases one piece of art to add to the Pan Eros Foundation’s private collection. The Pan Eros Foundation, formally known as the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture, mission is to cultivate and celebrate sexuality. The Foundation’s collection will be on display in our new gallery that will be open this summer.
Art by Lewisa
The Foundation is proud to add “Floating” by Lewisa to its collection.
Lewisa has been a sculptor since creating wax horses galloping across the dining room table during formal dinners as a child. Moving into nearly every medium imaginable she has continually come back to her first love of sculpture. She attended Otis Parsons Art Institute and Antioch University. Her sculpture is inspired by the elegance and sensual nature of the human form in dance and athletic prowess, often with a focus of metamorphosis into animal form. She has participated in both group and solo shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Santa Fe as well as several cities in California, Arizona and North Carolina. Her work has been collected privately all over the world. Currently along with sculpting she is working on an illustrated erotic fairy tale series based on character transformation.