Congratulations Heidi Kirpatrick! Critical Mass Winner

Congratulations to 23 Sandy Gallery artist Heidi Kirkpatrick, who has finished in the top three for this year's Critical Mass competition sponsored by Photolucida. You may have heard me talk about Photolucida before, that Portland-based photography non-profit that is near and dear to my heart. The work this terrific organization does much to further the field of photography as an art form.

From the Photolucida blog: "The Center for Fine Art Photography awarded their solo show award to Heidi Kirkpatrick. Heidi's work champions the use of film and looks at photography as an object—she produces three dimensional photographic sculptures made with found objects and images (some pulled from Grey's Anatomy). She explores topics such as family narratives, the female figure, and physical pain."

Each year over 600 photographers submit their work to Critical Mass. The first round of jurying narrows the field down to 150 artists and then a group of highly-respected gallerists, curators, writers and other photography thinkers further narrow the field to the Top 50. From there, another round of voting and then three books and exhibition prizes are awarded to the very best of the best.

We are very proud of Heidi. Her window perch in the gallery is one of the most popular spots and when we re-open the gallery in February Heidi's space will be expanded to include even more of her terrific work, with more frequent rotation. We are also planning a solo show in the gallery for Heidi in the fall, so stay tuned.

Congratulations, Heidi. Well deserved!