Amy Werntz, “Carlyla” (2024), oil on panel (all photos courtesy The Bennett Prize until in any other case famous)
Painter Amy Werntz of Dallas, Texas, has been named winner of the 2025 Bennett Prize. In her work, she strives to “give importance to ordinary moments in everyday life and to show the importance and value of this generation so often overlooked in our society by the lure of youth.”
The most important prize provided solely to ladies figurative realist painters, The Bennett Prize has awarded Werntz $50,000 to create new work for a solo exhibition that may in the end journey the USA.
“In examining the pieces in person, I was struck by the respect for the elderly conveyed by Amy Werntz. Not only were the paintings exquisitely executed, but they also honor a group of individuals who are frequently overlooked,” mentioned Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, juror and co-founder of The Bennett Prize.
“Her level of mastery is remarkable, and her works have a finished, jewel-like quality that is instantly attractive. Her understanding of figurative painting is palpable and her treatment of her subjects is both kind and subtle,” mentioned Steven Alan Bennett, co-founder of The Bennett Prize.
Werntz’s win was introduced on Might 15 on the opening reception for Rising Voices 4: The Bennett Prize on the Muskegon Museum of Artwork, which showcases 30 works by this yr’s finalists by August 24. Concurrently on view on the Michigan museum is The Value of Life, a solo exhibition by Deng Shiqing, the winner of the earlier award cycle.
Werntz, who acquired her BFA in Inside Design in 2002, has exhibited all through the US and has been an award recipient or finalist in lots of competitions, together with the Portrait Society of Americas Worldwide Portrait Competitors, The Bennett Prize 2, and the fifteenth Worldwide ARC Salon. She is represented by Valley Home Gallery in Dallas, Texas.
Additionally introduced as we speak was “The Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt Prize,” which awards Nicole M. Santiago of Williamsburg, Virginia, $10,000 for her distinctive depictions of on a regular basis life.
Nicole Santiago, “Second Time Around” (2017), oil on canvas
Together with Werntz and Santiago, the opposite eight finalists have been:
Olivia Chigas, New York, NY
Nimah Gobir, Oakland, CA
Ambrin Ling, Salem, OR
Jane Philips, Brooklyn, NY
Audrey Rodriguez, Brooklyn, NY
Abbey Rosko, New Tripoli, PA
Helena Wurzel, Cambridge, MA
Rei Xiao, Brooklyn, NY
For the primary time within the prize’s historical past, the members of this yr’s four-person jury have been all ladies: Gloria Groom, curator on the Artwork Institute of Chicago; artists Margaret Bowland and Angela Fraleigh; and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt.
To study extra, go to thebennettprize.org.
Abbey Rosko, “Steve and Peter” (2022), oil on canvas
Shiqing Deng, “Baby Maker” (2024), oil on linen
Nimah Gobir, “Lollipops” (2024), oil paint, material, and embroidery on canvas (courtesy the Assortment of Megan and Todd Lewis)
