{"id":2104,"date":"2024-04-15T14:26:13","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T06:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/?p=2104"},"modified":"2024-04-15T14:26:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T06:26:13","slug":"ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize<\/a>\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly didn\u2019t see myself at that time as being suited for it,\u201d she admits, calling from her home studio in McDonough, Ga. \u201cBut over a series of months, whenever I would talk on the phone with a friend from undergrad, she would remind me: \u2018Okay, have you applied?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Good thing she did. Out of ten talented finalists selected from nearly 700 applicants, Ross walked away with the $50,000 prize, the largest of its kind offered solely to women figurative painters. (Her win was preceded by Aneka Ingold\u2019s, who received the inaugural Bennett Prize in 2019, and succeeded by Shiqing Deng\u2019s, who won the third Bennett Prize in 2023.) The prize also includes a touring solo exhibition, which Ross titled \u201cThe Lessons I Leave You\u201d; still making its way across the country after opening last May, the show is currently on view at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>
Steven Alan Bennett, Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, and Ayana Ross (2021 Bennett Prize Winner) at the opening of \u201cRising Voices 3\u201d at the Muskegon Museum of Art.<\/span>COURTESY OF THE BENNETT PRIZE<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Since winning the prize in 2021, Ross\u2019s career has taken off. She recently opened yet another solo show, \u201cWhence We Came,\u201d at the Reading Public Museum in Pennsylvania, and is currently a Mellon Arts & Practitioner Fellow at Yale University. One is hard-pressed to find paintings in her\u00a0portfolio<\/a>\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>marked as \u201csold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the Bennett Prize is moving into its fourth year, with the call for entries open from April 15 to October 4. As with previous years, a jury will select ten finalists, with a winner and runner up to be announced at the opening reception for the finalists\u2019 exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art in Michigan on May 15, 2025.\u00a0Unlike\u00a0<\/em>previous years, the 2024 Bennett Prize\u2019s jurors are all women: artists Angela Fraleigh and Margaret Bowland; Gloria Groom, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, Bennett Prize co-founder.<\/p>\n

Steven Alan Bennett, Schmidt\u2019s husband and fellow prize co-founder, says Ross\u2019s success \u201chas ratified everything we\u2019d hoped for when we conceptualized the Bennett Prize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>
Ayana Ross:\u00a0The Young Golfer<\/i>, 2023, oil on aluminum, 73 by 49 inches.<\/span>COURTESY KENT KELLY COLLECTION<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s selling her art. She\u2019s traveling. She\u2019s a fellow. She\u2019s making a lot of paintings and experimenting with the bookends,\u201d he says. \u201cEverything we could possibly have conceptualized at the beginning is being realized in her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Ross is now based in McDonough, about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta, she grew up at the opposite end of the state, in smalltown Baxley (population 5,000). With a degree in apparel design and merchandising from Georgia Southern University, she started her career in the fashion industry, in New York City.<\/p>\n

Then, 9\/11 happened. For months, she heard sirens from her downtown office every time another body was recovered at Ground Zero. \u201cIt was difficult to focus on sleepwear and intimate apparel design in the aftermath of that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Ross moved back home to teach art, working with students from pre-K up to college. At first, she experimented with textiles, hoping to build on her experience in the fashion industry. But she recognized the introverted, solitary side of herself in the abridged painter biographies she taught in class: Henry Tanner, Norman Rockwell, Amy Sherrell, Kehinde Wiley, Bo Bartlett. One day, a frustrating shopping trip cemented her path forward.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>
Ayana Ross:\u00a0She Who Knows,\u00a0<\/em>2022, Oil on canvas, 49 by 25 inches.<\/span>COURTESY COLLECTION OF THE MUSKEGON MUSEUM OF ART<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI would get so frustrated going to Hancock and JoAnn\u2019s [two fabric stores] and not finding exactly what I wanted. And then, it hit me: I\u2019m a painter. I can literally\u00a0paint<\/em>\u00a0the color I want,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Teaching full-time meant Ross, in those early days, had to make compromises. A mother, she could only find time to paint at four o\u2019clock in the morning, before her long days in the classroom. At the time, she had to limit herself to small-scale work, in the interest of churning out more canvases. \u201cIt was something I could get done pretty quickly,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The Bennett Prize\u2019s $50,000 award changed all of that practically overnight. It gave Ross permission to, in her words, \u201cfail fabulously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had that two-year period to produce work for the solo exhibition, and just to produce work in general. The Bennett Prize allowed me the space and time to really produce in the way that I wanted to,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>
Ayana Ross:\u00a0I Don\u2019t Even Kill Flies<\/em>, 2022, oil on canvas, 73 by 49 inches.<\/span>COURTESY OF THE BENNETT PRIZE<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It even changed the work itself. Ross doesn\u2019t find that the themes and concerns of her work are any different: her figurative work still probes family histories\u2014with a special focus on dignified portrayals of\u00a0youths\u00a0and\u00a0elders\u2014and \u201cfinding revelations in small moments<\/a>.\u201d But its scale has absolutely changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that the size of the figure changes how you relate to that figure, and I really wanted to create life-size images that were in direct conversation with the viewer. [The Bennett Prize] gave me an opportunity to do that\u2026 Just having the opportunity to be a part of it put me on a different playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that friend who pushed her to take the leap and apply? \u201cShe was there to celebrate with me,\u201d Ross says, smiling at the memory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source\uff1ahttps:\/\/www.artnews.com\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply. \u201cI certainly didn\u2019t see myself at that time as being suited for it,\u201d she admits, calling from her home studio in McDonough, Ga. \u201cBut over a series of months, whenever I would talk on the phone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13,7,4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artist","8":"category-auction","9":"category-events","10":"category-gallery","11":"category-latest-news"},"yoast_head":"\nAyana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Investable Art Auctioneer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Ayana-Ross-Winner-of-the-Second-Bennett-Prize-www.artnews.com_.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"759\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"570\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chloe Nicholls\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chloe Nicholls\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/\",\"name\":\"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/8970f67f73afbf7d021dbf09ccb32744\"},\"description\":\"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/\",\"name\":\"Investable Art Auctioneer\",\"description\":\"Atelier Auction\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/8970f67f73afbf7d021dbf09ccb32744\",\"name\":\"Chloe Nicholls\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17de1bd86f8b21c51e6105f410fd264e72dda3abc6429dc91326e1a0ab2c365c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17de1bd86f8b21c51e6105f410fd264e72dda3abc6429dc91326e1a0ab2c365c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chloe Nicholls\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/author\/chloe-nicholls\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer","description":"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer","og_description":"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/","og_site_name":"Investable Art Auctioneer","article_published_time":"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":759,"height":570,"url":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Ayana-Ross-Winner-of-the-Second-Bennett-Prize-www.artnews.com_.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chloe Nicholls","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chloe Nicholls","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/","url":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/","name":"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d - Investable Art Auctioneer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-15T06:26:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/8970f67f73afbf7d021dbf09ccb32744"},"description":"When Ayana Ross heard that the\u00a0Bennett Prize\u00a0had opened its call for submissions, back in 2020, she almost didn\u2019t apply.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/artist\/ayana-ross-winner-of-the-second-bennett-prize-on-showing-her-work-around-the-country-it-put-me-on-a-different-playing-field\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ayana Ross, Winner of the Second Bennett Prize, On Showing Her Work Around the Country: \u201cIt Put Me on a Different Playing Field\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/","name":"Investable Art Auctioneer","description":"Atelier Auction","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/8970f67f73afbf7d021dbf09ccb32744","name":"Chloe Nicholls","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17de1bd86f8b21c51e6105f410fd264e72dda3abc6429dc91326e1a0ab2c365c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/17de1bd86f8b21c51e6105f410fd264e72dda3abc6429dc91326e1a0ab2c365c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chloe Nicholls"},"url":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/author\/chloe-nicholls\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2106,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104\/revisions\/2106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atelierauction.com\/globalupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}