Masters of Wildlife Art, International Juried Art Exhibition
- sarahsoward
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Congratulations to all the artists of Masters of Wildlife Art 2025! This is our third Masters of Wildlife Art virtual exhibition, and it is every bit as stunning as the last two.
We received entries from all over the world and are excited to show you this juried collection of wild animal art. This virtual exhibition includes illustrative works, abstraction, hyper-realism, contemporary art, and some very poignant and dramatic pieces. We hope that you enjoy it.
It is the goal of Wild Heart Gallery to support and promote animal and wildlife artwork in a wide range of genres and styles. Artwork for this exhibition was selected by jury based on theme, originality, skill, and quality of work. We brought in three new-to-us jurors for this one, and the gallery is excited to see that they also appreciate a range of styles when it comes to wildlife art. Jurors were Sarah Soward, Sharon Eisley, Janet Rawlings, Chris O'Dell Ferguson, and Zoltan Boros.
Awards: Best of Show, Overall Runner Up, Artivism Award, Overall Honorable Mentions, and Finalists. There is also an art section of Selected Works.
Click on an image below to enlarge it.
BEST OF SHOW
Biophilia II, by Carel Brest van Kempen 24 x 18 inches, Acrylic on Illustration Board
From the artist, "A Tapanuli Orangutan eyes a Great Flying Lizard in a Sumatran forest."
There is both a distance and a closeness in this piece. The orangutan and the lizard seem to eye each other, their gazes just missing our own. And yet, it feels as if we are also being considered. The vertical tree trunk and limb along with the orangutan's pose keep us from getting too close. The viewer is both drawn in by the gaze and pushed back by the composition. It's an enticing painting.
The choices on where to go all in with detail versus abstracting away reality into shapes of color leads us through the painting. We are told where to focus, but rewarded with gems of subtle painterliness (and a jungle bird) if we look away from the main characters in this piece.
And bravo on creating so much mood through lighting and color!
OVERALL RUNNER UP
Riparian Rashomon, by Carel Brest van Kempen
31 x 20 inches, Acrylic on Illustration Board
From the artist, "A vertical diptych, painted in acrylics, showing two views of a Brilliant Forest Frog evading an Agami Heron in a Central American river."
Carel Brest van Kempen creates complicated and detailed paintings. For me, this is the epitome of his style. Every inch of this painting has purpose and is loaded with visual information. The water contains life, reflections, and also lets the viewer see through its surface from above or below. It's one part mirror and two parts window. The surface is like a pane of glass that separates two rich worlds.
ARTIVISM AWARD
The Hollow Crown, by Kat Stachura 22 x 5.1 x 6 in, Ceramics, Artificial Gemstones, Strings, FibersÂ
From the artist, "This ceramic piece, incorporating mixed media elements, represents more than just a rhinoceros—the gentle giant of the wilderness—it stands as a symbol of an entire species and its fading presence. The deliberate removal of the horn stands for the absence, mourning, and the permanence of loss. In its place, I have placed decorative elements—gemstones and tassels—to reflect the complex and often conflicting motivations behind dehorning.
"In the wild, horns are sometimes removed to deter poachers and ultimately protect the animals. Yet in other contexts, the horn itself becomes a commodity: used in traditional Chinese medicine, presented as a symbol of wealth in parts of Asia, and traded as contraband on the black market. These elements speak to the commodification of life—the transformation of a living being into a vessel of value, status, or superstition.
"Traditionally a symbol of power, identity, and survival, the missing horn now becomes a silent testimony to violence and grief—a hollow where something vital once was. This absence echoes not only the trauma of the individual creature but also the existential threat facing the species as a whole.
"This work is a visual elegy, and a call to bear witness—to reckon with the deep scars left by human exploitation and to reflect on our participation in the loss of biodiversity."
OVERALL HONORABLE MENTIONS
Congratulations to our Overall Honorable Mention winners, Holly Kavonic, Maryam Fardinfard, Morgan Cameron, Karolina Marcol, John Serediuk, Heather Mitchell, Kim Fortin, Kathryn Hansen, and Theresa Novak.
FINALISTS
Congratulations to our award Finalists, Lynn Kibbe, James Miller, Daved English, Renny Spencer, Sarah Schoenfeld, Catherine Sonnemann, Cher Gauthier, Milan Hristev, Amanda Tankersley, Douglas Aja, Morgan Cameron, Shay Davis, Karla Mann, Caleb Carr, Peter Mathios, Susan Wehrman, and Christopher Baker.
SELECTED WORKS
This section is for works that are selected for the virtual exhibition here on wildheartgallery.com but are not awarded.
Congratulations to our Selected Works artists, Ksystof Cetyrkovski, Christophe Drochon, Tim Gillespie, Christopher Baker, Helen Turkdogan, Kathryn Hansen, Philippa Lavers, Douglas Burgess, Chamindra de Silva Abeyewickreme, Morisson Brigitte, Sandra Gschnell, Charlene Mosley, Christine Lamberth, and Suzie Seerey-Lester.
See more entries!
The top 100-plus entries are also available to view on our art submission partner site: ArtCall.org
These additional images will be available to view through April 1, 2026. After that date, ArtCall.org automatically archives the pages.
Award Distribution for Masters of Wildlife Art 2025
Best in Show receives $500 cash award and promotion on the following: Art Week, Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media and other online media channels, WHG's eNewsletter, and WHG's home page (for duration of the exhibition).
Overall Runner Up receives $200 cash award and promotion on Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media/other online media channels and WHG's eNewsletter and inclusion in a virtual group exhibition that lasts at least one month.
Artivism Award receives $50 cash award and promotion on Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media/other online media channels and WHG's eNewsletter and inclusion in a virtual group exhibition that lasts at least one month.
All award recipients receive promotion on Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media/other online media channels and WHG's eNewsletter and inclusion in a virtual group exhibition that lasts at least one month. All award recipients also receive an award certificate, emailed as a PDF to the email address used for the submission process.
This art exhibition was juried by Sarah Soward, Sharon Eisley, Janet Rawlings, Chris O'Dell Ferguson, and Zoltan Boros.