Betty Bowen Winner Announced

Image: Isaac Layman, Ice Cube Tray, 55 x 118 inches, 2008. Courtesy of Lawrimore Project

Seattle Art Museum just announced this year's winner of the Betty Bowen Award: Isaac Lyman will receive $15,000 from the museum, and his work will be on view at SAM in October.

Layman is the creator of hyper-real photographic works, depicting large-scale images of the artist's home, including a lovely above-view shot of a crusty electric stove, the guts of an old stereo unit, and a truer-than-life interior of a medicine cabinet. He's represented by Lawrimore Project, where his works were shown this summer. (My take on his work here). Just yesterday it was announced that Layman was also selected to be in Tacoma Art Museum's 9th Northwest Biennial.

Special recognition awards go to Eric Elliot and Wynne Greenwood, in the amount of $2,500. Eric Elliot, who will also participate in TAM's 9th Biennial, showed monochrome paintings as James Harris Gallery, while Wynne Greenwood is best known as Tracy of Tracy and the Plastics. A description of her upcoming April 2009 On The Boards performance here.

Runners up for the $15,000 prize are: Painter and sculptor Nicholas Nyland (also seen at Lawrimore) and Portland photographer Alexis Pike.