Puerto Rican artist ADÁL (Adal Maldonado, Santurce, Puerto Rico) is one of the finalists of the 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition sponsored by The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. His work is included in “The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today”—a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery being inaugurated on Friday, October 25, 2019, and running through August 30, 2020. Grand Prize winners will be announced at the inauguration. Other artists of Caribbean origin on the list are David Antonio Cruz (Brooklyn, NY / Boston, MA) and Michael Vasquez (Miami, FL).

Description: The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced the finalists for its fifth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Their work will be presented in “The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today,” a major exhibition premiering at the National Portrait Gallery Oct. 26 through Aug. 30, 2020. Every three years, artists living and working in the United States are invited to submit one of their recent portraits to a panel of experts chosen by the museum. The works of this year’s nearly 50 finalists were selected from over 2,600 entries. The first-prize winner, to be announced this fall, will receive a cash award of $25,000 and a commission to create a portrait of a living person for the museum’s permanent collection.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition encourages artists from across the United States to submit artworks that challenge the definition of portraiture. This year’s competition received entries in a variety of media, and the winning artworks reflect the very compelling and diverse approaches that today’s artists are using to tell the American story through portraiture. Finalists have come from 14 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Seven artists have been shortlisted for prizes. The winners and allotted amounts will be announced at a press preview Oct. 25. [. . .]

“The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition was founded to support the next wave of contemporary portraiture in the United States,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “The diversity of this edition’s entries, from geographic origin to subject matter, reflects the multifaceted story of contemporary America. Topics range from stories of migration to the celebration of urban youth culture. The exhibition promises to pay close attention to the LGBTQ community, American workers and those facing injustice because of their race or immigration status. The selected artworks attest to the relevance of portraiture today as a powerful affirmation of the human experience.” [. . .]

For more information, see https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-portrait-gallery-announces-2019-outwin-boochever-portrait-competition

Photo above from https://www.puertoricoartnews.com/2017/01/artistas-de-puerto-rico-premiados-y.html