For this year's Midwest edition of New American Paintings, we are excited to feature Lisa Dorin, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, as this edition’s juror, and her selections reflect the exceptional quality of applicants from this part of the country. We are also pleased to feature Editor’s Selections with each competition’s winners, a handful of artists selected by our editorial staff, introduced in our last issue.

Peregrine Honig, Feathered Puke, 2010 | mixed media on paper, 15 x 10.5 inches

The Spotlight feature for this edition focuses on the work of Kansas City, MO artist Peregrine Honig, whose work conflates social hierarchies with fashion and art world affections. Recently featured as a contestant in the inaugural season of Bravo’s reality television series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, Honig lets us in on her time under the microscope and the work the experience produced. (Read a sneak peek here!)

Also included is a brief Q&A with juror Lisa Dorin, providing further insight into her perspective as a contemporary art enthusiast, both professionally and personally, including descriptions of her favorite works in the AIC collection and her own. New American Paintings is excited to include her insights with this edition.

Evan J. Garza
Editor-at-Large