Kosmas Ballis of KAJ Gallery recently judged the Naples Fine Art Show
Kosmas Ballis, co-owner of KAJ Gallery, was the sole judge of the second bi-annual Naples Fine Art Show which was held at the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt on March 30 and 31, 2019.
The Naples Fine Art Show is a high quality juried fine art and fine craft show where all art is original and personally handmade by the artists who are present at the show. Jury selection was based on originality, technique, execution, and overall booth presentation.
Because of his expertise and knowledge in a wide variety of art styles and mediums, Ballis was chosen to be the sole judge for this competition. He is an accomplished ceramicist who attended the Kansas City Art Institute and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University. Ballis won the Gold Prize for ceramics at the 2016 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, which allowed him to spend nine months working with various museums throughout Asia.
Individuals entered their original and personally handmade art pieces in the professional division of the competition. The juried fine art and craft show was presented by Hot Works Art Shows.
There were 17 professional artist awards presented at the show: Best of Show – Selma Karaca and Russ Schmidt; Five Awards of Excellence – Fisun Onomay, Terri Cadman and Martha Cummins, Charles Strain, Sue Ayala and Christopher Buonomo; Ten Awards of Distinction – Zaki, Antwerp, Mick Fortney, Ben Foster, Svetlana Kuznets, Ricky Lowe, Sanjib Mallik, Jaochim McMillan, Peggy Miller, Carmen Possobon, and Xiao Xia Zhang Minich and Li Wen.
About KAJ Gallery: KAJ Gallery’s focus is to bring some of the finest contemporary artwork to the Naples, Florida community. The gallery is a joint venture by longtime friends Jason Taylor and Kosmas Ballis. Taylor is an accomplished plastic surgeon and is currently based in Los Angeles. He specializes in reconstructive cleft palate surgery for children. Ballis attended the Kansas City Art Institute and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University. He’s also an accomplished ceramic sculptor who has work in museums throughout the world.
The Gallery is located at 462 Tamiami Trail between 4th and 5th Avenues North. For more information, call 239-234-7918 or visit www.kajartgallery.com.
