Bethesda Painting Awards Finalists

Christopher Batten, Baltimore, MD

Christopher Batten, born in Detroit, earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Illustration from the College for Creative Studies in 2006. In 2017, he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art’s LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA program, garnering accolades such as the Hoffberger Merit Scholarship, Dr. Leslie King Hammond Graduate Award, and two AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships. Batten's art has been showcased in Detroit, New York, San Antonio, Baltimore, and Atlanta, including exhibitions at prominent institutions like the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Red Bull Arts Detroit. He has been an Artist in Residence at Red Bull Arts Detroit and at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Batten is currently teaching at Bard High School Early College Baltimore and serving as an adjunct professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Sanah Brown-Bowers Baltimore, MD

Sanah Brown-Bowers, a self-taught artist, focuses on portraying the Black American experience, notably through captivating portraits and family altars. Her art, blending elements of pop art, fantasy, and intricate details, explores Black joy and nostalgic 80s moments. Through symbolism, she tells stories that transcend time, shedding light on historical injustices and seeking to restore hope to her community. Sanah has earned recognition, including winning 1st place in the McKinney Black History Art Competition and the prestigious Best of Show at the Lenora Rolla Heritage Center Museum. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of North Texas and is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

J. Jordan Bruns, Silver Spring, MD

J. Jordan Bruns is a full-time artist based in Maryland, and is a resident artist at Glen Echo Park's Chautauqua Tower. He recently returned from a three-year sabbatical in Tokyo, Japan where much of his representational aesthetic influences stem from. Bruns holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Painting and Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a Master’s in Fine Arts in Studio Painting from Indiana University. His love of teaching has led him to branch out and become Director of Art Clinic, a painting and drawing school at Glen Echo Park, MD. His artwork is featured in public collections including Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Kaiser Permanente. Bruns has held solo exhibitions at Long View Gallery in Washington, D.C. and The Indiana University Art Museum. He has participated in group shows, including “Transient Geometries” at The Antelope Valley College Art Gallery, Lancaster, CA and “Color Schooled,” Long View Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Ellen Burchenal, Baltimore, MD

Ellen Burchenal is an artist who makes paintings, drawings and small objects. While teaching for decades at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), she also taught in Florence for the MICA/SACI program in Florence, and directed the MICA Summer Study program in Southern Italy. She has received several Maryland State Arts Council Fellowships, and she has exhibited and lectured in galleries and universities throughout the region and in Italy. Burchenal received her Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College and her Master of Fine arts from MICA. Her work has been exhibited throughout the area and abroad including Sorrento, Italy; Baltimore, MD; Brooklyn, NY and Asheville, NC. 

Barbara Epstein Gruber, Baltimore, MD

Barbara Epstein Gruber discovered her passion for art at a young age and eventually pursued her artistic education, earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an Masters in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College. Her work has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions, and has won Best in Show and Honorable Mention awards on national and regional levels by esteemed jurors such as Klauss Kertess, Bernard Chaet, Samuel Hoi, and Doreen Bolger. She has been a finalist for the Klots Residency in Lehon, France, and her paintings, drawings and portraits of people and pets are held in private collections in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. She currently teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Johns Hopkins University.

Lou Haney,Charlottesville, VA

Lou Haney earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art from Rhodes College and her Masters in Fine Arts in Painting from Claremont Graduate University. She's honed her craft at MacDowell and the Vermont Studio Center. In 2022, she was a resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Haney received the Mississippi Art Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in 2008. Her work has graced solo exhibitions across various states, including California, Virginia and Massachusetts. Notably, her painting "Bedlam" was showcased at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and ArtFields 2022. In 2023, she held a solo exhibition at the Jones-Carter Gallery in Lake City, SC. Her recent exhibition, "Leisure Suit," opened in April 2024 at Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA. Currently, she shares her expertise teaching studio art and art history at several institutions in Charlottesville, VA.

Mary Proenza, Riverdale Park, MD

Mary Proenza holds a Masters in Fine Arts in painting from New York Studio School and in creative writing from The New School, as well as a Bachelors of Arts in literature from the University of California Santa Barbara. Recent exhibitions include "Cladogram" at the Katonah Museum of Art, NY, and "Digging In" at Cody Gallery, Arlington, VA. Awarded a 2022 NEA Arts Project Grant, she showcased her "Memoir" series and created four linoleum cut prints to the collaborative book Truth Comes Slowly. Proenza's art has been featured on book and CD covers for publishers like Knopf and CMH Records. As a writer, her reviews have appeared in Art in America and The Brooklyn Rail. Currently, she's crafting a graphic memoir combining visual art and writing supported by various fellowships, including the 2022 Mid Atlantic Arts Fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Proenza serves as Associate Professor of Art at Marymount University, Arlington, VA.

Elaine Qiu, College Park, MD

Elaine Qiu is a multidisciplinary artist works in painting, drawing, printmaking, installation and video. She values the ancient power of storytelling and is fascinated by how memories and experiences are constructed and stored. Viewing herself as both a chronicler and a participant of our time, she works to preserve a fragment of a larger narrative and provide a unique perspective on the intricate web of the human experience. Her work hovers between representation and abstraction, highlighting the interplay of time, memory, and identity. Transitioning from journalism to art, she earned a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland and a Bachelors in Fine Arts from George Mason University. Qiu's pieces have graced solo and group exhibitions at venues like IA&A Hillyer in Washington D.C., and The Torpedo Factory Art Center, University of Maryland and George Mason University.