Live Art Duel Artists

IG: @eyoab12

Artistic expression has always felt like a home, within my body. A space in which I was free to belong and live out my queerest and delicate imaginings. Growing up in Ethiopia, where queerness was completely unspoken of and for, I desperately searched for any sign, indication, or inspiration of queer existence, apart from my own, in the ancient mythical and mystical aesthetics of Abyssinia. When I was very young, my search for queerness both within myself, as well as in Abyssinian culture and aesthetics, was abruptly interrupted when my family made the decision to relocate from Addis Ababa to Apple Valley, Minnesota. As I struggled to find footing through this nauseating reorientation of my body in time and space, I gravitated towards one of the only things that retained its familiarity, the home inside my body. However, this space was now under crushing pressure to explore the obvious queerness of my black body in a white space. The exploration of my displaced, queer+black, Abyssinian body eventually began to manifest in my experimentation with large-scale abstract pieces depicting displaced post-afro-futuristic strokes and gestures, laid out randomly on wood, paper, and canvas.

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IG: @watercolwhore

I am a senior at FIT, studying and working in illustration. Once I graduate, I plan to pursue a career in the field of editorial illustration and to show personal pieces in galleries and continue doing live watercolor portraiture at events. My dedication to traditional media can be seen in all my work. Having committed to the life of a creative and a storyteller, I consider the opportunity to “art duel” a priceless experience. I have captured countless faces across the five boroughs through my live portraits, so I am very familiar with the pressure of creating work in a live setting. I’m excited to face the unfamiliar challenge of exploring mediums beyond my signature watercolor during the Live Art Duel.

IG: @w_glowieizba

My name is Wiktoria Klimczuk. I am a Polish artist based in New York City. I am also a current FIT junior, majoring in Fine Arts. I specialize in painting and drawing but explore other visual mediums such as printmaking, digital arts, and photography. In my works, I often explore the beauty of human experience, individuality, storytelling, and my ethnicity. I enjoy creating narrative works that reflect upon people’s experiences and challenges. And I gain appreciation for nature and life through painting en plein air and doing intense (often distorted) figure studies. I work automatically and intuitively, which allows me to finish pieces in a timely manner. I decided to participate in the Live Art Duel because I love the feeling of being in a studio surrounded by diverse artists, and I enjoy creating and competition. This is my first time participating in an art contest that happens in real time. I’m excited (and a bit scared!) to get out of my comfort zone and experience the thrill of working under pressure in front of an audience. I look forward to friendly competition, making new connections, and further exploration of the work of my peers!  

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My name is Brooke Ledda, and I am currently a first-year Illustration student at FIT. The road to this place has been a complicated trial of doubts, mistakes, and lessons. After graduating from high school in 2022, I spent my first year of college studying environmental science at Stony Brook University. However, my attempt to pursue a career outside my true passion of art made me realize that running from who I am only weighs me down. I left Stony Brook in 2023, and since then I have studied abroad in Rome, participated in my first art gallery shows, and enrolled in my dream school for the profession I love. I’m ready for the next step. My work is an extension of myself, allowing me to transform my emotions into a beautiful form of communication. Colors speak to me in ways that words never will. Art is my language, and the Live Art Duel would be a magnificent stage on which to speak it.

IG: @yeonlee.design

I am a Fashion Design student at FIT. I aim to inspire people, bring up ideas, and generate original storytelling through my artwork. I anticipate that engaging in real-time artistic interactions at the Live Art Duel will be the inception of a new kind of art for me. I hope my unique creations will contribute to others’ lives and be of help to them.

IG: @artistic_groove04

Hello, my name is Elijah Ogbomo. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and I’m currently studying Fine Art at FIT. I have a deep passion for creativity and a strong sense of curiosity. Being selected to participate in the Live Art Duel means the world to me. It offers me the incredible opportunity to showcase my skills on the main stage in front of other talented artists. I hope this will help me reach an audience that can provide opportunities to develop my skills as an artist and as a brand. Realistically, the financial support, whether I win or lose, would greatly help me provide for myself through college and while I grow as an individual; it would be a resource that helps me achieve my goal of selling my work or opening a studio to capture and create amazing ideas; and ultimately, it would make living a little easier for me. I truly appreciate your consideration of my work.

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IG: @tongjialun0518

I am in my senior year at FIT, majoring in Fine Art. In 2023, I was a Best of SUNY student artist award recipient. My fine art works have been exhibited in Rockefeller Institution of Government and Gracie Mansion Conservancy. I am dedicated to creating artwork with charcoal, focusing on cultural gaps, immigrant life, and social justice in the spiritual realm. I was intrigued about the Live Art Duel because the words “art” and “duel” seemed contradictory to me, and I was eager to experience this contradiction firsthand. In the studio, I have never considered time when painting. What happens when time becomes part of the creative process? I am looking forward to exploring this in the competition, and I’m excited to feel the uncertainty of working with unknown materials and themes.

IG: @ameliaweitknecht

I love the way it feels to paint large and fast, moving my entire arm, my entire body. Where the paint lands is where it’s gonna be, so you’d better put it down right. This is the thing that makes my heart “pitter-pat,” the thing I relish. I am an FIT sophomore, majoring in Illustration, working primarily in acrylics, oils, and watercolors. I cannot remember not drawing, not painting … it has always just been. Before college, I painted fast and big, usually on the largest makeshift canvas I could find. I enjoy the gestalt, the flow, and finding the glow and magic that’s so present all around us. I’ve been creatively experimenting with everything from historical fashion to clay, wood, canvas, paper, glass, murals, and anything else I can get my hands on. During the pandemic, I taught myself sewing and pattern design, pursuits that are essentially mathematical yet fluidly self-defining. This is my passion: the verb of arting. I want to foster it, and this competition offers the opportunity. I want to create in the Live Art Duel because of the movement and the fluidity—these are what bridges all mediums. This is what I love to do.