HMVC Gallery presents [Creatures of Earth, Sea & Air]

The upcoming art exhibition "Creatures of Earth, Sea & Air" invites artists to delve into these themes, portraying animals and insects in diverse interpretations, reflecting their significance across cultures and environments.

We welcome artworks from all mediums of visual art, except AI-created art.

AWARDS:

All Artists participating in the online group show will be featured on our Website and Virtual Gallery. All artists will be awarded an HMVC Gallery New York certificate of participation. A video clip of “Freestyle 4.0” featuring all participating artists’ artworks will be screened on a jumbotron billboard in New York City’s famous Times Square later in August.

Blick Materials winner: $100 online coupon

Best of show winner: $150
Second place winner: $100
Third place winner: Online Solo Show
All Artworks: Times Square Jumbotron Billboard (when possible)

Throughout history, animals have been among the earliest subjects ever depicted by humans. Cave paintings like those in Lascaux and Chauvet (c. 30,000–15,000 BCE) show horses, bison, bulls, and deer depicted with astonishing sensitivity.
Across Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Mesoamerica, animals were inseparable from religion and cosmology.
 

The Renaissance shifted toward scientific observation: Leonardo da Vinci sketched horses and cats in anatomical studies with precision.
Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh) used animals symbolically or decoratively.
 

And today, animals and insects appear across nearly every medium and conceptual framework.
Our September group art exhibition “Creatures of Earth, Sea & Air” celebrates the astonishing diversity of the animal kingdom, from animals to insects. This show invites artists to explore the emotional, symbolic, ecological, and mythological roles of animals and insects across different cultures and environments. Artists may interpret the theme literally, metaphorically, or conceptually, portraying creatures as companions, archetypes or environmental indicators.

We welcome artworks from all mediums of visual art, except AI-created art, and video/film.

★ Digital entries must be received by August 26th, 2026 before 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time.

★ Notification of acceptance will be sent by email by August 31st.

★ The show will premiere on September 1st and end on Setember 30th.

AWARDS:

All Artists participating in the online group show will be featured on our Website and Virtual Gallery. All artists will be awarded an HMVC Gallery New York certificate of participation. A video clip of “Creatures of Earth, Sea & Air” featuring all participating artists’ artworks will be screened on a jumbotron billboard in New York City’s famous Times Square later in September.

We are delighted to announce that we will be giving cash prizes to two talented artists!

Blick Materials winner: $100 online coupon

Best of show winner: $150
Second place winner: $100
Third place winner: Online Solo Show
All Artworks: Times Square Jumbotron Billboard (when possible)

The winners of Best of Show and Second Place need to have a working PayPal account to receive their prize money. If the winner of the cash prize fails to provide HMVC Gallery New York with a working PayPal account, the winner will be forfeited and HMVC will be entitled to select another winner. The prize will be sent to the winner within 14 days of responding to HMVC.

The Third Place winner will have their own online Solo Show at HMVC Gallery New York and the show will run for a month. The Solo Show winner will also receive a HMVC Gallery New York solo certificate recognizing their achievement.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

To be considered for the online group show artists must provide the jurors with high-quality images of their artwork as befitting the theme, an Artist Bio, and an Artist Statement. Artists can submit up to 20 artworks for the jurors’ consideration. In the end, one artwork from each selected artist will be included in the group show. If your application is lacking or if your work is misrepresented, we reserve the right to refuse to feature your artwork in the show.

All properly prepared entries (refer to submission form) will be viewed and judged by the jurors, Heini Mika and Vincent Chang. The decision of the jurors is final.
We accept the following Image Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, and WEBP. Dimensions: Min: 1200 pixels or Max: 2560 pixels on the longest side. We may have to readjust your dimensions after entry to fit the limitations. Image Size: under 2 MB.
At the moment we welcome artworks from all mediums of visual art, except video/film.

MEDIA & MARKETING:

By submitting images, the artist agrees that the images are the artist’s own work and they own all rights to the images. If the artist’s work gets accepted, they grant HMVC Gallery New York the right to use their image on our website, social media, and online to help promote our online exhibitions. Full credit and copyright will remain with the artist. We will promote the show and the artists in our Newsletter and individually on our Instagram page @hmvcgallery.

APPLICATION FEE:

The Submission fee is $40 for the first entry and $10 for additional entries and it is non-refundable and does not guarantee acceptance.
** Be sure to select all images you wish to submit at the bottom of the application before you check out.

We welcome artworks from all mediums of visual art, except video/film.

File definitions.

File Type: JPEG or JPG only.
File Dimensions: 1,200 pixels or greater on the longest side.
File Size: Under 5 MB.
Color Profile: sRGB

We welcome all artists and their submissions at HMVC Gallery New York.