# Work of Art: The Next Great Artist

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is an American reality competition show that aired on the cable television network Bravo, in which up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. The show was produced by Pretty Matches Productions and Magical Elves Productions, the same company that created Project Runway and Top Chef. The series premiered on June 9, 2010. Work of Art was renewed for a second season in September 2010 which began on October 12, 2011.

## Seasons

| Season | Premiere Date | Finale Date | No. of Artists | Winner | Runners-up | Mentors |
| 1 | June 9, 2010 | August 11, 2010 | 14 | Abdi Farah | Peregrine Honig Miles Mendenhall | China Chow (Host/Judge) Jerry Saltz (Judge) Bill Powers (Judge) Simon de Pury (Mentor) |
| 2 | October 12, 2011 | December 21, 2011 | 14 | Kymia Nawabi | Young Sun Han Sara Jimenez | China Chow (Host/Judge) Jerry Saltz (Judge) Bill Powers (Judge) Simon de Pury (Mentor) |

## Season 1 (2010)
### Contestants

| Artist | Age | Artistic specialty | Occupation | Resides in | Finish |
| Amanda Williams | 34 | Abstract Painter | Architecture Professor | Chicago, Illinois | 14th |
| Trong Nguyen | 38 | Installation Artist | Museum Curator | Brooklyn, New York | 13th |
| Judith Braun | 61 | Mixed Media | Landlord | New York City | 12th |
| Nao Bustamante | 46 | Performance Artist | Professor | Troy, New York | 11th/ 10th |
| John Parot | 39 | Painter | Art Studio Manager | Los Angeles | 11th/ 10th |
| Jaime Lynn Henderson | 24 | Painter/Illustrator | Freelance Artist | Lawton, Oklahoma | 9th |
| Erik Johnson | 30 | Painter | Unemployed | Homer Glen, Illinois | 8th |
| Ryan Shultz | 26 | Realist Painter | Private Art Teacher | Chicago, Illinois | 7th |
| Mark Velasquez | 32 | Photographer | Fry Cook | Santa Maria, California | 6th |
| Jaclyn Santos | 25 | Realist Painter | Studio Assistant | Manhattan, New York | 5th |
| Nicole Nadeau | 25 | Industrial Designer/Sculptor | Waitress | New York, New York | 4th |
| Miles Mendenhall | 23 | Installation Artist | Studio Assistant | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 3rd/ 2nd |
| Peregrine Honig | 32 | Painter/Sculptor | Boutique Owner | Kansas City, Missouri | 3rd/ 2nd |
| Abdi Farah | 22 | Figurative Painter/Sculptor | Art Teacher | Dover, Pennsylvania | 1st |
^Note 1 : Age at the time of filming. ^Note 2 : City of residence at the time of filming.

### Contestant progress

| Artists | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode |
| Artists | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Abdi | HIGH | HIGH | IN | WIN | IN | HIGH | LOW | LOW | WIN | WINNER |
| Peregrine | IN | IN | LOW | IN | IN | IN | WIN | IN | LOW | RUNNER-UP |
| Miles | WIN | WIN | IN | IN | HIGH | LOW | IN | WIN | HIGH | RUNNER-UP |
| Nicole | IN | HIGH | IN | IN | IN | WIN | HIGH | IN | OUT | |
| Jaclyn | IN | IN | LOW | HIGH | WIN | IN | LOW | WIN | OUT | |
| Mark | HIGH | IN | HIGH | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN | OUT | | |
| Ryan | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW | HIGH | OUT | | | |
| Erik | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | IN | OUT | | | | |
| Jamie Lynn | IN | LOW | IN | LOW | OUT | | | | | |
| John | IN | IN | WIN | OUT | | | | | | |
| Nao | LOW | IN | IN | OUT | | | | | | |
| Judith | IN | LOW | OUT | | | | | | | |
| Trong | IN | OUT | | | | | | | | |
| Amanda | OUT | | | | | | | | | |
^Note 1 : John had his book cover published by Penguin Books; he did not receive immunity. ^Note 2 : Beginning with this episode, the winners no longer received immunity.
    (WINNER) The artist won Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.
    (RUNNER-UP) The artist was a runner-up for the season.
    (WIN) The artist won that episode's challenge.
    (HIGH) The artist was selected as one of the top entries in the challenge, but did not win.
    (IN) The artist neither won nor lost that week's challenge. They also were not up to be eliminated.
    (LOW) The artist was selected as one of the bottom entries in the challenge, but was not eliminated.
    (OUT) The artist lost that week's challenge and was out of the competition.

### Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Guest Judge | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Self-Reflexive" | N/A | June 9, 2010 (2010-06-09) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a portrait of one of your fellow artists. Challenge winner: Miles Bottom three: Amanda, Erik, Nao Eliminated: Amanda |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Jon Kessler | June 16, 2010 (2010-06-16) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a sculptural piece from items selected from an electronics graveyard. Challenge winner: Miles Bottom three: Jaime Lynn, Judith, Trong Eliminated: Trong |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Judging a Book By Its Cover" | Jonathan Santlofer | June 23, 2010 (2010-06-23) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Design a book cover for one of six classic novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dracula, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Time Machine. Challenge winner: John Bottom three: Jaclyn, Judith, Peregrine Eliminated: Judith |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "A Shock to the System" | Andres Serrano | June 30, 2010 (2010-06-30) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a shocking piece. Challenge winner: Abdi Bottom four: Erik, Jaime Lynn, John, Nao Eliminated: John, Nao |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Art That Moves You" | Richard Phillips | July 7, 2010 (2010-07-07) | TBA | 1.2 |
| Challenge: Create a work of art based on your Audi experience. Challenge winner: Jaclyn Bottom three: Jaime Lynn, Mark, Ryan Eliminated: Jaime Lynn |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Open to the Public" | Yvonne Force Villareal | July 14, 2010 (2010-07-14) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a piece of public art. Red Team: Abdi, Mark, Nicole, Ryan Blue Team: Erik, Jaclyn, Miles, Peregrine Challenge winner: Red Team Individual winner: Nicole Bottom two: Erik, Miles Eliminated: Erik |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Child's Play" | Will Cotton | July 21, 2010 (2010-07-21) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a piece based on what ignited your artistic expression, using only supplies found at the Children's Museum of the Arts. Challenge winner: Peregrine Bottom three: Abdi, Jaclyn, Ryan Eliminated: Ryan |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Opposites Attract" | Ryan McGinness | July 28, 2010 (2010-07-28) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create an artwork about opposing forces: Heaven and Hell (Mark/Peregrine); Male and Female (Miles/Jaclyn); Order and Chaos (Abdi/Nicole). Challenge winners: Miles, Jaclyn Bottom two: Abdi, Mark Eliminated: Mark |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Natural Talents" | Michele Oka Doner | August 4, 2010 (2010-08-04) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: Create a piece inspired from nature and landscape incorporating materials gathered from a Connecticut nature preserve. Challenge winner: Abdi Bottom three: Jaclyn, Nicole, Peregrine Eliminated: Jaclyn, Nicole |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Big Show" | David LaChapelle | August 11, 2010 (2010-08-11) | TBA | 1.48 |
| Challenge: The remaining artists return home, where they have three months to develop a final exhibition using themes of their own choosing. Winner: Abdi Runners-up: Miles, Peregrine |||||||

## Season 2 (2011)
### Contestants

| Artist | Age | Artistic specialty | Occupation | Resides in | Finish |
| Ugo Nonis | 33 | Line Artist | Art Director/Designer | Paris, France | 14th |
| Kathryn Parker Almanas | 29 | Photographer | Photographer | Brooklyn, New York | 13th |
| Jazz-Minh Moore | 32 | Figurative Painter | Freelance Artist | New York City | 12th/ 11th |
| Leon Lim | 31 | Installation Artist | Graphic Designer | Kedah, Malaysia | 12th/ 11th |
| Michael "Tewz" Chlebowski | 30 | Street Artist | Arts Educator | Chicago, Illinois | 10th |
| Bayeté Ross Smith | 35 | Video Artist | Arts Educator | New York City | 9th |
| Morgan "Sucklord" Phillips | 42 | Toy Art Designer | CEO, Suckadelic Inc | New York City | 8th |
| Michelle Matson | 29 | Sculptor | Artist Assistant | Bridgewater, New Jersey | 7th |
| Sarah Kabot | 34 | Installation Artist/Sculptor | Assistant Art Professor | Cleveland, Ohio | 6th |
| Dusty Mitchell | 32 | Installation Artist/Sculptor | Elementary School Art Teacher | Mountain View, Arkansas | 5th/ 4th |
| Lola Thompson | 24 | Sculptor | Barista | Los Angeles | 5th/ 4th |
| Sara Jimenez | 26 | Figurative Painter | Gallery Intern | New York City | 3rd/ 2nd |
| Young Sun Han | 28 | Performance Artist/Photographer | Exhibiting Artist | Skokie, IL | 3rd/ 2nd |
| Kymia Nawabi | 30 | Drawer/Painter | Waitress | New York City | 1st |
^Note 1 : Age at the time of filming. ^Note 2 : City of residence at the time of filming.

### Contestant progress

| Artists | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode | Progress by episode |
| Artists | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Kymia | IN | IN (+) | HIGH | WIN | IN | HIGH | LOW | IN | WIN | WINNER |
| Young | IN | IN (-) | WIN | IN | WIN | WIN | IN | WIN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
| Sara | HIGH | IN (+) | IN | LOW | IN | HIGH | WIN | WIN | LOW | RUNNER-UP |
| Lola | HIGH | LOW | IN | IN | HIGH | LOW | LOW | IN | OUT | |
| Dusty | IN | IN (+) | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | IN | LOW | OUT | |
| Sarah | IN | IN (+) | IN | IN | LOW | LOW | HIGH | OUT | | |
| Michelle | WIN | HIGH | LOW | IN | IN | LOW | OUT | | | |
| The Sucklord | LOW | IN (+) | IN | LOW | LOW | OUT | | | | |
| Bayeté | LOW | WIN | IN | IN | OUT | | | | | |
| Tewz | IN | LOW | IN | OUT | | | | | | |
| Leon | IN | IN (-) | OUT | | | | | | | |
| Jazz-Minh | IN | IN (-) | OUT | | | | | | | |
| Kathryn | IN | OUT | | | | | | | | |
| Ugo | OUT | | | | | | | | | |
^Note 1 : Young had a two-page spread published in Entertainment Weekly; he did not receive immunity.
    (WINNER) The artist won the season of Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.
    (RUNNER-UP) The artist was a runner-up for the season.
    (WIN) The artist won that episode's challenge.
    (HIGH) The artist was selected as one of the top entries in the challenge, but did not win.
    (IN) The artist neither won nor lost that week's challenge. They also were not up to be eliminated.
    (LOW) The artist was selected as one of the bottom entries in the challenge, but was not eliminated.
    (OUT) The artist lost that week's challenge and was out of the competition.

### Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Guest Judge | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 11 | 1 | "Kitsch Me If You Can" | Mary Ellen Mark | October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists must use pieces of "bad" art, such as a painting of dogs playing checkers, a velvet cowboy, and a sculptural golden peacock as their canvas. Challenge winner: Michelle Bottom three: Bayeté, The Sucklord, Ugo Eliminated: Ugo |||||||
| 12 | 2 | "Art Movement" | Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn | October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists must use parkour, a discipline where participants overcome obstacles using only their bodies to move from point A to point B in the most creative and inventive way possible, as their inspiration. Team Loop: Jazz-Minh, Kathryn, Leon, Lola, Tewz, Young Team Play With Me: Bayeté, Dusty, Kymia, Michelle, Sara, Sarah, The Sucklord Challenge winner: Team Play With Me Individual winner: Bayeté Bottom three: Kathryn, Lola, Tewz Eliminated: Kathryn |||||||
| 13 | 3 | "Make It Pop" | Rob Pruitt | October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26) | TBA | 0.62 |
| Challenge: The contestants must create a piece of pop art that captures the popular culture of their time. Challenge winner: Young Bottom four: Leon, Dusty, Michelle, Jazz-Minh Eliminated: Jazz-Minh, Leon |||||||
| 14 | 4 | "Back to School" | Sarah Jessica Parker | November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists are challenged to create a piece of art inspired by the original artwork of the child they are paired with. Challenge winner: Kymia Bottom three: Sara, The Sucklord, Tewz Eliminated: Tewz |||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Ripped from the Headlines" | Adam McEwen | November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists must create a piece of art that illustrates a headline which strikes a chord with them. Challenge winner: Young Bottom three: Bayeté, Sarah K., The Sucklord Eliminated: Bayeté |||||||
| 16 | 6 | "Street Dealers" | N/A | November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists are challenged to leave their mark on New York with a work that embodies the subversion of street art. Challenge winners: Dusty and Young Bottom four: Lola, Michelle, The Sucklord, Sarah Eliminated: The Sucklord |||||||
| 17 | 7 | "La Dolce Arte" | Liz Cohen | November 30, 2011 (2011-11-30) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists must utilize one automobile component from a Fiat 500 and transform it into a piece of art. Challenge winner: Sara Bottom three: Kymia, Lola, Michelle Eliminated: Michelle |||||||
| 18 | 8 | "Sell Out" | Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn | December 7, 2011 (2011-12-07) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists work in teams to create a minimum of one piece of art to sell to the public, but that is also worthy of presenting in a gallery show. Challenge winners: Sara and Young Bottom two: Sarah, Dusty Eliminated: Sarah |||||||
| 19 | 9 | "Exile on Main Street" | Richard Phillips | December 14, 2011 (2011-12-14) | TBA | N/A |
| Challenge: The artists travel to Cold Springs and choose locals to portrait. Challenge winner: Kymia Bottom three: Sara, Dusty and Lola Eliminated: Dusty and Lola |||||||
| 20 | 10 | "Elimination" | KAWS | December 21, 2011 (2011-12-21) | TBA | 0.781 |
| Challenge: The finalists present their collections to the judging panel to determine who will be "The Next Great Artist." Winner: Kymia Runners-up: Young, Sara |||||||

## Future seasons

Work of Art's renewal status was unclear as the second season concluded: In late December 2011, Judge Bill Powers wrote that "We will have to see if our work of art worked for Bravo." Jerry Saltz, another Work of Art judge, announced via his Vulture blog that he would not return for a third season of the show. The uncertainty as to Work of Art's fate on Bravo was somewhat resolved when the Gallerist reported the show's cancellation in August 2012. The LA Times reported that while Bravo would not officially confirm the cancellation, "a source close to the channel said it was "unlikely" that the show would return for a third season on Bravo." Work of Art's producers as of August 2012 were approaching other television networks in the hopes of continuing the show's run elsewhere.