Two local artists each achieve national/ international recognition with ‘ArtPrize’

[July 15, 2018]   LINCOLN - Not only has Lincoln Art Institute owner and artist Moses Pinkerton fostered a climate of creating art in Lincoln for the past decade, he recently joined another local artist in national acclaim for his personal work.

Earlier this year, Lincoln artist Jason Hoffman had a work of his accepted at the Grand Rapids, Michigan, ArtPrize. An internationally renowned competition, ArtPrize is one of the most prestigious art shows in the United States.

Thursday evening Moses Pinkerton announced that he too has also had a piece accepted for display at ArtPrize.

The piece is a metal sculpture of a mighty ant lifting a log.

While highly skilled in multiple media, as area residents can attest, Pinkerton might best be known for his sculptures.

In recent years, he and Hoffman have worked together on a number of locally notable sculptures - the large cityscape metal sculpture seen by train passengers and old Route 66 travelers on Sangamon Street near the Lincoln Depot ‘Route 66 Cow in the Corn,’ the giant carved-out log with arms that can enclose a man ‘Nature’s Embrace’ located at Lincoln College’s Outdoor Environmental Learning Center; and most recently, metal farm animals that are part of the downtown Lincoln’s Welcome Center at the corner of Pekin and Kickapoo Streets.

Between just these sculptures, each in its own right has brought notoriety, fondness, appreciation, and a bit more culture to our community.

This is the first time ever that two artists from Lincoln have had their art represented at one of the most esteemed art shows in the country.

[Curtis Fox/Jan Youngquist]