NBC Universal Presents Bravo Reality Series “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”

PASADENA, CA.- Bravo’s latest stroke on the reality canvas brings Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, together with the Emmy-nominated Magical Elves (“Top Chef,” “Project Runway”) and Eli Holzman, to produce “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist,” an hour-long creative competition series among contemporary artists. “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” will bring together 14 aspiring artists to compete for a solo show at a nationally recognized museum and a generous cash prize.

Hosting this colorful new series is art enthusiast China Chow, alongside world-renowned art auctioneer, Simon de Pury. Joining them on the judging panel are experts Bill Powers, a New York Gallery owner and literary art contributor, Jerry Saltz, current art critic for New York Magazine, and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, esteemed curator and owner of Salon94 gallery.

In each episode, contestants are faced with the challenge of creating unique pieces in a variety of media such as painting, sculpture, photography, collage and industrial design. The weekly assignments are exciting, original and will challenge the artists to push the limits of their technical skills and creative boundaries. Completed works of art will be appraised by the panel of top art world figures alongside a new celebrated guest judge every week. Through a gallery showing at the end of each challenge, the industry luminaries dictate which artists have successfully mastered the subject matter and creation of their piece, as well as whose concept leaves the greatest impact.

“Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” is produced by Pretty Matches and Magical Elves for Bravo. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alison Benson and Eli Holzman serve as executive producers.

China Chow
Host, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”
From the time since China Chow was a little girl, she lived and breathed art. Her father, restaurateur Michael Chow, first introduced her to the creative world through his imaginative and highly successful restaurants.

Born in London, Chow moved to New York at age 5 and grew up through the eyes of her father’s restaurant, Mr. Chow, as it became a mecca to the art world that ruled Manhattan in the 1980s. Chow’s mother, Tina Chow, was an internationally renowned model and a fashion icon. Together, her parents were a power couple whose presence was a staple among the Big Apple’s elite artist community — including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel and Henry Geldzahler.

The influence was compelling as Chow recalls learning to draw with their family friend, celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, or spending her Saturdays at museums with her father and his accomplished friends. Such events colored Chow’s future as an avid art enthusiast. “Art is one of the most authentic ways for a person to express themselves,” said Chow. “Clothing has to be functional, food has to taste good – but art is the purest form of expression, existing without set boundaries.”

As the host of Bravo’s new creative competition series, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist,” Chow will serve as the perfect tour guide through the often foreign-looking art world. Her irrepressible passion for art and tremendous appreciation for beauty is contagious as she works to access the talents of aspiring artist throughout the course of the series.

Chow’s acting debut came alongside Mark Walberg in the 1998 action-comedy feature film “The Big Hit.” She has since starred in the 2001 film “Head Over Heels,” as well as on such hit television series as “Burn Notice” and “That ‘70s Show.”

After earning a psychology degree from Scripps College, Chow spent several years successfully working as a model for Shiseido cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein and was named one of Harper’s Bazaar’s “It Girls” in 1996. She also appeared in the December 1996 edition of Vogue magazine’s “The Next Best-Dressed List.”

Chow currently resides in Los Angeles.

Bill Powers
Judge, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”
Bill Powers, a self-proclaimed “art fan, ” is the co-owner of Half Gallery in New York and the editor-at-large for Purple Fashion magazine.

Powers’ colorful path in contemporary art first manifested itself in 1997 when he became the editor-in chief of Blackbook magazine. Until 2005, Powers remained with Blackbook, while writing about art and culture for other prominent titles including the New York Times, W, Paper, Vanity Fair and Details, to name a few. Through his extensive editorial work, Powers has interviewed some of today’s preeminent contemporary artists from around the world, including Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Kara Walker, Ed Ruscha and John Currin.

Powers’ written work extends beyond his contributions to press. His foray into the field of publishing led him to issue art books for the promising German multi-media artist, Jonathan Meese, as well as for American painter Rachel Feinstein. Powers published his own first novel, “Tall Island,” in July 2004. The satire following the entangled lives of three downtown New Yorkers was called a “must read” by Harper’s Bazaar, and a “clever comedic romp” by the Los Angeles Times.

In addition, Powers is an ardent art collector, with an impressive collection of works by Richard Prince, Elizabeth Peyton, Tom Sachs, Irving Penn and Dana Schutz, among others. The first piece of art that he ever bought was a photograph of ToeJam the Clown by Terry Richardson in 1998.

Powers is currently on the board of the non-profit RxArt, an organization that places contemporary art in hospitals and healing environments.

Powers currently resides in New York with his wife, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, and their two daughters.

Simon De Pury
Mentor, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”
Simon de Pury is one of the art world’s leading figures, renowned for his legendary performance on the auction podium and for his deep and longstanding knowledge of the global marketplace.

De Pury is Chairman and Chief Auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company, the leading global auction house for Contemporary Art, Design and Photography, and still owns a significant share in the business after selling the majority in October 2008 to the Mercury Group, Russia’s largest luxury retail company.

De Pury joined Phillips in 2001 when his art advisory firm – the Geneva-based de Pury & Luxembourg Art, which he had started in 1997 with Daniella Luxembourg – merged with them.

A spirited and highly successful career at Sotheby’s preceded this chapter. de Pury was appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland in 1986 and later became Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe. This function, which he performed with his inimitable zeal and enthusiasm — coupled with sharp business acumen — saw him conduct important sales all over the world. These included the Thurn und Taxis sales in Geneva and Regensburg, the Margrave of Baden sales in Baden-Baden, the Palazzo Corsini sales in Florence, part of the Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy sales in New York, and all major Impressionist and Modern Art evening sales in both New York and London since 1994. He was also the initiator and auctioneer for the historical and first international auction to be held in 1988 by Sotheby’s in Moscow.

From 1979-86, de Pury was curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and organized numerous exhibitions not only in the Villa Favorita in Lugano, Switzerland, but also in major museums around the world. He was also responsible for the coordination of four key exchanges between Baron H.H. Thyssen-Bornemisza – then the most important collector of his time – and the State Hermitage, the Pushkin Museum, the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Kremlin Museum in Russia. Prior to this, de Pury had started his career at Sotheby’s in 1974 and was active in their London and Monte Carlo offices before opening the Sotheby’s office and auction venue in Geneva.

De Pury studied the Japanese painting techniques of “Sumie” and “Nihonga” at the Tokyo Academy of Arts. He was born in Basel, Switzerland, and is the father of four grown-up children. He lives between London and New York.

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