Michael Bise wins 2012 Hunting Art Prize

Hunting PLC announced that Children by Houston artist Michael Bise is the winner of the $50,000 Hunting Art Prize for 2012. 
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The graphite drawing was selected from over 100 finalists in the 32nd annual award program, which is sponsored by the global oil services company and is the most generous annual art prize in North America for painting and drawing.
The announcement came during an evening awards gala on Saturday, April 28, at the Friedkin Companies Campus, Gulf States Toyota, in Houston. 
"I am both honored and humbled," Bise said after winning the 2012 competition.  "This award not only brings recognition to the individual artists who participate and win, but also calls attention to the value and vitality of the Texas art community.  I appreciate the support Hunting has shown over the years through this generous prize and am grateful to be recognized among such a strong group of artists." 
Bise's works have been shown in solo exhibitions throughout Texas and in Oregon, and have been included in a range of group exhibitions in galleries throughout the nation and internationally. 
Among his most recent shows is Epilogues, a solo exhibition at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts that includes large-scale, meticulous drawings of Bise's youth.   
Bise earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Houston. 
For more information about the 2012 winner, visit http://www.moodygallery.com/Artists/Bise/Michael.html. 
The Hunting Art Prize is open to amateur, up-and-coming, and established artists in Texas who are 18 years of age or older.  This year's competition saw more than 1,600 entries from a number of cities and towns throughout the state.  Submissions underwent a two-tiered jury process, after which nationally respected judges from Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New York selected Bise's work as the 2012 winner. 
In 2006, the competition moved to Houston, where Hunting's North American headquarters are located, after a quarter-century in the United Kingdom.  
About Hunting PLC
Hunting PLC is an international oil services company providing support solutions to the world's largest oil and gas concerns. Established in 1874, it is a fully listed public company, traded on the London Stock Exchange. For further information, visit www.hunting.plc.uk.