An Oakland County teen is the grand prize winner of a national portrait photography competition, and his photo will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Otto Graunewald of Rochester won the 13-15 age group of the museum’s Teen Portrait Competition. His black-and-white portrait, called ‘Trapped’, has him looking straight into the camera with gauze over his head. Graunewald has generalized epilepsy disorder and uses photography to communicate about the challenges he faces.
The competition is inspired by the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
“The Teen Portrait Competition enables the National Portrait Gallery to connect with emerging artists, providing teens with a platform to share their ideas about the portraiture genre with the world,” said Leslie Ureña, curator of photographs by the gallery, in a press release. As with the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, the entries gave a glimpse into our recent history. It was truly amazing to see how teenagers interact with the world and use portraiture to explore the themes that affect their lives and that of the people around them. influence them.”
Graunewald beat out about 300 entries from 22 states across the country. Florida’s Sara Sonnenblic took the top prize in the 16-17 age bracket with a portrait titled “Nor This Nor That,” which depicts a young man in a pink robe.
The portraits of Graunweald and Sonnenblic will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery from July 29 to February 26. They will be on display near the “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today” exhibit.