April 18th, 2026 through June 13th, 2026

Variations is the Marblehead Art Association’s (MAA) annual national exhibit which features the artwork of artists from across the country. Since 2021, artists from across the country, representing a diversity of styles and media have been invited to participate in this eight-week, juried exhibit of 2D and 3D work.

Featuring over over 190 pieces of artwork, Variations 2026 is one of the Marblehead Arts Association’s biggest exhibitions yet. This captivating exhibition celebrates the richness and complexity of artistic expression, offering viewers a vibrant tapestry of styles, mediums, and perspectives.

Opening Reception: Sunday, April 19th • 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Variations 2026 Winners

Fine Art

1st: Ashes & Mist, Sarah Bogdal

2nd: Cream on Top, Arena Shawn

Honorable Mention: View of the Donnauro Farm, Lisa Arcomano

3D

1st: Francisco’s, John Brickels

2nd: Formula 1x – Sylvia 3/12, Robert Obier

Honorable Mention: Emerging, Karen Dobson

Photography

1st: Achromatopsia, Joseph Roach

2nd: Rubio, Tom Cawthon

Honorable Mention: Head in Color, Jeanette Robinson

Variations 2026 Judges

We are pleased to have highly qualified professionals be our jurors for this Variations 2026 show. All decisions with regards to which entries are accepted, as well as the awarding of prizes are solely those of the judges and no persons associated with the Marblehead Arts Association has participation in either process.

Christina Grace Mastrangelo

Christina Grace Mastrangelo

Fine Art Judge

Christina Grace Mastrangelo is a European-trained Classical Realist Painter who has dedicated herself to studying, teaching, and professionally painting figurative work for over 15 years. A 2009 graduate of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, she has won awards for her work from the Art Renewal Center, Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, the Salmagundi Club, and more. She has shown at notable venues, including a solo show at the St. Botolph Club in Boston, MA, the Villa Bardini in Florence, Italy, twice at both The European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain, and the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts, including a solo show at the latter. Most recently, in 2024 she exhibited forty-four pieces at the Guild of Boston Artists for a solo show and was featured in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine as one of “Five Artists to Watch” and American Art Collector Magazine’s “Artist Focus.”

christinamastrangelo.com

Lou Jones

Lou Jones

Photography Judge

Lou Jones is past president of the New England chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and co-founder of CDIA (Center for Digital Imaging Arts), Boston, Massachusetts. His eclectic career has evolved from commercial to the personal. It has spanned every format, film type, artistic movement and technological change. He maintains a studio in Boston, Massachusetts and has photographed for Fortune 500 corporations, international companies and local small businesses including Federal Express, Nike and the Barr Foundation; completed assignments for magazines and publishers all over the world such as Time/Life, National Geographic and Paris Match; initiated long term projects on the civil wars in Central America, death row, Olympics Games and pregnancy; and published multiple books.

fotojones.com

Simon Kogan

Simon Kogan

3D Judge

Born in Russia, Simon Kagan received 13 years of classical academic training in Moscow, including an MFA and an apprenticeship under the renowned sculptor Isaac Brodsky. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1991, he has steadily risen to national prominence as a sculptor whose widely acclaimed work, Monumental to Miniature, reflects a bold yet poetic pursuit of the archetypal and renders an ethereal quality highly resonant with the viewer. A Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and recipient of the Medal of Honor 2025, Simon Kogan has long shared his artistic passion through the teaching of sculpture, painting, anatomy, and drawing in the U.S. and abroad.

simonkogan.com