It’s been a big year for Yorgos Efthymiadis and Sneha Shrestha (also known as “Imagine”). The Somerville artists make up half of this year’s recipients of the ICA Foster Prize, an award that encourages Boston artists to stay in the area by giving them an exhibition space at the Institute of Contemporary Art and a monetary prize.
The two artists work at wildly different scales – massive murals to photos on a small refrigerator – each to great effect. Efthymiadis is a photographer known for creating the “Curated Fridge,” an exhibition space in his own home that just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. His Foster exhibit photographs are poignant and personal, depicting family members in his native Greece, his adopted home of Boston and beyond. In her work, Shrestha marries graffiti-style painting with Nepali language and Devanagari script; this exhibit also features one of her largest-ever paintings made in a gallery setting. In addition to a small rainbow of canvases and a painting taking up a whole wall, she’s created an impressive metal installation that hovers above the whole room, giving the space a sacred feel.
The prize is a reward for a job well done and a sign of future potential. Shrestha’s vivid murals have brought a surprising amount of Greater Boston to life with bright colors and lettering. (One of her earlier pieces is visible just across the harbor in East Boston.) Efthymiadis’ own curatorial and artistic influence continues to build, too, whether in his own kitchen or on a gallery wall.
“2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize” through Jan. 19 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston. $20 for general admission.
Share your own 150-word appreciation for a piece of visual art or art happening with photo to editor@cambridgeday.com with the subject line “Behold.”
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