GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Robert Horvath stood overwhelmed at the ArtPrize awards ceremony, having won the $100,000 juried grand prize for his first-ever entry in the Grand Rapids art competition.
The Indianapolis-based art professor spent five years bringing his vision to life: an immersive installation that dazzles the eye while delivering a stark warning about environmental destruction.
“It’s really overwhelming,” Horvath said moments after the announcement. “This is the first time I’ve come for ArtPrize, the first time I thought about bringing my piece to ArtPrize. So it’s quite overwhelming.”
His winning installation, “Room for Lost Paradise,” transforms an entire space into what appears to be an ornate 18th-century Rococo interior. But every detail carries a deeper message about the planet’s ecological crisis…