Medialia Gallery and its affiliated nonprofit New Approach are delighted to present the Third International Medallic Sculpture Competition for Emerging Artists, THE FUTURE IN HAND. The recipient of the 1st PrizeKeiichi and Kyoko Uryu Memorial Award is Francesca Muscianesi of Italy. This exhibit of submissions and awarded work is open to the public from May 19 -July 29. The works will travel to Faculdade de Belas Artes daUniversidade Lisboa, Portugal, in October 2018, and Daido University, Nagoya, Japan, in May 2019.

Muscianesi's 1st Prize work, Memento Mori, is on display, accompanied by ten more exquisitely rendered works created by the artist since notification of her award. The prize winning piece is a haunting split-facedportrait medal that opens to reveal a waxen skull in shallow relief, inscribed in the round: "Respice Post Te, Hominem Te Esse Momento."

Also on display are dynamic submissions and awarded works by 2nd Prize recipient Merecdes Dorisz Molnar (Hungary); 3rd Prize recipients Armando Zelinotti (Italy) and Evgeniya Ilkove (Bulgaria); and ten purchaseaward recipients: Schuyler Blanchard (USA); Teodora Draganova (Bulgaria); Lindsay Jamison (USA); Samantha Kanelstein (USA); Petra Kurucz (Hungary); Ron Kustrup (USA); Sayo Nagayoshi (Japan); Mitsuho Shibata (Japan); NataliIvanova (Bulgaria); and Bar Zecharya (Israel).

New Approach's 3rd competition was open to artists born in or after 1980, and announcements circulated in fall 2016. The competition prospectus was released in January 2017, with entries due in September 2018. Thiscompetition was organized by Medialia Gallery and New Approach Director Mashiko. Ms. Cory Gillilland, Dr. Alan Stahl, Dr. Peter van Alfen, Ms. Gwen Pier, and Mashiko comprised the judges for the first, second and thirdprizes. Individual collectors selected purchase awards from the remaining medals. 14 artists from 6 countries submitted 38 medals for consideration. All awarded works received comments from the judges. Details on thecompetition and New Approach are located at www.medialiagallery.com .

The dream of a competition emerged in 2001 when the New Approach Contemporary Medallic Art Research and Exhibition Center was established at Medialia Gallery. Known for her passion for educating young artists aboutthe medallic arts, Director Mashiko was approached by Japanese medallic artist Izumi Nishi about establishing an education endowment for young medallists. Nishi was the eldest daughter of the late Keiichi and Kyoko Uryu,advocates of contemporary medallic art in Japan, and international promoters of Japanese medallic art. Nishi agreed with purpose of the competition, and a first prize, dedicated to her parents legacy was established. Nishiwas terminally ill and after her death the competition's 2nd Prize was named for her. The first New Approach competition, BEGINNING, was offered in 2005-2006, and the second competition, APPROACHING HORIZONS,in 2008-2009.