Student Who Lost an Older Brother, Honors Him By Finishing First in Art Show

For artist Ari Barash, a Cooper Union student who recently won the second annual Village Alliance Art Competition, the award was most meaningful because it gave him a chance to honor his late brother, Yul.

“The series emerged after the loss of Yul, my older brother, in 2024,” says Barash. “At its core, the series reflects a trust in the persistence of connection despite the impossibility of resolving grief. It embraces flux, where longing, trust, and love remain in constant motion.‍” ‍

The BFA candidate won for his four-painting series, “LONG LIVE YUL: NOMADIC COSMOLOGY,” which will remain on view through the summer.

The Village Alliance Art Competition, invited NYC-based BFA and MFA students from over a dozen NYC art & design programs to compete for the top prize, a $1,000 award and an art installation displayed on Astor Place Plaza. Barash’s work will now be printed on vinyl and envelop the area’s utility boxes, enlivening the public space.

The Brooklyn-based Cooper Union sophomore is a multidisciplinary artist and musician studying painting, sound design, installation, and performance.

Of her student’s success, The Cooper Union School of Art dean, Adriana Farmiga, says, “I’m proud to see Ari’s work selected. In bringing artwork into the local environment, Ari embodies the best of Cooper Union and its mission to advance cultural production and engage with the wider public sphere.”

Scott Hobbs, Executive Director of Village Alliance, says Barash’s work was chosen by the Alliance’s staff, who judged the competition, because it evoked “an indescribable feeling; his pieces, the colors, the shape, along with his accompanying story about the attachment to his brother, who he had lost. Ari’s work speaks for itself.”

Barash’s win is particularly impressive because this year’s submissions were double that of year one. Says Hobbs, “I can’t emphasize enough that there were so many great pieces. It was so incredible to have such a response this year. I couldn’t be more pleased that so many people submitted their artwork.”

Among those who made it to the finals were Gigi Borgese (City College of New York), Gwyneth Febus (Parsons School of Design/The New School), Jane Forrest (Cooper Union School of Art), Phoebe Jamieson (New York Studio School), and Lindsay Liang (New York University).

As for the Alliance’s decision to turn utility boxes into canvases, Hobbs offers: “These boxes are here all the time, and sort of overlooked. We made them more of a focal point with community-based art.”

He also pointed out that the competition fits into Village Alliance’s larger strategy of improving the neighborhood because it brings the community into the spaces it manages and reflects the artistic community the area has always been known for.

“Greenwich Village has a history of a strong arts culture, and we’re trying to exemplify that in a lasting way.”

Straus Media sat down with Ari Barash at the May 7^th public dedication of his work on Astor Place Plaza to discuss the personal loss that inspired his professional win and the goal of his installation.

What made you enter the competition?

I got an email saying there’s an art competition, and I had a body of work that I was very proud of and felt strongly about. I thought I’d give it a shot. You never know. And it happened.

This series is deeply tied to you losing your older brother. Why pay tribute to him through painting as opposed to music or performance art?

I think that all of the mediums that I use act as interfaces to remember him, and I try to always be conscious of his presence within any medium, but I think in painting, there’s something that’s very palpable and tactile and generative with visualizing a thing and color, and form and body. I think for me [painting] is more cathartic to process loss and process memory of who he was.

When passersby view your work, what do you want them to see?

It’s about being human, being in a human body, but also being a spiritual being and trying to materialize what the spirit inside of us might look like.

How do you feel about the work being out on public display rather than being in a gallery?

I feel so happy and excited to be able to share this with people who pass by in this historically, artistically charged neighborhood. It’s really a privilege, and I’m really grateful.

Who do you imagine stopping by to look at this installation? Who are you hoping to reach?

I’m hoping to reach everyone, but especially anyone who feels like they may be lost in life on their journey. I want them to know that it’s going to get better, and that there’s a way to navigate their obstacles, always.

To learn more about the artist and his art, visit aribarash.com or Instagram @aribarash3.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel, “The Last Single Woman In New York City.”