Seattle artist Isaac Layman wins 2008 Betty Bowen Award

The Seattle Art Museum's 30th annual Betty Bowen Award goes to Seattle artist Isaac Layman, who wins a cash prize of $15,000 and the opportunity to display his work at SAM during October.

Two other Seattle artists, Eric Elliott and Wynne Greenwood, will each take $2,500 special-recognition prizes.

The winners were among five finalists selected from more than 500 applicants from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Layman, Elliott and Greenwood will receive their prizes and talk about their work at a public ceremony from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at SAM's Plestcheeff Auditorium.

Layman graduated from the University of Washington in 2002 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography and had his second solo show in July at Seattle's Lawrimore Project.

His photographic images can appear stark — a single coat hanger suspended from a wire — or as complex collages assembled from multiple digital images.

Elliott earned a master of fine arts degree from the UW in 2007 and now teaches at the Gage Academy of Fine Arts and North Seattle Community College. His muted still-lifes, painted in oil, were recently exhibited in a solo show at James Harris gallery.

An installation and performance artist, Greenwood holds a master of fine arts degree from Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College. She has shown recently in Los Angeles and was an artist in residence at The Kitchen in New York. She toured as a solo act called Tracy + the Plastics and will perform next year at On the Boards.

The award is named after the late Seattle arts patron Betty Bowen.

Sheila Farr: sfarr@seattletimes.com