It is no mystery that the judges on Bravos "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" had favorites among the finalists on the show. Judge Jerry Saltz and contestant Peregrine Honig were such kindred spirits, for instance, that she had his name spelled out in polish on her fingernails. But it comes as somewhat of a surprise that Half Gallery co-owner and "Work of Art" judge Bill Powers is suddenly waving his Miles Mendenhall flag so proudly (after Miles was only awarded second runner-up), hosting a solo show for the young Minnesotan at his Lower East Side gallery space, where he will offer prints from editions of three for $1,200 each.

Explaining how the show came about, Bill Powers told ARTINFO in an email that, although he had never heard of Miles or any of the other artists before filming began, "From the very first episode I was so impressed with Miles’ ability and really thought he would win in the end." He added, "The humble scale of our space is an organic fit for an emerging artist like Miles. Half Gallery is a project space where I personally make nothing. Any money we take in is invested back into the gallery, so it truly is a labor of love."

Last week, Miles said that he would be showing his work at a New York gallery, but when asked where (during a Bravo-monitored phone interview) Miles stated, "I don’t think I can say, actually, because I think Bravo has some competitory thing with the Brooklyn show and blah blah blah, all that jazz." But the word is out: Half Gallery has posted information about the August 24–September 14 survey of Miles’s work on its Web site, after agreeing to Bravo’s request that they wait to promote the show until after winner Abdi Farahs opening at the Brooklyn Museum.

The show is composed of almost all new works that resemble Miles’s black-and-white screenprints from the reality show, but which Powers described as "an extension of this exploration regarding the subjective nature of technology, how computer software projects its own bias on subject matter if you zoom in close enough." Powers then referred to the piece featured on his gallery’s homepage as "Miles’ 'Erased DeKooning.'"

Although the gallerist explained that he’s just trying to "give fans of the TV show a chance to see some of the artist’s work in person," and expressed his wish that Peregrine Honig could have a show in New York as well, this does seem a bit like a grab by the puffy-eyed heartthrob of the show for the winner’s spotlight. And even though he didn’t make it into the Brooklyn Museum, Miles has found a way to get his work into a major arts institution, having donated a print titled "Figure and Ground Study" to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (where he used to work in the events department) for its "Art Perchance" August 19 fundraising raffle.

It seems that being the third-to-next great artist comes with its own perks, especially when you use your time on air to get cozy with a trendsetting gallerist. As Powers put it: "Ultimately it may serve Miles better to have come in as a runner-up. Hey, Jennifer Hudson did okay as a reality TV loser, no?" Let the intertextuality persist.