Women Contemporary
Artists opens at Selby Gallery May 12th.
Opening with a public
reception Friday May 12 from 5-7pm, the regionally-based Women Contemporary
Artists end their 2005/2006 season with an exhibition at Selby Gallery on t=
he
Ringling Campus.
As with all member g=
roup
shows, the 45 pieces vary in medium and content. What the pieces all
share—what juror Mark Ormond was able to achieve—is a distincti=
ve
voice. “This year’s entries to the WCA exhibition demonstrated =
an
extraordinary range of talent” noted Ormond, former Asst. Director at=
the
Ringling Museum of Art. “In choosing work for the show I found it
important to determine what path each artist had chosen for themselves in
exploring their medium. Those who were the most consistent in the use of th=
eir
chosen vocabulary made it into the show.”
Much of the work in =
the
exhibit is figurative. Third place winner Peppi Elona coaxes a figure out of
the ‘clay’ of the canvas with her distinctive brushstrokes in
“Of The Earth.” The self-portrait is often an exercise in looki=
ng
inward; merit winner Julie Hanson’s “Portrait of an Artist̶=
1;
exhibits a direct gaze of someone who is unafraid to look closely. Other pi=
eces
coolly reference the implied figure with collages of prints of clothing whi=
le
Anita Wexler’s “Savor el Mango” celebrates the both the h=
uman
figure and the longing heart.
Sculpture, too, make=
s a
strong showing in this exhibition. Second place winner Amy Webber charms wi=
th
her “One of Two Sisters” a ceramic sculpture that is, perhaps n=
ot
unsurprisingly, distinctly figurative. Margaret Murphy-Reed rightly takes a
merit award for “The Sound of Garlic Falling.” This white-on-wh=
ite
assemblage achieves the delicate mystery of the famous Cornell boxes. Melody
Oxarart turns in a really witty steel/found-object sculpture titled
“Armed and Dangerous” with the word ‘independent’
remaining from a commercial logo on the found metal remnant.
Contemporary realist
Kathleen Piunti took first place with “Texaco.” Piunti takes a
decidedly ordinary and unlovely scene--a corner Texaco station in a somewhat
grimy downtown--and renders it with a lyrical crispness that turns it into
something else again. Patricia Hanson rounds out the winners with a merit a=
ward
for the vividly painted “Love me, love my dog.”
Women Contemporary A=
rtists
is a strong regional organization of vibrant professional women
dynamically engaged in the visual fine arts.
The group organizes several member exhibitions per year, as well as worksho=
ps
on professional development in the arts. Additionally, the group
annually grants two substantial cash awards to female students who are fine=
art
majors in their respective schools.
The publ=
ic
reception to meet the artists for Selby Gallery is scheduled for Friday May
12th, from 5-7pm. For more information please contact the Selby Gallery at
359-7563. For more
information about WCA or the exhibiting artists visit the website at www.womencontemporaryarti=
sts.com