2011 Southern Tier Biennial
September 17-October 22, 2011
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Best of Show:
David Higgins, Termite Heads Best of Mixed & New Media: Lindsey Glover, Floating Fields No.2 Best of Painting: Bridget Bossart Van Otterloo, To Sparkle Best of Drawings & Prints: Mark Kirsch, Niagara Falls Visitors Center, Niagara Falls, ON Best of 3D Work: Eric Serritella, Birch Bough Teapot |
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ARTISTS
Doug Baird, Lansing, NY, [email protected] Courtney Blackmon, Olean, NY, [email protected] Bridget Bossart Van Otterloo, [email protected] James Colby, Lakewood, NY, [email protected] Lynn Crossfield, Jamestown, NY, [email protected] Alexander Derwick, Olean, NY, [email protected] Hannah (Scout) Dunbar, Ithaca, NY, [email protected] Tracy Fiegl, Fillmore, NY, [email protected] Lindsey Glover, Ithaca, NY, [email protected] Amelia Harnas, Corning, NY, [email protected] Richard Harrington, Endwell, NY, [email protected] David Higgins, Corning, NY, [email protected] Nance Jackson, Little Valley, NY, [email protected] Mark Kirsch, Jamestown, NY, [email protected] |
Claire Lesemann, Ithaca, NY, [email protected] Joanna Manousis, Philadelphia, PA, [email protected] James McCarthy, Painted Post, NY, [email protected] Paul McKinley, Bath, NY, [email protected] Barbara Mink, Ithaca, NY, [email protected] Yvonne Piburn, Ithaca, NY, [email protected] Eric Serritella, Newfield, NY, [email protected] Jillian Sokso, Houghton, NY, [email protected] Carla Stetson, Willseyville, NY, [email protected] Christine Sullivan, Elmira, NY, [email protected] Chris Boyd Taylor, Alfred, NY, [email protected] Angie To, Hornell, NY, [email protected] Thomas Wilcox, Williamsville, NY, [email protected] Hope Zaccagni, Alfred Station, NY, [email protected] |
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JUROR STATEMENTS
For two decades, I organized the regional juried exhibition at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, but it was not until I began serving as a juror for other institutions that I fully appreciated how challenging it is to select the best work, especially from projected images rather than the actual objects. Can concept ever trump craftsmanship, and vice versa? What is that surface texture really like? Do the colors on the screen remain true? Should we select a broad cross-section of the submissions or confine ourselves to work that we’d include without hesitation in a curated show? As I reflect on our choices, I feel that one quality present in all the work is “heart.” The commitment of the artists living in the Southern Tier is clear. Whether abstract, figural, or conceptual, this work is deeply felt. By turns joyous or melancholy or comical or dream-like, it gives us pleasure precisely because we can imagine the artists creating it. I would like to thank Gerald Mead, my partner in the jurying process, for making a melding of our separate visions so easy. And to the Southern Tier Biennial staff: you were organized, supportive, and gracious in the extreme. It will be exciting to see the show in the flesh and to meet some of the artists who made it possible. My congratulations to you all! Marie Via Director of Exhibitions Memorial Art Gallery |
It has been a pleasure and a privilege to jury the 2011 Southern Tier Biennial. Juried exhibitions such as these are exciting opportunities for both artists and the arts professionals who select the artwork. Artists are afforded the promise that a larger public will experience their work through both the exhibition and its accompanying illustrated catalog (that has a life after the exhibition). The jurors, through their task of selecting the work that will comprise the exhibition, have the invaluable opportunity to become acquainted with artists they may not know and to see the most recent efforts of artists familiar to them. I was impressed by the overall quality of the entries and wide representative spectrum of both approaches and media. As a result, I feel confident that the assiduously selected final choices provide an exceptional sampling of the best artistic achievements of the artists of the Southern Tier. The broad range of the work in this exhibition - from abstraction to realism and many points in between – firmly indicates that contemporary artists in this region truly embrace all forms of artistic expression in their practices. While the forms of that expression may vary, the level of excellence remains high. Among the many strengths of this eclectic exhibition are its diversity and the fact that it honors the innovation, creativity, ingenuity and dedication of the artists whose work it contains. I am grateful for the efficient efforts of the team that organized the exhibition and also extend thanks to my co-juror Marie Via for her insight and spirit of collegiality throughout the jurying and judging process. It has been an honor to work with all of you. Finally, I urge you - the viewer - to visit both venues of this dual site exhibition to get the full benefit of the rich array of work. Each of the artists in the exhibition has found and perfected their voice and your maximum appreciation will come from “hearing” those voices together in concert. Gerald Mead Independent Curator and Arts Writer Lecturer in Design, Buffalo State College |
