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CHARLESTON, W.VA. – Artists from Lindside, Harpers Ferry and Hurricane won the top prizes in the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s (WVDCH) 20th West Virginia Juried Exhibition, which opened Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Art Museum of West Virginia University in Morgantown. “The 2017 West Virginia Juried Exhibition is dedicated to Dr. J. Bernard Schultz, in honor of his steadfast devotion to the establishment of the Art Museum of West Virginia University,” said WVDCH Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith. “It is a tribute to all West Virginia artists across the Mountain State.” The exhibit, featuring 84 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, mixed media and crafts created by 80 West Virginia artists, is cosponsored by the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. The exhibit will remain on display through Feb. 11. Ten pieces in the exhibit will be purchased and become part of the West Virginia State Museum’s permanent collection. Jurors Elaine D. Gustafson of Greensboro, N.C., and Courtney Kessel of Athens, Ohio, selected Lindside artist Kylene Babski’s Self Portrait, in Shadow, Harpers Ferry artist Bruce Fransen’s Shell Form No. 45 and Hurricane artist Chris Krupinski’s Squared as this year’s $5,000 Governor’s Award winners. Self Portrait, in Shadow also received the D. Gene Jordon Memorial Award, which is named for a former chairman of the West Virginia Commission on the Arts who died in 1989. Artists receiving $2,000 Awards of Excellence include Gabe DeWitt of Morgantown for Everyone in Seattle is Crazy; Susan Feller of Augusta for Progress in the Mountains; F. Brian Ferguson for Union 76, Ed Shepherd; Seth Hill of Clarksburg for Deegan Lake; Joseph Lupo of Morgantown for …A And Anything; Robin McClintock of Hendricks for What is More Important?; andThomas Wharton of Wheeling for The Calling. An additional eight Merit Awards of $500 were made that are not purchase awards and do not become part of the museum’s collection. They include Douglas Chadwick of Hillsboro for Hills Creek June 2016; Betsy A. Cox of Glen Dale for Saguaro; Pat Cross of Eleanor for The Passage; Cheryl Ryan Harshman of Wheeling for Poppy Fields and Wheat; Awyn Danielle McQueen-Milam of St. Albans for At Anchor; Marjory Mosses of Elkins for Autumn Swirl; Norm Sartorius of Parkersburg for Seahorse; and Maggie Starcher of South Charleston for Eruption. (A complete list of exhibitors is attached.) Many of the works on display are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. From its inception in 1979 until 2005, the West Virginia Juried Exhibition was presented at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston. In 2007, Randall Reid-Smith, commissioner of the WVDCH, decided to have the exhibition travel to the Parkersburg Art Center, sharing the best in art with yet another community in the Mountain State again this year at the Art Museum of WVU in Morgantown. The exhibition was at the Huntington Museum of Art in 2009, the Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling in 2011, the Dunn Building in Martinsburg in 2013 and the Tamarack at Beckley in 2015. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History proudly presents this biennial event in partnership with the West Virginia Commission on the Arts and with support from the West Virginia Legislature, which appropriates funding for the exhibition’s awards. The $33,000 in award money constitutes one of the largest endowments for a single exhibition in the country. Photos of the 18 award-winning pieces can be found at: http://wvculture.zenfolio.com/p775414472. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is proud to be able to present its programs at no charge to the public, but without a solution to the state’s budget situation, this could be the last year that programs of this type could be offered. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. It brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. 2017 West Virginia Juried Exhibition Participants: Dick Allowatt Kylene Babski Adrienne Biesemeyer Alex Brand Douglas Chadwick Dylan Collins Betsy A. Cox David Seth Cyfers Gabe DeWitt Stephanie Dulaney Susan Feller F. Brian Ferguson Bruce Fransen Leiane Gibson Linda S. Gribko Sheila M. Hardaway-Cain Janet Hart Seth Hill Vernon F. Howell Mark Jennings Anthony Kelly Chris Krupinski Stephen Lawson Michael Loop Joseph Lupo Leona Mackey Don McDowell Awyn Danielle McQueen-Milam Marjory Moses Christine Rhodes Melinda Russell Norm Sartorius Randy Selbe Michael A. Sizemore Maggie Starcher Nicole Suptic Tiera Tanner Robert Villamagna Shea Wells Jenny Wilson -30- |
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