Nov. 16, 2017
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
St. Albans
Origin
Mixed Media
Eddie Austin
Hamlin
Ash Credenza
Crafts
Kylene Babski
Lindside
Self Portrait, in Shadow
Drawing
D. GENE JORDON MEMORIAL AWARD
Steve Balcourt
Exchange
Rocks and Moss, 2016
Photography
Adrienne Biesemeyer
Alderson
Kalahari Tango
Crafts
Michele Binegar
St. Marys
Embers
Digital Art
Alex Brand
Lewisburg
Tulip Encalmo Vase
Sculpture
Matthew Carr
Meadow Bridge
The Chase
Painting
Douglas Chadwick
Hillsboro
Hills Creek June 2016
Photography
MERIT AWARD
John Coffey
Princeton
Granny and Me
Drawing
Dylan Collins
Morgantown
In Defense of Intellectual Luxury
Sculpture
Chuck Conner
Spencer
Tibetan Grandmothers
Photography
Betsy A. Cox
Glen Dale
Saguaro
Crafts
MERIT AWARD
Pat Cross
Eleanor
The Passage
Painting
MERIT AWARD
David Seth Cyfers
Huntington
Fake Art
Mixed Media
Kevin Dartt
Martinsburg
Procurement: Phase 1
Sculpture
Gabe DeWitt
Morgantown
Everyone in Seattle is Crazy
Drawing
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Stephanie Dulaney
Fairmont
Fused Glass Plate
Crafts
Chris Dutch
Charleston
Martha and Mary
Crafts
Susan Feller
Augusta
Progress in the Mountains
Crafts
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Brian Fencl
Wheeling
Mountain Top Remover
Painting
F. Brian Ferguson
Oak Hill
Bridge Day
Photography
and
Union 76, Ed Shepard
Photography
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Bob Fisher
Charleston
Quiet Desperation
Sculpture
Thomas R. Fletcher
Cowen
Time Passage
Photography
Bruce Fransen
Harpers Ferry
Caramel Splash
Sculpture
and
Shell Form No. 45
Sculpture
GOVERNORS AWARD
Leiane Gibson
Princeton
Twilight on New River
Photography
Melony Gingery
Parkersburg
The Realm of the Unknown
Painting
Linda S. Gribko
Morgantown
Show Girl
Digital Art
Don Hall
Elkins
Mountain Meadow
Painting
Sheila M. Hardaway-Cain
Beckley
Richard and Diana
Painting
Cheryl Ryan Harshman
Wheeling
Poppy Fields and Wheat
Print
MERIT AWARD
Janet Hart
Wheeling
Demitasse
Painting
Alison Helm
Morgantown
Galactic Dreamscape
Sculpture
Seth Hill
Clarksburg
Deegan Lake
Painting
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Tom Hindman
St. Albans
Japanese Cherry Tree
Photography
Vernon F. Howell
Barboursville
Industry's Ascent
Mixed Media
Jim Jackson
Charleston
Creek with Picnic Shelter
Painting
Mark Jennings
Lewisburg
Creek Mouth
Photography
Anne Johnson
Summersville
I'll Take You There
Photography
and
Traveling the Milky Way
Photography
Michael Keller
St. Albans
Windows
Photography
Anthony Kelly
Milton
10 Parts Whole
Sculpture
Machele Kindle
Montgomery
Pink Collar
Crafts
Chris Krupinski
Hurricane
Happy
Painting
and
Squared
Painting
GOVERNORS AWARD
Stephen Lawson
Morgantown
Paraglider
Photography
Lavana Lemley
Vienna
Tranquil Black Rabbit
Sculpture
Michael Loop
Morgantown
Our Lady of West Virginia
Mixed Media
Chet Lowther
Charleston
Untitled
Painting
Joseph Lupo
Morgantown
...A And Anything
Print
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Ric MacDowell
Hamlin
Abandoned Factory Graffiti
Photography
Leona Mackey
Huntington
Oriental Daydream
Sculpture
Robin McClintock
Hendricks
What is More Important?
Mixed Media
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Don McDowell
Huntington
Dugout
Painting
Betty McMullen
Charleston
Champagne
Painting
Awyn Danielle McQueen-Milam
St. Albans
At Anchor
Painting
MERIT AWARD
Jeff Morehead and Becky Anderson
Mineral Wells
Wildwood
Digital Art
Marjory Moses
Elkins
Autumn Swirl
Digital Art
MERIT AWARD
Taylor W. Raab
Charleston
Boys in Havana
Photography
Christine Rhodes
Parkersburg
Cairn V - I Was Here
Painting
Damon Rhodes
Parkersburg
Wonderful West Virginia-North Bend Lake
Photography
Melinda Russell
Alderson
Barn
Mixed Media
Randall Sanger
Williamson
Sunshine Buttress Sunrise
Photography
Norm Sartorius
Parkersburg
Seahorse
Crafts
MERIT AWARD
Amy Schissel
Morgantown
Fixed-Fluid
Painting
Randy Selbe
Hurricane
Convex Chain Reaction
Mixed Media
Thad Settle
Dunbar
Hoeft Marsh, Looking West
Painting
Michael A. Sizemore
Athens
Storm 1
Sculpture
Clayton Spangler II
Charleston
Confetti Swirl
Photography
Maggie Starcher
South Charleston
Eruption
Painting
MERIT AWARD
Linda Stonestreet
Hurricane
Midnight Garden
Painting
Nicole Suptic
White Oak
Elmwood Lady
Drawing
Regina G. Swim
Charleston
What Was She Thinking?
Crafts
Tiera Tanner
Morgantown
Engrained, Composed: Joyce
Painting
Maggian Thompson
Ranger
A Lifetime Ago
Drawing
Robert Villamagna
Wheeling
A Clean Mill
Mixed Media
Herb Weaver
Bethany
American Tea Party
Sculpture
Shea Wells
Fayetteville
Aspen Fire
Mixed Media
Thomas Wharton
Wheeling
The White Peony
Painting
and
The Calling
Painting
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Randy B. Williams
Independence
Silent Raindrops
Painting
Jenny Wilson
Morgantown
Autumn's Sweet Beginning
Painting
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