Regional Exhibition
Juror: Don Crow || Catalog || Flier
Awards:
- Gravitas oil painting by Charlotte Richards of Fredericksburg, VA
- Dragonfly Waltz # 16 mixed media by Bob Worthy of Montross, VA
- White Bird/Black Bird alkyd/mixed media painting by Retta Robbins of Fredericksburg, VA
Honorable Mentions:
- Whispers oil painting by Nita Adams of Fredericksburg, VA
- First Snow, Bryce Canyon pastel and gouache by Diane B. Russell of Stafford, VA
- Evening Clouds soft pastels painting by Kathleen Willingham of Bealeton, VA
- Vibe # 9 oil on canvas painting by Jane Woodworth of Fredericksburg, VA
Juror's Statement—Fredericksburg is a special place--a historic, vibrant, scenic river town. For me personally it's the home of many wonderful artists that have blessed and profoundly enhanced my life through their creative endeavors. The Fredericksburg community models the communal spirit of acknowledgement and encouragement.
Thus, it was my pleasure to be invited in as juror for the June exhibition for the FCCA community; that said, it was not easy to create clear criteria for selection without working under an overarching theme. With such a wide variety of artworks to select from, works ranging from journalist photography to gestural abstract painting, this exhibition's selected works are organized to illustrate that variety, as well as to represent the individual voices present within the artwork. To help guide the selection process I chose unity as one key aesthetic principle: art works in which the medium, application, image, and composition create vitality while suggesting something greater than the sum of its parts. Additionally, a guiding question would be this: does the process of building the image -- the ways the artist painted, drew, or constructed-- hold something personal, maybe a slight reflection of the knowingly prosaic or a hint of the poetic? The final number of works selected was narrowed to allow enough wall space for the selected work to be exhibited to the best advantage -- there is always more deserving work to be selected than the physical space will allow.
There are many 'small wonders' in this exhibition, and the artistic voices range from the personally dynamic to fragile, barely perceptible voices of mature artists who urge us towards quiet reflection
The FCCA is a vital venue for exhibitions and I encourage all artists to continue to submit to its exhibitions and continue to be active in supporting members of the artistic community of this vibrant city on a river.
And finally, it was a pleasure working with Carrol Morgan, Bob Worthy and other members of FCCA board and viewing the work of so many dedicated artists.
Yours truly,
Don Crow
