The South Arkansas Arts Center invites the public to view the 2017 Juried Art Competition, which will hang in the Price and Merkle Galleries July 6-28. From over 200 entries from around the country, juror Dylan Turk from Crystal Bridges has selected a total of 69 works created by 47 artists to be on display in the Merkle and Price Galleries. The awards reception will be July 7, from 6:00-7:30pm in the Merkle Gallery. Gallery viewing hours are Monday-Friday from 9:00-5:00. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The Juried Art Competition, sponsored by Smackover State Bank, is SAAC’s annual competition juried by nationally and internationally recognized art professionals and is open to all artists across the nation age 18 and up who work in two- dimensional and three- dimensional fine arts media, including photography and computer generated work.
The People’s Choice Award will be voted upon by patrons during the exhibition. One piece from the competition will be purchased for SAAC’s permanent art collection. The Annual Purchase Award is made possible through an endowment from the family of Wilma Riley in memory of her commitment to the arts, her community, and SAAC.
This is the first year that 23 works were selected from Arkansas artists to be included in the competition. SAAC members Kelly Campbell and Angela Blann of El Dorado, Judy Falkoff of Magnolia, Ann Trimble of Los Angeles, California and Emily Wood of Little Rock were selected to be included in the competition.
Dylan Turk was selected as the juror for this year’s competition. Turk is currently employed by Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville as a curatorial assistant. Turk studied art history in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas and also studied abroad in Spain, Italy and Morocco. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Art History, Criticism and Conservation from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Turk has curated many exhibits for Crystal Bridges including ‘Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House’, ‘Building Crystal Bridges’, and ‘Shaking Hands & Kissing Babies’. He was also involved in the re-installation of the Early Modern Galleries at Crystal Bridges, and he worked as curatorial assistant on the Focus Show on Georgia O’Keeffe.
Turk also spends part of his time writing and collaborating on publications for Crystal Bridges and has had two books published: “Art in Architecture: The Architecture of Crystal Bridges” and “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman-Wilson House”, as well as many articles for art publications.
“I’m super interested in bridging connection points between artistic institutions across the country. We all have to support each other in the arts. All art institutions need to stay in touch and share info. That’s one reason I’m so excited to come to south Arkansas to work with the SAAC. Competition is a good idea for artists. It helps to expand their audience.”
Artists selected for the Juried Art Competition are as follows:
Corinne Barber • Bellingham, Washington
Bill Barksdale • Cotter, Arkansas
Sandy Barksdale • Cotter, Arkansas
Judith Beale • Jacksonville, Arkansas
Angela Blann • El Dorado, Arkansas
Win Bruhl • Little Rock, Arkansas
Kelly Campbell • El Dorado, Arkansas
Susan Chambers • Little Rock, Arkansas
Becky Christenson • Rogers, Arkansas
Sheila Cotton • Little Rock, Arkansas
Dana Crossan • Media, Pennsylvania
Deanna Douglas • Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hugh Dunnahoe • Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
Judy Falkoff • Magnolia, Arkansas
Laura Fanning • Little Rock, Arkansas
Patrick Fleming • Roland, Arkansas
Robert Fogel • Haughton, Louisiana
Kit Gilbert • Ruston, Louisiana
Sharon Harper • Springfield, Missouri
Susie Henley • Little Rock, Arkansas
David Holsted • Harrison, Arkansas
Michael Hower • Enola, Pennsylvania
Ken Hubbell • Little Rock, Arkansas
Ahrong Kim • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Scott Lauer • Johnstown, Colorado
Kellie Lehr • Fayetteville, Arkansas
Paul Lorenz • Paducah, Kentucky
Sigrid Lorfing • Russellville, Arkansas
Daniella Napolitano • Little Rock, Arkansas
Ellen Parker • Fayetteville, Arkansas
Alexa Pearce • Little Rock, Arkansas
David Rackley • Russellville, Arkansas
Brian Reed • Ivydale, West Virginia
Maureen Rousseau • Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
Nataliya Scheib • Houston, Texas
Elinore Schnurr • Long Island City, New York
Barbara Simcoe • Omaha, Nebraska
Mary Ann Stafford • Maumelle, Arkansas;
R Gregory Summers • Overland Park, Kansas;
Ann Trimble, Los Angeles, California;
Helen Uger, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Lorrie Williamson, Jupiter, Florida;
Emily Wood, Little Rock, Arkansas;
John Wooldridge, Maumelle, Arkansas