2016 Annual Juried Show

June 28 – August 12, 2016

People's Choice Winner - "Spirit Animals" by Judith Dilley

It is time once again for the Annual Juried Art Show at The Gallery at the Park in Richland.  Each year artists from around the area vie for the honor of being chosen for this show.  Each entrant can submit up to four pieces of their recent work.  The work is then judged by an independent juror who then chooses which works will be displayed in the Juried Show.  This year seventy-four artists submitted 213 pieces to be judged.  Out of those the juror chose 77 pieces to be displayed.

It is very interesting to watch how the shows change over the years depending on the juror.  The juror this year was Judy Vogland.  Ms. Vogland taught art for many years at Portland State University, Hillsboro High School, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Haystack at Cannon Beach, and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.  Her MFA in painting and drawing is from Portland State University.  She currently is working full time in the studio, completes commissions and teaches workshops.  Frequent visitors to the Gallery may remember that she was one of the Featured Artists in June 2015.

For all their hard work, some of the artists are rewarded with monetary prizes of anywhere from $50.00 to $600.00 amounting to a total of over $2000.00.  There are eleven such awards given out.  One of which is the People’s Choice Award.  Everyone who comes in to view the show is asked to vote for their favorite so be sure to stop in and vote. The public is invited to the Awards Reception on Friday, July 8, 7:00 – 9:00 PM.  The winners will be announced at this time.  Voting for People’s Choice will be open during Art in the Park on July 29th and 30th so stop in at the Gallery while you are there. 

The Annual Juried Show is now showing at The Gallery at the Park at 89 Lee Blvd. in Richland at the entrance to Howard Amon Park and will run through August 12.  Regular hours for the Gallery are Tuesday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

For more information on this and upcoming shows and available workshops check out the website at www.galleryatthepark.org or phone (509) 943-9815.

Richland has the honor of being the first stop on a yearlong traveling exhibition by Washington Surface Design Association.  Fiber Fusion will debut on June 1 at The Gallery at the Park and will run through June 23.  The Surface Design Association is a non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 and is comprised of artists, students, educators, gallery owners and curators. It has 215 members in Washington, and over 3,000 internationally.

Surface design art uses elements of surface design, which could include dyeing, painting, printing, stitching, embellishing, quilting, weaving, knitting, beading, felting, and papermaking, or in some way manipulates or alters the surface of a textile. Textile is defined as any natural or artificial fiber or a non-textile element, such as metal, that takes on the properties of fiber or is used in combination with textiles. Work can be functional or non-functional, and can be for the wall, the body or as decoration.

The intention of this exhibit is to showcase the depth and breadth of the surface designers’ work in Washington State. The exhibition will contain original, innovative artwork which is technically of high quality and which results in a show of overall high impact. The concept of Fiber Fusion is totally up to the interpretation of the artist.  More than the methods, surface designers are interested in the unlimited options for experimenting with color, texture, and design.

Eighty-eight artists representing 39 Washington cities and towns entered the competition with 246 entries. Artist techniques include fabric manipulation, hand embroidery, painting, wet felting, shibori, bojagi, and botanical dyeing. Some materials used include stainless steel, sock monkeys, gunpowder, vintage kimono, acrylic, newspapers, sand, wood, gut and hair. The entries were then judged by Jurists Layne Goldsmith, University of Washington Professor of Art and past chair of the Fibers Program, Young Chang, MFA in Fiber and Owner­­ of Gallery IMA, Seattle and Rock Hushka, MA Art History and Director of Curatorial Administration, Tacoma Art Museum.  Fifty-four artists were selected for the four-city exhibition.

Local artists belong to the South Central Surface Design Association.  Entries by Vicki Piper Gerton, Richland and Anke Wildman, Prosser were chosen for the traveling exhibition. 

Gerton trained as a microbiologist, a medical technologist, and an art and science teacher, in the early 1980's. She traded the dyeing of microscope slides for the dyeing of yarn and fabrics.  Gerton works loosely without much plan, trying to access the inner part of her being where the interplay of color and pattern on cloth becomes a language in itself.  She works on many different presentations from hangings to framed pieces to wearable art and book art. Vicki works with her husband Ron, also an artist, in their studio in Richland.

Wildman was raised near the picturesque Mosel River in Germany. Following her family’s four hundred year tradition of growing grapes and making wine, she spent all her professional life as a winemaker. In 1990 she began working in Washington State. Through the years her passion for creating art led her to explore silk painting, working with stained glass, quilting, and surface design. “There is something immensely satisfying about developing a faint idea into a finished composition, especially with a glass of great wine in hand.”

In addition to the traveling exhibit, approximately twenty-five pieces created by local members of the South Central Association will be displayed for the month of June.  These pieces will be shown in Richland only and will not be traveling to the other venues.

Jurist Layne Goldsmith will make juror remarks and announce honors and recognition at an opening reception held on Sunday, June 5, 1:00 – 3:00 PM at the Gallery.  You are invited to attend and meet the artists!