Annual sculpture show is a must-see
Height x Weight x Depth times wonderful. If you haven’t seen an art exhibit all year, you owe it to yourself to go visit this one. The annual HWD show at Rosewood Gallery is among my favorites to view, and this year’s exhibit is one of the finest. There is an abundance of 3D works that exemplify great artistic vision and execution.
Patrick Mauk, an artist, art teacher and 14-year DVAC gallery manager, was this year’s juror. He chose 29 works out of 162 pieces submitted. Many artists presented multiple sculptures, so 24 out of 33 artists are represented.
“I looked for pieces that had high quality, craft, and that were exciting,” said Mauk, a Wright State graduate who also holds a master’s degree of fine arts from the University of Cincinnati. “The questions I asked myself while viewing the work were: ‘How was this made? What is the artist trying to convey? Is the artist successful in their attempt?’”
When the exhibit consists of 3D works, the juror is somewhat limited by viewing images rather than seeing the pieces in person. The sculptures in the show represent positive answers to those questions.
“There were definitely times when I wanted to see the works in person,” said Mauk. “In the end, there was a slow process of viewing the work, and honing the show down to a number that might fit into the gallery.”
There are several largescale pieces in this show, the largest of which is 66 x 21 x 45”, titled “To Soar: the Vaulter.” Jonathan Jager of South Bloomingville won Best of Show with this work. Constructed of wire, styrofoam, mache figure, conduit pipe with a laminated base, it’s quite a striking piece. Jager poses the athlete at the tipping point of the pole, and the shadow on the wall adds to the drama.
Rob Millard-Mendez of Evansville, Ind., won the Virginia Krause Hess Award for Excellence in Sculptural Art for “Crowboat.” The 38 x 29 x 17” work is constructed of wood and slate. The black boat resembles a crow with a mast and sail; the base is almost as majestic as the boat itself.
The second-place nod went to Jim Champion of Mason for “Soulshine,” a strobe light shining through the window of a small house. Jennifer Whitten of Cleveland won third place for assembled beadwork, “Decision.” Her work featured a large pair of scissors poised to cut.
Awards of merit were given to Kathy Guest of South Bloomingville, and Christine Kern of Canal Winchester. Guest sculpted paper into several faces with a fanciful hat that incorporated another face. Kern’s work, “Stationary Shelf,” was notable for her use of handmade paper.
Doug Harlow of Centerville earned honorable mention for “Go Fish,” and Dakotah Konicek of Bloomington, Ind., won an honorable mention for “My devices, my robots, my friends.” This viewer particularly enjoyed the meaning behind this work, as a cell phone rested in a wooden coffin on an extraordinarily high cast iron base.
Other notables: “Full Circle,” an elaborate mobile by Matthew Burgy; “The Proposal,” a fanciful look at a bronze snail mating dance by Richard Light of Kalamazoo, Mich.; “Sea Anemonae” and “Sinularia Dura II” encaustic and pastel works by Elizabeth Hubler-Torrey; and “Dove,” a clay work by Patricia Boone of Centerville.
A People’s Choice Award winner of $150 will be given by the Joan W. McCoy Memorial Art Fund.