Delta National Small Prints Exhibition Purchase Awards announced
JONESBORO – The 2024 Delta National
Small Prints Exhibition (DNSPE) opened Thursday evening at Arkansas State University’s Bradbury Art Museum (BAM) with a public reception for the artists and arts patrons.
Yuji Hiratsuka, juror for the exhibition, reviewed hundreds of entries from artists in the U.S. and beyond. This was a blind jurying process; Hiratsuka saw the title, medium, dimensions and statement associated with each print, but not the artist’s name or residence.
An award-winning and internationally recognized printmaker based in Oregon, Hiratsuka selected the prints to include in the exhibition and also recommended artworks to receive purchase prizes, with their work becoming part of A-state’s permanent collection. Others received merit awards.
A full-color catalog of the entire exhibition is available to visitors and the artists, according to Ann Prentice Wagner, director of Bradbury Art Museum.
Hiratsuka also has an exhibition of his work, “Retro Urban Portraits,” which is running concurrently with DNSPE.
“It is a great pleasure and an honor to be the juror for the 2024 Delta National Small Print Exhibition,” he said. “In the past, many of the individuals who have juried the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition were curators of museums, art centers, and print workshops. I am often the one being juried by such professionals, specialists who have keen eyes focused on each submission. I am excited for this great opportunity to serve in a pivotal role for one of the most prestigious and longlasting print competitions in the United States.”
The purchase awardwinning entries include (in alphabetical order by the artist’s last name):
• Dr. Les Wyatt Purchase Award (underwritten by Jeanne and
Dr. Les Wyatt of Dallas, Texas): “Morning Glory,” 2023, relief, intaglio, by Maggy Aston.
• Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Purchase Award (underwritten by Chucki and Curt Bradbury
Jr. of Little Rock): “Olga Anna,” 2023, etching, inkjet, by Albert Balletti.
• Cheryl Wall Trimarchi Purchase Award (in honor of her daughters — Stephanie Trimarchi Giesecke and Felicia Trimarchi Hart): “Aloe Vera,” 2022, lithograph, screenprint, by Adam Noah Berman.
• Chucki Bradbury Art Purchase Award (Underwritten by A Special Endowment in Honor of Chucki Bradbury): “Aspect Recognition II,” 2023, etching, photo etching, by Justin Diggle.
• Dr. Les Wyatt Purchase Award (underwritten by Jeanne and
Dr. Les Wyatt of Dallas, Texas): “Blatherwark: Shut Your Pie Hole,” 2023, color reduction relief print, by Keith Dull.
• College of Liberal Arts and Communication Purchase Award (underwritten by Trish and Dr. Brad Rawlins and Dr. Jill Simons of Jonesboro, and Dr. Gina and Billy Hogue of Bay): “Day 1,” 2023, handmade reductive CMYK monoprint, by Somayeh Faal.
• Lindquist Purchase Award (Underwritten by Chucki & Curt Bradbury Jr. of Little Rock): “Uninvited,” 2021, photo etching with chine collé, by Beth Fein.
• Dr. Les Wyatt Purchase Award (underwritten by Jeanne and
Dr. Les Wyatt of Dallas, Texas): “Noirs VI,” 2023, solarplate intaglio, by Donald Furst.
• Dr. Les Wyatt Purchase Award (underwritten by Jeanne and Dr. Les Wyatt of Dallas, Texas): “What to Remember,”
2022, screenprint and Mylar, by Chenxi Gao.
• Haley Voges Purchase Award
(in honor of Assistant Director Haley Voges): “Noah’s Burden 2,” 2023, etching, by Victoria Goro-rapoport.
• College of Liberal Arts and Communication Purchase Award (underwritten by Trish and Dr. Brad Rawlins and Dr. Jill Simons of Jonesboro, and Dr. Gina and Billy Hogue of Bay): “Mis Dudas y Pesadillas,” 2023, etching, by Marco Hernandez.
• Les Christensen Excellence in
Art Purchase Award (underwritten by Julie Bates of Little Rock): “Hermetic Allegories
No, 1” 2022, linocut on cotton paper, by Francisco Magallán.
• Lindquist Purchase Award (Underwritten by Chucki & Curt Bradbury Jr. of Little Rock): “Being in the Land (Coming into this World,” 2022, photopolymer gravure, by Robyn Moore. Townsend Wolfe Memorial Purchase Award (underwritten by Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. of Little Rock): “Bristle Cone,” 2023, archival pigment photograph, by Ronald Rigge.
• Cultural Steward Purchase Award (dedicated to the Windgate Foundation): “Portrait of Elle Denyer: Dis*cord,”
2023, linocut, woodcut, lithography, by Mark Sisson.
• Townsend Wolfe Memorial Purchase Award (underwritten by Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. of Little Rock): “Bow Lake 2021 / 1902,” 2023, silkscreen, cyanotype, digital print, by Kelsey Stephenson.
• Merritt Dyke Purchase Award (dedicated to Mr. Merritt Dyke):
“Embers,” 2023, kitchen lithography, by Valerie Syposz.
• Red Wolves Purchase Award (Dedicated to the Kays Foundation): “Pastorale,” 2022, multi-plate color etching, by Mary Teichman.
• Delanie & Eric Atchison
Purchase Award (underwritten by Delanie and Eric Atchison of Little Rock): “di·chot·o·my: Love/hate I,” 2022, color lithograph, by Nicholas Tisdale.
• Curtis Steele Purchase Award (underwritten by Curtis Steele of Jonesboro): “Measure
Once,” 2022, multi-plate etching, by Brandon Williams.
• Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr. Purchase Award (underwritten by Chucki and Curt Bradbury
Jr. of Little Rock): “Mushio,” 2023, lithograph, by Koichi Yamamoto.
The sponsorship awards this year are:
• BAM Staff Merit Award, “16th From the Fool,” 2023, monoprint, drypoint, watercolor, by Stephanie Kolpy.
• Arkansas State Merit Award, “Ancestors,” 2023, laserengraved woodcut, black ink on black Stonehenge, by Jonathan Wright.
The Delta National Small Prints Exhibition continues through Wednesday, Feb. 28. Museum hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and by appointment. BAM is located in Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr., Jonesboro.
Admission is free.