Huntingon’s b. j. spoke gallery recently invited Adrienne Rooney, curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art, to judge entries received for EXPO 34, the gallery’s annual national competition.
The guideline for Rooney was simple: create a winners’ show highlighting quality art, providing space to hang more art.
“I did not enter the process looking for something specific, only strong artworks in any medium and of any sensory quality,” Rooney said. “b. j. spoke gallery’s call for entries circulated throughout the United States and thereby brought forth artists not only working with a wide range of mediums but also considering diverse forms and content. I wanted the final group to represent this quality, and, to me, the voices forming this show are indeed rich and specific, coming from several vantages.”
The 19 winning artists Adrienne Rooney selected are: Brandon Alumbaugh, Cynthia BickleyGreen, Patricia Chambers, Asma Chaudhary, Sara Desjardins, Mary Dondero, Kindra Hayes, Nayoung Jeong, Nina Jordan, Barbara Kingsley, Joyce Kubat, Adam Kuhn, Veronique Leriche-Fischetti, Hildy Maze, Lowell Miller, Barbara Rubensohn, Stephanie Ryan, Henry Thomas and Erin Zerbe.
Kubat and Chambers are represented by paintings in the show.
“Art that goes beyond the obvious, that goes beyond copying, that goes to the gut, that says something, excites me,” Kubat said. “The figure has always been my focus, and over the years it’s become a psychological focus, a sometimes uncomfortable focus. It’s the serious and profound underpinning, relating in some way to the universal humanity common to all of us, that is necessary for me.”
“My work is inspired by things that I pass on a daily basis in the small towns and countryside around my home,” added Chambers. “I see lots of interesting landscapes, animals, buildings and homes with many different designs and architecture, and a whole lot of trailer homes I think contemporary art is a reflection of our society, certainly on the precipice of change in culture climates, yet I purposely live in the country not to be influenced by popular styles and movements. My aim is to hold on to my vision thru my art, and to be honest to myself.”
Desjardins’ entry is a ceramic sculpture titled “Garden Snail.”
“I have a degree in graphic design. I began sculpture work – Oct. 2013- after graduation when my husband got sick,” she said. “It was a way for me to be home with my husband and children and work at the same time. I began with clay which ended up being much too fragile for a house filled with little boys. This led to needle felting. A few YouTube videos later and it feels like exactly what I was meant to do.”
Dondero is a photographer who feels “that our experiences, fleeting and often oscillating, leave us with a fragile or a precarious understanding of who we are. This notion inspires me to create and capture images that are intended to imply concepts concerning the ephemeral. What subject better than a flower to express ever-changing realities and impermanence? In this body of work entitled, Cut Flowers, I slice open, chop or cut each flower, revealing what is concealed from our view. My intent is to stir the viewer’s attention by allowing the hidden interior of the flower to be observed. In spite of that, my fundamental goal is to suggest or challenge the concept of what is considered precious.”
Asma’s artworks explore the duality of a domesticated homemaker by physically recreating the home environment. Asma makes every effort to use discarded materials and repurpose them into basic necessities for survival such as shelter, warmth, luminance, sustenance, mobility and intellectual growth.
EXPO 34 Winners will be on display at b. j. spoke gallery, 299 Main Street, Huntington, April 2 through April 30. There will be an artists’ reception Saturday, April 11 from 6 to 9 p.m.
