Friday, January 2, 2009 10:09 PM CST
Winners of 17th annual state drawing and watercolor contest announced
By the JG/T-C
ediotrial@jg-tc.com
The artists selected to receive awards for the 17th Drawing/Watercolor: Illinois Biennial Exhibition were announced at a reception on Dec. 14 at the Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston.
The competitive exhibition was open to Illinois artists working in drawing or water media on paper. Drawing/Watercolor: Illinois is on exhibition at the Tarble Arts Center through Feb. 22.
The Newton E. Tarble Memorial Best-Of-Show Purchase Award was given to Judy Dethmers (Champaign) for her colored pencil drawing “Weavings: Rupert.” The Ronchetti Art Acquisition Fund Purchase Award went to Sarah Capps (Belle Rive) for the colored pencil drawing “Feeding Frenzy.” Both of these artworks will be added to the Tarble Arts Center’s permanent collection.
The Barbara Bishop Werden Best Traditional Watercolor Memorial Merit Award was presented to Robert Newcome (Bethany) for his watercolor painting “Passing Storm.”
The other merit awards announced were the: Coles County Arts Council Merit Award — Robin Riggs (Champaign) for “Brittany Windows,” gouache; Eastern Illinois University Alumni Association Merit Award – Jeff Little (Bloomington) for “Spring Creek Morning,” watercolor; Roc’s Blackfront Merit Award – Sharon Davie-Barrett (Rantoul) for “Objects Found at the Lower Level,” watercolor, graphite, embroidery floss; What’s Cookin’ Merit Award – Carol Wilkinson (Opdyke) for “Gerry,” pen and ink; Tarble Arts Center Membership Fund Merit Award – Robert Lee Mejer (Quincy) for “Papier Colle #18,” mixed media; and Tarble Arts Center Endowment Merit Award – Charlotte Sasser (Glenview) for “Spiny Lapis,” watercolor.
Curator, artist and arts administrator Alan Leder served as juror of the exhibition. Leder considered 256 entries by 104 artists, from which he selected 48 works by 36 artists, including designating the award winners. Leder is executive director of the Evanston Art Center in Evanston, and prior he was the state director for Visual Arts Programs at the Illinois Arts Council for 18 years.
“In this post-minimal, information age of art and commerce, it is a comfort to be enveloped by the pure joy of earnest mark making: watercolor, charcoal, pencil — works on paper,” Leder said. “The styles and themes of the selected pieces ran the gamut, but all seemed united by a sincere engagement with the artists’ world.”
The biennial exhibition represents a wide variety of media, styles and subject matter. Included are landscapes, portraits, still lifes, florals and other representational works, plus abstracts, and collage.
The awards were funded by the sponsors as listed, with the Best of Show funded by the Tarble Arts Center Endowment of the EIU Foundation. The exhibition is an Illinois Currents series event funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Admission to the Tarble Arts Center is free. For more information phone 581-2787 or e-mail tarble@eiu.edu. The Tarble is located on Ninth Street at Cleveland Avenue on the EIU campus in Charleston. Open hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Mondays and holidays. Free parking is available just off Ninth Street with a visitor’s pass.
A division of the EIU College of Arts & Humanities, the Tarble is accredited by the American Association of Museums. The Tarble is funded in part by Tarble Arts Center membership contributions and the Tarble Arts Center Endowment/EIU Foundation.
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