Juror Statement by Nancy Weekly

Juror’s Statement

Thank you for inviting me to select the art for this year’s National Women’s Exhibition at the Impact Artists’ Gallery. The process involved review of digital images, as is traditional for art galleries, particularly when accepting entries from such a vast geographical area. One must make decisions based on a reproduction of the object, without having the ability to see true scale or nuances in color and texture.

My criteria for selection were to look for a range of media and themes and to select artists whose work demonstrated technical skill, conceptual originality, and the ability to provoke thought. The competition solicited work from 66 artists from around the country. I selected 41 works by 38 artists that I felt best reflected a high level of accomplishment and artistic approach to image-making.

The variety is impressive, with works ranging from socio-political statements to nostalgic reflections associated with self-identity, as well as collage, one-of-a-kind artist’s book, comical illustration, exquisite photography, traditional paintings in the realms of realism and non-objective abstraction, and textile-based sculpture.

I hope you will enjoy viewing the multiplicity of voices given visual presence in these artworks.

Awards

First Prize
$300

No. 6 Sentinel
by
Geeta Harvey
Williamsville, NY

Second Prize
$200

No. 1
Untitled VII
by
Joan Hambleton
Williamsville, NY

Third Prize
$100

No. 26
Mere Slip
by
Julie Harris
Sayreville, NJ

Honorable Mention
$50

No. 19
Descent/After Cuba
by
Janet Braun-Reinitz
Brooklyn, NY

*Errata: No. 7

No. 40
Green Cavern
Oil
16×20”, $200
Eileen McNamara
Kenmore, NY

Honorable Mention
$50

No. 12
Evening Paper
by
Catherine O’Neill
Hamburg, NY

No. 41 Essence of a White Bloom
Mixed Media
23x10x9”, $500
Passle Helminski
Erie, PA